Milestones Museum of Living History is a museum located on the Leisure Park in Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK. Milestones is made up of a network of streets that have been recreated according to those found in Victorian and 1930s Hampshire.
It was opened on 1 December 2000 by Duke of Edinburgh as a joint project between Hampshire County Council and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
In the year running 2007/8 the museum received 88,338 visitors.
In 2014, ownership of the Milestones Museum was transferred to the Hampshire Cultural Trust as part of a larger transfer of museums from Hampshire County Council and Winchester City Council.
Exhibits
Buildings
Features include recreations of:
a Victorian public house, the Baverstock Arms, named for a 19th-century Alton brewer. Serves alcoholic refreshments at lunchtime. a Victorian railway station based on the GWR station at . Features a 4mm scale model of the station with operating trains. a Victorian Ironmonger a Victorian watchmaker and jeweller a Victorian terraced house a Victorian milliners a Victorian light engineering shop a Victorian paintworks, powered by a Tasker stationary steam engine a Victorian pier amusement arcade a sawmill a saddlery a 1930s town with shops Cooperative Society shop sweet shop toy shop (with original toys) record and television shop (including original equipment) Car showroom 1940s period home interiors, kitchen and living room.
A new addition for 2021 is Mr Simpson's Teddy Bear museum, featuring more than 260 examples dating from 1905 onwards.
Many of the shops and workshops feature sound tracks of appropriate conversations and sound effects.
Road vehicles
There is a large collection of road vehicles, notably by local manufacturers, Thornycroft of Basingstoke and Taskers of Andover. These cover examples of human powered, horse drawn, steam and motor driven vehicles.
Human powered
Hand cart
Hand propelled bakers cart. Grocer's delivery bicycle 2 tradesmens' tricycles Various bicycles, including penny-farthings
Horse drawn vehicles
Pantechnicon
Governess cart
Brewers dray
Coalman's cart
Milk float
Farm wagon
Stickback undercut gig
Hutchings caravan
Reading type Romany caravan or vardo
Portable steam engine
Steam vehicles
Include two road rollers by Taskers and two by Wallis & Steevens. There are also two Taskers Little Giant traction engines, one displayed with a log trailer. EL 3908 Thornycroft Steam Wagon, works number 115, built in 1902. AA 5296 Taskers Little Giant, works number 1599, built in 1914. SR 1294 Taskers Little Giant, works number 1726, built in 1917. BD 7994 Taskers road roller, works number 1906, built in 1923. YB 183 Taskers Little Giant steam lorry, works number 1915, built in 1924. OT 8201 Taskers road roller, works number 1933, built in 1928. AA 2470 Wallis & Steevens steam wagon, works number 7279. OT 3078 Wallis & Steevens Advance road roller, works number 7867 built in 1926. OT 8512 Wallis & Steevens Simplicity road roller, works number 7940, built in 1928.
Motor vehicles
There are some 25 commercial vehicles along with private cars, two generations of motor buses and a coach.
Cars
BS 8239 Thornycroft 4 seater, built in 1903. H 2499 Thornycroft 14HP open tourer, built in 1905. DS 6683 Thornycroft open tourer, built in 1907. DS 6684 Thornycroft 30HP open tourer, built in 1907. AMO 903 Morris convertible, built in 1937. FVM 288 OEC motorbike and sidecar, built in 1939. K 3 Keeble K3 concept car, built in 2003. Buses BK 2986 Thornycroft J Portsmouth Corporation No. 10, built 1919. RV 6368 Leyland Titan TD4, Portsmouth Corporation No. 8, built 1934. EY 5218 Thornycroft Lightning coach. Built in 1935 and displayed in half-built condition.