SCHOOL children have been looking back in time at their school's village 100 years ago.

Children from Bulmer St Andrews, in Sudbury, visited Hill Farm to take a look at a private historical collection of Bulmer and the surrounding area.

Owned by Ashley Cooper, a historian and agriculturalist, the collection details what life in the area was like a century ago.

With his detailed knowledge and understanding of the land, Mr Cooper has been visiting the school to educate the children on how life in the area operated in the past, and how that has now changed.

After a series of lessons from Mr Cooper, the children were invited to visit his museum for a hands on experience of life in yesteryear.

Upon arriving at Hill Farm, the children were greeted by Mr Cooper and taken into a vast barn, where they were able, amongst other things; to write with chalk and slate seated at an old school desk, operate extremely loud bird scarers, which the children likened to football rattles, and see old farm machinery operate to thresh some wheat.

The whole tour was very absorbing, with the children finding it amazing to hear how children 100 years ago were treated so differently to the modern day child.

The collection was started in l948 by Mr Coopers father, a local farmer, who wanted to know more about the area, nearly 70 years later, the collection has grown to accommodate machinery, school classroom effects, detailed art work and general local paraphernalia.