Wincanton may seem like a normal market town, but it is, in fact, twinned with Ankh Morpork – a place that lies in another world. A bemused Maurice Fells investigates. Pictures: Fran Stothard

O ne of the West Country's smallest museums, which celebrates a town's social history, is under threat of closure unless it can raise nearly £100,000 for vital repairs.

More than 1,200 artifacts, documents, posters and photographs telling the story of Wincanton are crammed into an old two-up-two-down cottage on the town's High Street. Exhibitions include a Victorian kitchen based on the Day family, who lived in the house in 1881. Mrs Day tells visitors through an audio presentation how she, her husband and their eight children lived.

Another display is based on 19th and 20th century local farms and farm implements.

Since 1981, volunteers from the 100-strong Wincanton and District Museum and History Society have been running the museum. However, its future hangs in the balance because of hefty costs for repairs and alterations and a massive hike in the rent. "The building needs a lot of work done on it," said Jeff Kingaby, secretary of the society. "We're worried someone might get hurt on the staircase. Work needs to be done on bringing the inside and outside of the house up to date."

New fire alarms and lighting on emergency exit signs are also needed. The bill for all this will come to £90,000.

"There was another blow when the owners of the building told us they were to increase the rent from £50 to £2,000 a year. It's not their fault. They are a charity and a change in the law says one charity can't support another. So they have to charge a commercial rent," he said.

The museum has launched an appeal to keep going. "We wrote to 50 firms in the town, but had a very poor response. There isn't a lot of money here, it is a low-wage town. The money is in the villages around Wincanton. It would be a shame if the museum had to close," said Jeff. "The exhibits have been given by locals. There are so many items that we only have enough space to put them on display in rotation. A lot are stored in the attic."

Wincanton is an unpretentious country town of steep streets in south Somerset overlooking the Blackmoor Vale, described by Thomas Hardy as the Vale of Little Dairies. It's almost equidistant between London and Plymouth. This is a fairly quiet town, with through traffic giving it a miss by using the A303 – the London to Penzance trunk road.

Elegant Georgian houses and coaching inns, especially along High Street, record its importance as a staging post on the route from the capital to the West Country. In the 17th century Wincanton provided stabling for 300 horses. The central archways of resting places such as the Dolphin Hotel are redolent of the days when this was the access for carriages to the stables at the back of the main building.

The town's economy is still linked with horses through Wincanton Racecourse, the current holder of the Small Racecourse of the Year award. It hosts 17 fixtures of jump racing from October to May, with an average of two meetings a month.

Some of the earliest steeplechases in the country were probably staged here, with races being held early in the 19th century. The course was originally at Hatherleigh Farm, south-west of the town, and it wasn't until 1925 that it moved to the site at Kingwell Farm.

The heart of Wincanton has something of an old-world charm about it, being centred on the Market Square, dominated by the yellow post office. It's housed in a building dated 1796 which for many years was an inn.

Some of the tea rooms, pubs, restaurants, antique and curio shops along the gradually rising High Street occupy buildings from the same era. Despite their modern frontages, the overall appearance of the town centre has changed little over the centuries.

Wincanton was once a thriving weaving town. Today it is becoming favoured by antique hunters and as a base for those exploring the Blackmoor Vale countryside.

This is the original home of Wincanton PLC, founded in 1925 to maintain dairy plants and equipment for the milk industry, which has grown to become Europe's second-largest logistics company. There's now some light industry in the town and a cheese producer.

About 5,100 people live in Wincanton and, according to estate agents, just under half of the population are early retirees who have moved from the South East. There are also three schools in town, including King Arthur's Community School, which is celebrating its 50th year.

Next to the school is Wincanton Sports Centre, opened six years ago, with a 25-metre pool, fitness suite and sports hall.

Wincanton is twinned with the French town Gennes and Les Rosiers in the Lloire Valley and the German town of Lahnau. It's also linked with Ankh Morpork, a fictional city created by the author Terry Pratchett in his comic fantasy Discworld series. What is thought to be the only Discworld emporium in the entire universe can be found on High Street, which also happens to be the consulate offices for Ankh Morpok. Here you will find all of Pratchett's books, sculptures, artefacts, stamps and other Discworld items.

It's run by Bernard and Isabel Pearson, who have known Pratchett for many years and moved to Wincanton to be nearer his home, not far from Salisbury.

About 500 fans of the author will descend on the premises later this month to celebrate Discworld Day. "It's an occasion when they mingle with like-minded folk, visit the pubs and do silly things to raise money for charity," said Hilary Daniels, who works in the business. "Many of them dress up in various costumes and walk around the town in them. The people of Wincanton don't seem to mind. They don't blink an eyelid at all this," she said.