Witney's top tourist attraction faces closure unless Oxfordshire County Council, which has pledged to slash council tax rises, finds tens of thousands of pounds to support it.

Cogges Manor Farm Museum has been in trouble since West Oxfordshire District Council withdrew its annual £196,000 contribution in April, arguing that the resource should be funded by the county council because it benefits the whole county.

This year that was offset by a one-off district council payment of £60,000, an additional £40,000 raised in 1997 for the Manor House restoration and a county council contribution of £96,000. But the county council will have to bear the full burden itself from April next year, at a time when it has promised to reduce council tax rises.

Last year the money was found from the £11m cultural services budget, but the council has said it wants to shave £350,000 from this year's fund and is already looking at closing one of the county's 43 permanent and mobile libraries.

A report on the future of the site outlines four options. Under the first, involving a £200,000 contribution from the county council, the museum would continue to operate at its current level.

The second would see opening hours cut from a six- to a five-day week, plus specific themed weekends creating a saving of £11,467.

The third option is for a public open season of six weeks in the summer, opening for school groups between March and October and a permanent closure of the farm.

The final option is for the permanent closure of the museum and the mothballing of the site although that would still incur an annual cost of £62,000 to maintain and secure the site's listed buildings.

Museum manager Claire Powell said this year's broader programme of events, which included evening music performances, had been very successful and visitor numbers were expected to rise from just under 25,000 to more than 26,000 by the end of this financial year.

Mrs Powell said: "Closure is something we are doing everything possible to avoid, but we have little control over what happens. The bottom line is that without a sustained development fund we won't attract capital funders from outside."

The museum houses some of the oldest archaelogical sites in Oxfordshire.

Visitors can also see traditional farming techniques, and demonstrations are held most weekends showcasing rural crafts and activities.