This museum showcases the history and heritage of the Colne Valley area in Lancashire, featuring exhibits on the region's industrial past, including textiles, engineering, and agriculture. The museum is housed in a restored 19th-century cotton mill and offers interactive displays, artifacts, and photographs that tell the story of the valley's people and industries. Visitors can explore recreated period settings, including a Victorian street and a 1940s-style kitchen, and learn about the area's significant contributions to the Industrial Revolution.
Really liked this small local museum. Based on a traditional weavers cottage, it's well thought out and run by local staff. Split over 3 levels giving a really good insight into cottage industries just at the Dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Very informative staff gave demonstrations on lacework, spinning yarn and weaving cloth, even giving out small samples of cloth made on the premises. There's a small tearoom selling local homemade cakes etc which was nice too. I can highly recommend a visit here.
Had the most wonderful outing to the Colne Valley Museum!!! What a place, the history was quite overwhelming!!! Incredible insight into the cottage industries. They only open on a weekend for visitors, although they open during the week for schools. It's well worth a visit, very interactive, you can try things and watch the demonstrations, there's even a lovely coffee shop. Do go if you get the chance!!! The staff are so welcoming and it really is one of Huddersfield's hidden gems.
What a delightful, interesting and informative museum! We had such a lovely visit there with our Japanese friends. The museum's four weavers' cottages have been thoughtfully laid out and furnished. A million thanks to every single volunteer - each attired in period costume - for your extensive knowledge, abundant dedication, genuine passion, detailed explanations and live demonstrations of weaving, spinning, clog making and so much more. You really brought the museum and its artefacts to life. Additional thanks go to Grace for your impromptu clog dancing demo, to Julian for revising your Japanese and extending it to include explanations about the different machines and processes (much technical vocabulary and very impressive knowledge of Japanese), Pauline as duty manager for your warm welcome, Ruth for setting the whole visit up for us in advance and making sure it was so special for our Japanese visitors, and to whoever made the very tasty homemade cakes (great selection too). It's decades since I'd drunk loose leaf tea using a tea strainer (these days I tend to use a tea infuser), so that really took me back to my childhood. The museum really makes you think. Two things that really stood out to me were 1) the total lack of plastic (of course, as the museum is set in the mid 1800s) and how reliant we've become on this ubiquitous and often non-environmentally friendly product, and 2) the lack of waste by people of that time eg turning old clothes into rugs. Modern society has much to learn from attitudes and actions of that time and it's interesting to see how some people now are returning to such attitudes by trying to reduce their use of plastics and focusing on reusing and repurposing the things they own rather than throwing them away. The museum's volunteers are impressively innovative and creative, engaging with the local community and tourists of all ages from children upwards through baking and cooking workshops, craft events, and varied videos on social media. There is so much to see and learn about in this museum. We were there for the full four hours it was open, so we recommend you arrive early (it opens at 12 and only at weekends). The museum's volunteers immerse the visitors in the local industrial culture of the 1840s and give each visitor a truly engaging, personalised experience. For these reasons this small, delightful, unique, volunteer-run, historical museum really is (one of) the best museums I've ever visited. Highly recommended to local and international visitors like.
Fantastic visit! Lovely knowledgeable volunteers. We learned about the history of the house, loom weaving, spinning and clog making (we even got to try on some clogs!) At the end of your visit try our their tasty teas (blended just for the museum) as well as delicious selection of home made cakes and have a well deserved sit down. The tea room is wonderful, again with excellent service and we really appreciated the attention to detail in the pristine table cloths, china cups, plates and cake forks and the curtain and cushion fabrics woven on the looms upstairs. Thank you to all the volunteers who keep this place going. We had such a lovely time and learned a lot.
Absolutely wonderful little place! The staff are delightful, the tea room is so quaint and beautiful and the museum itself is such an interesting and unique place... we loved it! Would highly recommend a visit - for all ages!
Absolute pleasure to visit this little gem of a museum. All of the volunteers were so knowledgeable about the different areas and displays. They made it so interesting and brought the place to life. There was also a display of some artwork by talented local artists which was for sale at reasonable prices. We were unable to leave without visiting the lovely tearoom and sampling some delicious homemade cakes. A very interesting and enjoyable afternoon.
