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The Trowbridge Museum you see today was opened in July 1990. However, the town’s historical collection began in November 1932 when Councillor HH Garlick donated his collection to the townspeople with a legacy to establish a town museum.

Councillor Garlick’s collection largely consists of pictures and prints connected to the history of Trowbridge and ranges from engravings and lithographs to a rare nineteenth century silk flag dedicated to Queen Caroline.

This relatively small though important collection was housed within the Town Hall for some forty years. It then moved to the Garlick Room within the Civic Hall.

The current collection within Trowbridge Museum has expanded quite considerably from its 1932 origins and now contains around 15,000 objects and some 5,000 photographs. Some of the collection has to be housed in a special store room where it is carefully monitored. The museum does offer a reproduction service for its photographic collection.

Woollen cloth was how the town developed and the museum’s comprehensive displays chart the history of this industry. They range from an extremely rare eighteenth century Spinning Jenny (which was used to spin yarn) to a reconstruction of a weaver’s cottage complete with a handloom. What is unique to Trowbridge Museum is that its looms still work and the smaller Hattersley loom is operated on most Saturdays. Items made on the looms are sold in the museum shop.

Although cloth production helped Trowbridge to transform and develop many other manufacturers and retailers also contributed to the town’s growth. Taylors, a draper’s shop used to give customers their change in the form of shirt buttons. It has now been reconstructed just as it was in the late 1940s and is on display in its entirety. There is also material relating to Ushers Brewery. Ushers was founded in 1824 when Thomas Usher acquired a small brewery in Back Street. The Brewery Tap as it became known steadily grew and all drinking was carefully supervised by Thomas’s wife Hannah! Sadly Ushers brewed its last on the 16th August 2000. However, the Head Brewer invited museum staff into the brewery to collect objects so that this fascinating part of Trowbridge’s history could be preserved for future generations.

Hadens, the international engineering firm was founded in Trowbridge and many former employees of the firm come to view the museum’s engineering collection. It was this company who installed the central heating system in Windsor Castle.

Trowbridge was the birthplace of the world renowned inventor of shorthand Sir Isaac Pitman. As well as a display about the great man the museum has produced a book about his life in the town and a trail of local sites relating to him. The poet George Crabbe, whose work was much admired by Jane Austen and Lord Byron, was the Rector of St James Church Trowbridge for some 18 years. His fine collection of fossils can be seen in the museum.

There is a programme of temporary exhibitions, these have ranged from ‘Into the Unknown…the world of witches and wizards, magic and myths’, which was opened by Terry Pratchett, to ‘Bowyers, Beyond Bangers and Pies’, a history of Trowbridge’s last town centre manufacturer before its closure to the work of contemporary textile artists as part of the Town’s annual Textile and Weaving Festival. A variety of family activities are organized for the school holidays and a thriving Education Service meets the needs of schools and specialist groups from as far afield as Berkshire and London.

Check out the fiendish museum mice! If you can find them all you get a certificate. If you’re short of time give the mini-mouse hunt a try.

Trowbridge Museum staff and volunteers look forward to welcoming you soon.

Our opening times are Tuesday to Saturday 10-4.00 and Saturdays 10-4.30. Admission is free.

Website: www.trowbridgemuseum.co.uk and www.trowbridgehistory.co.uk