The Food Museum

A really enjoyable visit to the Food Museum today. Even on a grey rainy day there’s still a lot to see. My children love it here, the same as I did when I was a child.

Favourites of ours are the old auctioneer’s hut (I remember when it was in the livestock market in Bury St Edmunds!), the children’s workshop play area, the farm animals and the old mill.

We last visited back in summer 2022 when the museum hadn’t that long changed its name to the Food Museum. On today’s visit it looks like the food theme has much more been worked into the museum. The food tasting we had in the Bone Building with Anita was outstanding. We found out about the ingredients and I enjoyed learning about Jerusalem artichoke and the lovely soup that was made with it.

The tickets we bought are an annual pass to the museum and I know that we’ll be back again to make use of it when we’re next back in Suffolk.

Great visit. Excellent buggy service for disabled visitors. Plenty to see from rare animal breeds, farm machinery, and recreations of ancient crafts. The on site cafe served delicious homemade lunches and cakes

This is an amazing and very special place. I decided I wanted to work in museums because of coming here as a child. My grandfather donated a scythe to the collection and the interior of the tin chapel moved piece by piece in 1995 is reminiscent of the one I attended as a child. If you want immersive social history, rural walks, country animals, real learning opportunities for all ages across the breadth of social history in the area this is the place. East Anglia was at the heart of the agricultural revolution and shaped the way we produce and enjoy food. The programming is about living and enjoying our heritage and looking to nourish our minds and souls.

What a fantastic place. Lots to see. Plenty of historical farming equipment. Animals. Gorgeous river walk, windmill. Plenty of seating to take a break and just enjoy the surroundings.
Excellent food and service at Feast. Highly recommend ploughman's

Had a great time visiting here with my grandad. Lots of really interesting exhibits and some lovely walks in between. It's a full day out and from what I could see it is great for kids too. Lots of lovely animals to say hello to and the cafe was great, really delicious food. To top it all off the staff and volunteers were extremely polite, helpful and welcoming to the museum. Would definitely visit again and recommend to everyone. If you live locally and have never visited, you're doing yourself a great injustice.

if its wet you need good boots or wellies to see it all. the house is a great place for children to express themselves. the cafe has excellent fresh food made on the premises i can recommend the V nosausage roll.

Our family visited the food museum yesterday. We had a wonderful time with lots to see and do. Pinkie the printer in the shop will be forever remembered. One tip bring your wellies as it can be a little muddy.

This is a wonderful museum. It has everything from example 1950's rooms, farming machinery, steam engines, farm animals, gardens, water mill, and some fantastic ecological exhibits. We spent 4 hours and did not do it all. Highly recomend it for families or individuals.

Oh my word this place is huge! Less than £10 an adult. So family friendly. Plenty of indoors displays and even more outside activities you could visit on any weather.
My mind has just been blown. I need to go back to stand a chance of absorbing some of the things I've taken in today

Spent the whole afternoon here, lots to see and lovely area to walk around. Lots of engines, trades and animals . I had been before but had forgotten how big and how much was actually there, all in the middle of Stowmarket shops. Lovely get away from the town!

Another great unaware of this museum fantastic pottral of the bygone years plenty to see and also good restaurant/cafeteria.

Once you find that Stowmarket has a Food Museum you also find it’s worth a visit. The signage and info on what to see and where to go could be better but there is plants to see. The farming equipment, animals, old buildings and displays and exhibits are very good. You will have to walk some distances around the site as it covers a considerable area. The cafe is definitely worth a visit, our salads were very nice with generous portions.
More advertising is required to raise the profile and awareness of the museum though.

We were amazed how extensive this was. It's huge! Very informative with, on our trip a couple of temporary exhibitions which were v thought provoking. Recommended.

Very interesting. Very large place. Friendly staff and good food. Saw a deer and dog loved the sheep

The Museum of East Anglian Life is not one but several buildings, structures and a farm which tell about the life on the farm before and after machines were used on the field. My boyfriend and I first saw a big mansion where the owners of the land lived. There were a few exhibitions: tools for farming and cooking, local hospital photos, bed, bath and some items (19's-20's), stories and items of gypsys who would come to help to collect fruits and veg, etc. There was also a collection of wires and plastic collected by an artist every day - the amount was crazy.

In other buildings, we saw workstations of various crafters, church, machines which made life on farm easier, and we learned great deal about people of various professions which supported farmers. There were windmills which generated power or removed the excess of water, big structures to burn fuel, etc.

The farm there was also amazing. My boyfriend made an attempt to approach sheep, and failed successfully. The closest sheep looked at him with a question in her eyes, he stopped, and then it suddenly started to run, and this resulted in protective herd formation. One of the sheep, a leader (?), looked at my boyfriend as if it was asking him to back off. He complied. We also saw nice black pigs with super big ears covering their eyes, turkeys and chickens, rabbits, and then - pigmy goats. Pigmy goats are tiny and are usually kept as pets. When we were approaching them, I heard one of them bleating. I came close and started to stroke it. It stopped bleating and looked as it is getting the pleasure it desires. When I stopped doing that, the goat hit the ground with its front hoof as if it demanded more attention. I provided more, but hunger drove me away. Afterwards, I made my mind that I want to have two pigmy goats.

Overall, the museum (i.e. buildings, structures, and farm) is a great source of information about the life in 19's and 20's on a East Anglian farm: there's objects, structures, buildings, garden, etc., but you also can watch old videos and listen to stories about the past. The informations boards and walls were very impressive and I LOVED the images on them. The museum is great for all ages. We spent there 2h on one day, and 5h on another - I wish we had extra day or two to study everything more thorougly. The books related to the farm life can be found in their shop and are a good read! There's lots of other stuff to buy if you desire, of course. The staff are amazing - very friendly, helpful, and I loved their story about Suffolk horse (I wish we stayed to listen about the sheep!).

It is a gem in Suffolk. The amount of work they put into this place is enormous. It impressed me greatly, and the ticket price is totally justified.

A wonderful large open space with many fields and out houses with props and machinery set about to show what farming and country life is like. Great for a picnic and better when there's something on like open air cinema or historical based events. The main entrance is through and as which is a bit strange but is also great for stopping off for a bit of shopping. Great for kids to run free and explore

This really is a hidden gem in Stowmarket. There is such a huge amount of things to see that it could take a few days to see it all! The animals look well looked after and the exhibits are very diverse and well maintained. I look forward to visiting again throughout the year to see some more of the diverse wildlife

Highly recommend the beer festival that's held here every summer. Great selection of ciders. There's also many other activities spread out throughout the year. It's well worth getting a year pass as it's nice to walk the grounds on a sunny day

Lovely spot in the middle of town. I'm fortunate enough to be working on their watermill, loving it, lovely staff and restaurant and plenty of animals keeping me company!

Really enjoyable day out here with the extended family, plenty to see and do and taste with very helpful staff, who were keen on their subject and happy to chat.

We tried food from the hedge and had a good lunch from the cafe, fed lambs, built roof trusses, looked at old farm machinery and other tools and got a ride on the site buggy, which the kids loved!

It wasn't busy for a bank holiday

Could do with a few more information boards about some of the older machines and things like the printing press, rope machine, clock, etc.

Definitely worth a day out, we went on a wet day but there is a lot of outdoor bits too so take waterproofs if going in the wet.