2011 Re-opening
In July 2011 Cogges Manor Farm re-opened, now operated by a charitable trust, the site and buildings being leased from Oxfordshire County Council. It is no longer a Museum in the conventional sense. Instead it is being developed as a place where families and individuals can relax, learn, and contribute voluntarily to its operation with the aim of giving visitors a better understanding of food and its production, both historically and today.
It is planned to change the farm from a museum to an active farmstead, run by an experienced smallholder who will live in the Manor House. Animals will be reared and vegetables grown for food. Through volunteering and training opportunities, courses and workshops, school learning activities and by seeing the work first-hand, visitors and volunteers will witness the ups and downs of small scale farming.
Displays and activities will explain how the Cogges Manor Farm site has developed since Saxon times, how its past residents made a living and how the farm has continually evolved in response to changing fortunes and opportunities. There will be play equipment and family trails that connect with this theme.
The intention is to develop the venue into a self-funding prime visitor attraction, hosting events such as food markets and a beer festival to supplement the running of the farm. UK Prime Minister and local MP David Cameron visited the attraction in January 2011 prior to the re-opening and described the Trust's plans as "enterprising".
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