The Story of Bodiam room allows visitors to discover for themselves the hidden history of the site: the 8,000 years of people coming to and settling in the area, from stone-age hunters, through the Romans, the heyday of the castle in middle ages, to the present day.

Many people are familiar with the classic view of Bodiam Castle set in its broad moat.

What many visitors do not know as they walk up towards it are the fascinating secrets that lie just below their feet.

Where the car park now lies was once a huge medieval harbour for ships to load or unload cargo.

The grass banks are clues to where peasants of Sir Edward Dallingridge's estate farmed narrow strips of land to feed their families in the 1300s.

The large sunken area was at one time a vast mill pond, powering a watermill to grind peasants' corn.

Last year the National Trust asked visitors to Bodiam Castle what they would like to know more about.

Most said "the ordinary people, the servants, and how they lived."

The staff at the property researched this over the winter and brought in a top design company to create a new exhibition telling the story of the people of Bodiam through the ages, using original artefacts, medieval illustrations, a 3D model, artist's impressions and photographs.

The old ticket office and museum room were converted to house this display and a new visitor reception.

Visitors have been using them already this summer and children particularly like opening the drawers and finding inside strange objects belonging to people who lived there hundreds of years ago.

The new display room is one of a number of new improvements the Trust has made at the property over the last two years.

In 2006 a new introductory film was produced, in 2007 an audio commentary was provided for the WWII pillbox, and earlier this year new information panels about the river area were installed near the tearoom.