The Radstock, Midsomer Norton and District Museum Society was founded in 1985 to preserve the social and industrial heritage of the communities of the Somerset Coalfield.
The first issue of ‘Five Arches’, the Journal of the Society, appeared in 1986. The Society’s Collection was first put on permanent display at Barton Meade, Haydon, in 1989.
In 1996 the old Radstock Market Hall was acquired and three years later, on 10th July 1999, Radstock Museum opened its doors and became the new home of The Society’s Collection. Run by a team of dedicated volunteers who have searched history books, archives and memories of local people, the Museum has been described as the jewel in the West Country’s crown.
Radstock Museum celebrates the lifestyle of the typical Somerset coalminer. The Museum illustrates not only the home life of the mining families, but also the vibrant social, commercial and industrial structure of the past two hundred years.
Dedicated areas demonstrate the coalface and the miner’s hard, dangerous working conditions. Shop at the Co-op as his wife did over 70 years ago, relive the trepidation felt by his children in the strict Victorian Board School, see how the community life centred round the twin pleasures of the church and the pub. His sporting activities focussed on football, quoits and pigeon-racing – all well documented within the Museum. The Friendly Societies formed the safety net for the mining community in times of need and pit disasters.
The Great Western Railway and the Somerset & Dorset Railway, which superseded the Somersetshire Coal Canal, impacted greatly on the community, with Radstock/GWR Station adjacent to the Market Hall.
Local enterprise depicted includes the Blacksmith’s Forge and, new for 2010, a Victorian Printing Office complete with 1856 Albion Press and composing area. Besides the collieries, other local employers in the town were boot and shoe manufacturers, brewers, printers, foundries and agriculture; all of these are represented within the Museum. The last of the Somerset collieries, Kilmersdon and Writhlington, closed in 1973.
Memories and physical reminders live on – purchase one of the local walking books from the shop and explore the local area.
Learn more about Radstock, the people and the surrounding areas by subscribing to “Five Arches” the Museum’s own periodical publication.
