Taken from Roach le Schonix, 1894. 'Notes on Archaeology in Provincial Museums: The Museums at Farnham, Dorset, and at King John's House, Tollard Royal', The Antiquary 30, 166-171

Every archaeologist knows something of the admirable and painstaking excavations conducted by General Pitt Rivers, F.S.A., F.R.S., in the neighbourhood of his seat at Rushmore, Cranborne Chase, and of the three grand illustrated volumes in which the record of the results of these excavations have been chronicled. ... and there is, therefore, no necessity to give even the briefest summary of the labours of this distinguished and munificent antiquary among the Romano-British remains, and the Bronze Age barrows on his beautiful estate.

Our object at present is to draw attention to the highly remarkable and well-arranged museum established on such excellent principles at Farnham, near Rushmore, and now supplemented by the collections at Tollard Royal. In many respects these collections are unique, and they certainly should be visited and carefully studied by all who are interested in museum arrangements. ...

General Pitt-Rivers has not, however, been content with exhaustively recording, with the greatest precision, and with a wealth of illustration, all that he has found, but he has housed all the relics, as well as other collections, in a delightfully arranged and commodious, but unpretentious house erected for the purpose close to the village of Farnham.

The Farnham Museum has ample space, and consists of eight rooms and galleries, three of which are 85, 80 and 60 feet long respectively. The galleries are remarkably well lighted from above. The walls are lined with cases containing the articles exhibited; whilst the central part of the four principal rooms are occupied by excellent models of the excavations which have been conducted by General Pitt-Rivers in the immediate neighbourhood. From these excavations the great majority of the archaeological relics exhibited have been obtained. Every object in the museum has a large legible ticket attached to it; whilst in various places descriptive accounts have been provided, so that no catalogue is required. The subject divisions are marked by thin red satin tapes placed across the shelves from the top, whilst the larger divisions are marked by broader bands of red satin with the word "Division" embroidered on them. The three large quarto-volumes, profusely illustrated, written and privately published by General Pitt-Rivers on the "Excavations at Rushmore" etc., are placed on desks in the galleries for the convenience of students or of ordinary visitors who may desire to know more about the collections.

Room No. 1 contains specimens of peasant costume and personal ornament of different nations.

Room No. 2 is chiefly occupied by a valuable collection of peasant carvings, mainly from Brittany, which were for some time exhibited by General Pitt-Rivers both at South Kensington and at Bethnal Green.

Room No. 3 is devoted to household cooking utensils used by the peasantry of different countries.

In Rooms Nos 4, 5 and 6 is an exceedingly interested and full series of ancient and mediaeval pottery of all nations and countries. No one can claim to have any real or complete grasp of the subject of ancient pottery who has not studied this fine, varied, and admirably arranged collection. It is divided under the following heads:  Ancient British, Silesian, Bronze Age, Etruscan, Swiss Lakes, Cyprian of all ages from Phoenician to Roman, Ancient Greek, Roman, Saxon, and Norman, Mediaeval British, Old English, Scotch, Dutch, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Persian, Rhodian, Anatolian,  Chinese, Japanese, Egyptian, Moorish, Cingalese, Indian, Mexican and Peruvian. We know of no other museum that has anything like so perfect a general collection illustrative of the various styles of pottery prevailing in different countries and at different periods, though there are a few that have a far richer variety under one or other special heading, such as the Romano-British collections of the museums at Reading and York.

In the centre of room No. 5 are models of the Romano-British village of Woodcuts, two miles from the museum, together with enlarged models of the more important pits and ditches, and hypocausts, showing the position of the skeletons and other special discoveries. This village was most carefully and systematically excavated by General Pitt-Rivers between October, 1884 and December, 1885. In the wall-cases round this room are arranged the discoveries made at Woodcuts. ...

No. 6 room contains models of the Romano-British village of Rotherley, three miles from the museum, which was excavated in 1885-87, the most important parts being modelled on a large scale. The discoveries from this village, which are arranged in wall-cases, are of the same character as those of Woodcuts, though showing interesting variants ...

In the centre of the same room are models of the excavations made in the Romano-British settlement of Woodyates, about six miles on the road to Salisbury, in 1888-90, and of the excavations in Bokerly Dyke and Wansdyke near Devizes, which were also conducted by General Pitt-Rivers.

A series of the side-cases in this room illustrates, after a concise and most useful fashion, the history of stone and bronze implements, and includes the Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods, the Bronze Age, and the Iron, Roman, Saxon, and Merovingian periods.

Room No. 7 contains a series illustrating the history of glass-making from the earliest days and includes three stages of Egyptian (presented by Mr Petrie), and specimens of Phoenician, Greek, Roman, Saxon, Chinese, early and modern Venetian, French, German, and English workmanship. The admirable arrangement of the objects in this room is much to be commended. Here, too, is a series explanatory of the history of enamelling, including early Egyptian, Roman, Celtic, Saxon and Volkerwanderung periods; the forerunners of Champlevee enamels, Champlevee, Cloisonne, surface, and translucent enamels, and enamelled pictures from China, Japan, Persia, France, Germany, England, Russia, and Algeria, both mediaeval and modern. Specimens are also exhibited, showing the transition from stone and glass inlaying in ornamentation to cloisonne enamelling. On the opposite side of the same room is a series of models of much interest to ecclesiologists, and to the students of our early art, whereby is shown the development of the Christian cross in Celtic times.

The remaining wall-cases on the left-hand side of this large room are occupied by a series of carvings of different countries, showing the characteristic forms of art prevailing at various times and places, and comprising carvings from Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, North and South America, South Africa, India, Burmah, Japan, ancient Egypt, Assyria, Greek, Roman, Cyprian, Etruscan, Early Christian, mediaeval, European, Scandinavian, and a series exemplifying the arts of modern times. In the cases on the opposite side are drawings and paintings on the flat from different countries, including Ancient Egyptian, Phoenician, Cyprian, Japanese, Etruscan, and Greek drawings; also a highly-interesting series of drawings of savages, and one for comparison, showing the best performances of untaught children and adults from the neighbourhood. Here, too, are a series of embroideries, and a collection of lamps and lighting apparatus from different countries.

In the centre of Room 7 are models of the tumuli or barrows excavated in the immediate neighbourhood by General Pitt-Rivers in 1880-84, together with models of some explorations conducted by him in the valley of the Nile and elsewhere. ... The relics discovered are arranged in cases round the models, and consist mainly of flints and pottery, such as are usually found in barrows of this period. ...

Room No. 8, which is an adjunct to the north-east angle of the museum buildings, contains a large selection of agricultural implements and appliances, and includes a series of querns, a model of an Indian village, models of crofters' houses and sheelings in Scotland, foreign winnowing and other simple agricultural machines, a series of models of ploughs of different countries, and of country carts, scythes, reaping hooks, spades, and textile fabrics from different localities.

Outside the mills is a horse-mill, obtained from the island of Lewis, on the coast of Scotland, representing the earliest form of water-mill, still occasionally used in some parts of Scotland. ...

To find out what le Schonix said about King John's House see here. See what he said about Larmer Grounds here.

[Transcribed by AP in June 2010 for the Rethinking Pitt-Rivers project]

Note that there was another review of the Museum and Larmer Gardens in The Spectator of September 15 1894.