Sixties sensation in house of memories

It was the decade that saw lino-covered floors, cigarette coupons and England win the World Cup - and now the essence of the 1960s has been captured in an exhibition.

Staff at Hartlebury Castle Museum near Kidderminster say From Ration Books to Rolling Stones has proved to be so popular that they are extending the time the artefacts are on show until early 2011.

The exhibition is set up to look like a house from the 1960s complete with a sitting room, which has original furniture, carpets and curtains, a kitchen with tins of food and flying ducks on the wall.

There is even a yard with a bike, metal dustbin and toys.

Collections officer David Kendrick says most of the items on display have been loaned from the Land of Lost Content museum at Craven Arms in Shropshire.

However, there were a few items that were loaned from people in Hartlebury, including a carpet which was found in pristine condition.

"We decided to bring our collection up to date and so started to focus on the 1950s and 60s as this is an important period of history," says David, aged 63.

"An advert went in the local parish magazine asking for people to get in touch, and someone told us they had a 1960s carpet in their attic. We thought it would be in bad condition but it was perfect and it had never been used.

"It was from Woodward Grosvenor in Kidderminster and after we are finished with it, it will go to a carpet exhibition because it has a strong 1960s design."

Among the items on display is a KB television which has a switch so viewers could convert their TV from 405 lines to 625, which gave a clearer picture.

There is also a Dansette record player, a 1960s cocktail cabinet, cigarette coupons, football programmes, books, food, games and toys as well as clothes, jewellery and newspapers.

In the kitchen a Creda oven with grill takes pride of place alongside a Hoovermatic washing machine and spin dryer, there are even flying ducks on the wall.

David says instant essentials such as coffee and mashed potato became popular while yoghurt was a new dessert.

"Members of staff also chipped in and provided items such as the coffee table, the curtains and the armchair," he says.

"It has been amazing to find out what people have still got stored away in their homes.

"The house is themed around one day — July 21, 1969, when news came out that Neil Armstrong walked on the moon."

There is a Daily Mirror on display from the historic day.

In the yard section of the exhibition there is a Royal Enfield bicycle, which was made in Redditch in 1962.

"For the kitchen we had a lot of items lent to us, such as the HP sauce bottle, Coleman's mustard, Mother's Pride and Ryvita packets," says David.

"By this point we still hadn't reached the throw-away society so there would be a mixture of old and new items in the same room.

"So, there was electric lighting but candles were always kept nearby, just in case of a power cut.

"Also, they were starting to get new technology such as blenders and coffee makers, but the old fashioned versions are still kept alongside them."

David says that the exhibition is centred on a fictional family called the Byrds.

"The 1950s and 60s were a period of huge social change and there were a number of iconic events so coming up with a family to base our exhibition around made it easier to put it together," he says.

"Museums no longer focus totally on eras like the Victorian or Edwardian — now we can include items from up to the 20th Century.

"People have said some lovely things about the 50s and 60s exhibition and so we are going to keep it running longer and possibly make the house into our Christmas-themed room," he adds.

"So, if anyone has any 1960s Christmas trees or decorations we would love to hear from them."

* Do you have any Christmas decorations or trees from the Sixties? If you can help out, email c.spencer@expressandstar.co.uk or call 01902 319562.