A heritage workshop which used to repair horse drawn carriages is set to close by the end of the year – unless a replacement home can be found for it.
Wheelwright Terry Jenkins has been given notice to quit Scotland Farm Barn, near Corfe Castle, by the National Trust after a decision was taken not to renew his lease on the 17th century building.
Wheelwright Terry Jenkins runs the Scotland Farm Barn heritage collection near Corfe Castle
Aladdin’s cave of bygone treasures
An original request for him to vacate the barn by the end of September 2025 has been extended until 31st December 2025 – but the final three months can only be for storage.
It means that Purbeck visitors and tourists may have only three months left to see the Aladdin’s cave of bygone toys, games and books which sit alongside heritage woodworking tools and old country woodcrafts.
But although there is no right to appeal, Terry is hopeful that someone with an empty barn on their farm may come forward to offer his workshop a new home and keep the heritage treasure alive for everyone to enjoy.
The current barn dates back to 1665 and has been extended in the past, giving the heritage workshop ample space for displays, craft hubs and wood storage.
The barn’s workshops turn out all manner of country crafts and heritage projects
Volunteer woodworkers and crafters repair and make new items from their rural base
“We get very little passing trade”
But Terry Jenkins said:
“A replacement barn doesn’t need to be as large as this – we were lucky with the size of this place when we moved in 25 years ago and don’t expect another barn of this size.
“I hope there is someone out there who has a small barn we could use as a heritage centre, to keep this in the Purbeck area. We want somewhere old and not too far away from people.
“We are a bit isolated here, but it would be nice to have somewhere a little less remote. We get a few visitors for the Art Weeks, otherwise it’s word of mouth, we get very little passing trade.
“But there has been so much response since we had to announce we were closing that I’m hoping someone somewhere in Purbeck will come forward to offer a barn we can rent from them.”
Terry Jenkins pictured outside Scotland Farm with a fence and traditional cart wheel he made
Ploughs, carts and other countryside farming tools are on display around the barn
Working on carts and wagons
Terry added:
“We have been here 25 years. We were doing restoration work at weekends on carts and wagons from the 1900s which would come in for repair, we had a blacksmith working for us and we would look for spare parts, but as that work began to get less frequent we went over to working with wood doing heritage projects.
“Now we have volunteers who make wooden gates, doors, hurdles, bird houses, traditional crafts. There seems to be less interest these days in heritage pieces, but there’s nowhere else dealing with rustic wood like this around Purbeck and I don’t want it to be lost.
“We get a lot of wood coming in here from around Dorset which gets made into platters for weddings, garden trugs, house signs, milking stools, baskets, bowls turned on lathes, handles for billhooks, all sorts of things – visitors come in here to find the right pieces of wood for their rustic projects.
“I think our woodcraft workshop is unique in the county, and the location is beautiful, even if it is a little remote. I would hate to see it close for good and hope we can find a new home for it.”
Enamel advertising signs and other relics of a bygone era are on display
Scotland Farm Barn is an Aladdin’s cave of treasures from the past
Gifted to the National Trust
Scotland Farm, a Grade Two listed building, was gifted to the National Trust with its land by the Bankes family, although Reg White stayed on as the tenant farmer. He looked after heathland cattle in the area for 72 years, dying just before lockdown.
The heritage workshop has run workshops and repairs out of the 18th century barn since 2000, becoming well known for taking its crafts out to Christmas fairs around Purbeck every year.
Terry, who sold at toy fairs for years and still runs model clubs in Stoborough and Hazelbury Bryan, collects vintage toys, games, books and models and has a lot of them on display at Scotland Farm Barn alongside his wooden heritage crafts.
He says there is a lot of interest in them, as well as enamel advertising signs, old farming implements and horse collars around the barn, but is saddened that much of it will have to go into storage once the barn closes for business.
Terry has been collecting toys and games for decades
Visitors come to browse through Terry’s collection as much as to buy the wooden crafts
“It’s a big upset, really”
Terry Jenkins said:
“We are lucky there is enough space here for a display, and the toys and game from last century just seemed to sit so well alongside traditional wood crafts – I even have a wooden ship carved by a sailor going back to World War One.
“But I doubt we will get so much space anywhere else and I think most of it will have to be packed up and taken back to my home.
“It’s a big upset really. This is a lovely large and historic place – the farm house dates back to 1665 and the barn is probably late 17th century, although there are records of a barn here in the 15th century.
“It was very handy for us, but the main thing is we need to try to find somewhere else for the heritage site to move to. It doesn’t need to be as large as this, just a normal size farm barn would do – it would be a tragedy if Purbeck lost a space to celebrate its traditional heritage.”
Heritage wood is at the heart of the barn, and Terry hopes he will be able to find a new home for it
The workshop can make and repair just about anything wooden
“This marks the end of an era”
Tracey Churcher, general manager of National Trust Purbeck, said:
“We recognise that this marks the end of an era, and we are grateful for the unique contribution Terry and his volunteers have made to the site over the years.
“We’ve been able to offer Terry alternative nearby storage for his heritage collection and are committed to supporting him throughout the transition.
“We’re also open to exploring opportunities for Terry to continue sharing his craft through live demonstrations at one of our locations.
“As a conservation charity, our priority now is the restoration and preservation of the site’s historic buildings across the whole of Scotland Farm.”
Hopefully, Scotland Farm Barn will be moving rather than closing for good
Further information
- Contact Terry at Scotland Farm Barn through its Facebook page
