An electrifying exhibition!

The collection was initially started by Seeboard in 1971, and from 1975 to 1989 it functioned at The Slade, Tonbridge, as the "Milne Museum", before moving to Amberley Working Museum in 1993. It was named after the late Archie Milne, who was Chairman of Seeboard between 1974 & 1975.

The garden area in front of the building displays outdoor sub-station equipment including Insulators, Transformers & Switchgear, plus an unusual pole-mounted Lightning Arrester and two decorative cast-iron Sub-Station Kiosks.

Inside the Front Hall, the centrepiece is a Belliss & Morcom high-speed steam-driven generating set, from the old Wills Tobacco Works in Bristol. To the left and right are 2 large open-type distribution switchboards, once common in factories & institutions. Beyond is a Rotary Balancer from Folkestone Power Station, used in the days of DC (direct current) supply. Other exhibits in this room include plugs, sockets & switches, electricity meters, cables, enclosed-type switchgear, electric motors & electric vehicles old & new. There is also a working display of the Asea substation remote control system used by Southern Railway in their electrification schemes from 1930 onwards.

Above the opening into the rear hall is a large neon sign, originally from "Electric House", Croydon, depicting the word "Electricity" in the style used by Michael Faraday in his experimental notes. Behind the window is a 250,000 volt Impulse Generator, as used in industry for testing high-voltage components for the electricity supply system. This exhibit is demonstrated periodically and the "artificial lightning" produced is an impressive and noisy spectacle! There is also a Tesla Coil illustrating the spectacular and continuous discharges produced with high-frequency electricity.

Along the left side of the rear hall is a "hands-on" Introductory Gallery named after Bob Gordon, the Milne's first Curator, and along the right side are the Domestic Displays - grouped in decades to show how the number and sophistication of appliances have increased over the years.

At the back are shop-front displays illustrating more period domestic appliances, medical and laboratory test equipment. The upstairs lecture area is used for special talks and demonstrations on electricity, available by prior arrangement to schools and other booked parties.

Volunteers from the EDF Energy Electricity Hall have their own website, www.milnemuseum.org.uk . Click here to visit it.