Weaver Hall Museum and Workhouse is full of displays and tales of the history and industry of West Cheshire.
Weaver Hall Museum and Workhouse is full of displays and tales of the history and industry of West Cheshire. The stories are told through films, reconstructions, models and vivid displays of intriguing artefacts, which relate to local industry, market towns, transport, archaeology, and the building’s former history.
The museum is housed within the old Northwich Union Workhouse building. A special exhibition in the former workhouse schoolroom explores life for the paupers. Around the rest of the museum you can find out about workhouse food, discover some of the people who lived in the workhouse and visit the recreated Master’s sitting room.
History of the museum
Weaver Hall Museum is housed in the old Northwich Union Workhouse building, built from 1837-39. The workhouse provided a last refuge for the poor of mid-Cheshire, and the displays at the museum tell this story from the daily routine to the diet of the inmates. Visitors can explore the workhouse schoolroom, the Master’s sitting room and the Guardian’s Boardroom, where weekly meetings took place to make decisions about the care of the poor.
The workhouse closed in 1968 and about half of the structure was pulled down the following year. The famous author Robert Westall, a local resident, campaigned to save the building and so it survived to become Weaver Hall Museum in 1977.
The displays now explore the history of the workhouse, along with Northwich industries such as boatbuilding, chemicals and salt mining. There are also galleries exploring archaeology, transport and local history. These displays are spread through the rooms of the old workhouse and the stories are told through films, models and eye-catching artefacts.
Learning
The past comes to life at Weaver Hall Museum. Our experienced education team deliver an exciting range of workshops for schools through living history, storytelling, music, science experiments and crafts. New workshops for the new National Curriculum include Exploring the Bronze Age, and Comparing Pieter Bruegel and LS Lowry, and we still have our ever popular workshops for Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Great Fire of London, Victorian Workhouse Experience (local study), and Myths and Legends. Find out more about School Visits here.
We also offer presentations and tailored visits for adult groups for a fascinating and engaging trip. Find out more about Group Visits here.
In addition, there are opportunities to volunteer and develop your skills whilst supporting the work of the museum.