On-site services
Live performances
Wheelchair-accessible entrance
Wheelchair-accessible toilet
Toilets
Restaurant
Good for kids
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Really liked this small local museum. Based on a traditional weavers cottage, it's well thought out and run by local staff. Split over 3 levels giving a really good insight into cottage industries just at the Dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Very informative staff gave demonstrations on lacework, spinning yarn and weaving cloth, even giving out small samples of cloth made on the premises. There's a small tearoom selling local homemade cakes etc which was nice too. I can highly recommend a visit here.
Had the most wonderful outing to the Colne Valley Museum!!! What a place, the history was quite overwhelming!!! Incredible insight into the cottage industries. They only open on a weekend for visitors, although they open during the week for schools. It's well worth a visit, very interactive, you can try things and watch the demonstrations, there's even a lovely coffee shop. Do go if you get the chance!!! The staff are so welcoming and it really is one of Huddersfield's hidden gems.
What a delightful, interesting and informative museum! We had such a lovely visit there with our Japanese friends. The museum's four weavers' cottages have been thoughtfully laid out and furnished. A million thanks to every single volunteer - each attired in period costume - for your extensive knowledge, abundant dedication, genuine passion, detailed explanations and live demonstrations of weaving, spinning, clog making and so much more. You really brought the museum and its artefacts to life. Additional thanks go to Grace for your impromptu clog dancing demo, to Julian for revising your Japanese and extending it to include explanations about the different machines and processes (much technical vocabulary and very impressive knowledge of Japanese), Pauline as duty manager for your warm welcome, Ruth for setting the whole visit up for us in advance and making sure it was so special for our Japanese visitors, and to whoever made the very tasty homemade cakes (great selection too). It's decades since I'd drunk loose leaf tea using a tea strainer (these days I tend to use a tea infuser), so that really took me back to my childhood. The museum really makes you think. Two things that really stood out to me were 1) the total lack of plastic (of course, as the museum is set in the mid 1800s) and how reliant we've become on this ubiquitous and often non-environmentally friendly product, and 2) the lack of waste by people of that time eg turning old clothes into rugs. Modern society has much to learn from attitudes and actions of that time and it's interesting to see how some people now are returning to such attitudes by trying to reduce their use of plastics and focusing on reusing and repurposing the things they own rather than throwing them away. The museum's volunteers are impressively innovative and creative, engaging with the local community and tourists of all ages from children upwards through baking and cooking workshops, craft events, and varied videos on social media. There is so much to see and learn about in this museum. We were there for the full four hours it was open, so we recommend you arrive early (it opens at 12 and only at weekends). The museum's volunteers immerse the visitors in the local industrial culture of the 1840s and give each visitor a truly engaging, personalised experience. For these reasons this small, delightful, unique, volunteer-run, historical museum really is (one of) the best museums I've ever visited. Highly recommended to local and international visitors like.
Fantastic visit! Lovely knowledgeable volunteers. We learned about the history of the house, loom weaving, spinning and clog making (we even got to try on some clogs!) At the end of your visit try our their tasty teas (blended just for the museum) as well as delicious selection of home made cakes and have a well deserved sit down. The tea room is wonderful, again with excellent service and we really appreciated the attention to detail in the pristine table cloths, china cups, plates and cake forks and the curtain and cushion fabrics woven on the looms upstairs. Thank you to all the volunteers who keep this place going. We had such a lovely time and learned a lot.
Absolutely wonderful little place! The staff are delightful, the tea room is so quaint and beautiful and the museum itself is such an interesting and unique place... we loved it! Would highly recommend a visit - for all ages!
Absolute pleasure to visit this little gem of a museum. All of the volunteers were so knowledgeable about the different areas and displays. They made it so interesting and brought the place to life. There was also a display of some artwork by talented local artists which was for sale at reasonable prices. We were unable to leave without visiting the lovely tearoom and sampling some delicious homemade cakes. A very interesting and enjoyable afternoon.
