Dating back to the 1600s, Ford Green Hall is a museum whose period décor and furnishings portray life as it was for a 17th-century farmer. Throughout the interior are original ceramics, textiles and furniture that have survived for centuries. Tour the museum to spend some time in the life of local yeoman farmer and house owner Hugh Ford.
Inspect the timber symbols and frames decorating the white façade of the house. The Hall is the main room on the ground floor, where meals were cooked and eaten. Enter the adjoining Parlour, which served as a bedroom and lounge area. It has a majestic fireplace on the stone floor.
The Exhibition Room in the southeastern corner of the house showcases some of the home’s most splendid period furniture. Admire the writing desk, the drawers and the chair arranged on wooden plank floors. A large table stands in the heart of the kitchen next door, set up to resemble its 17th-century state. Spot the large clock, the china cabinet and the bowls and plates.
Go upstairs to see several bedrooms with ornate and varied designs. The Hall Chamber has a redbrick fireplace, a polished wooden set of drawers and elaborate bedding. The crafts of spinning and embroidery are on display in the Parlour Chamber, which contained three beds in the 1700s. Visit the Education Room, the Buttery Chamber and the Porch Chamber.
Take a break in the café and browse the items in the gift shop. There is a fee to enter the house, which opens Sunday through Thursday from lunchtime until late afternoon.
Ford Green Hall lies at the southern end of the Whitfield Valley Nature Reserve in the northeastern outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent’s Smallthorne district. Walk east from Burslem Park for 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) to reach the site. See nearby attractions such as the Burslem Golf Course and Monks-Neil Park.