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Woolpit Museum

 

Woolpit Museum

The Woolpit and District Museum is on the upper floor of this early 16th century cottage. The entrance is via the Woolpit Institute.

In the mid 1980s Woolpit History Group started field-walking throughout the parish. After several years three Roman sites and eight Medieval sites had been found and confirmed. In 1983 the Parish Council asked if it would be feasible to display the group’s findings and a store-room on the upper floor of the Woolpit Institute was made available. Thus the Woolpit and District Museum was begun.

 

Opening times for 2025

The museum is open every Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday from April until the end of October, 2pm to 4.30pm. We are also open every Wednesday in August from 1pm to 3.30pm. Admission is free.

Our first opening in 2025 is Saturday 5th April.

Please note that we are now staying open until the end of October. We are also happy to open at other times by appointment. Email enquiries@woolpitmuseum.org.uk for more information.

 

Displays

We are retaining our display of photographs of the village, mostly from the 1920s, but have added a few extras to show more of the trades and businesses which flourished here at that time. We are also retaining the display of artefacts discovered locally by field walkers in the 1980s but have added some discoveries made recently by metal detectorists.

 

   The roof trusses inside the museum

museum roof

 

 

The brickworks display continues to fascinate visitors, and we are currently cleaning and refreshing the brickworks model.

 

Model of brickworks

Model of Brickworks

 

 Our other permanent display, the Victorian Kitchen, also prompts a lot of interest. This includes two teapots specially produced in 1997 to celebrate the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria and sold by local grocers Mason and Co. as well an old kitchen range and various contemporary utensils.

2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the ending of World War Two and so we will be displaying biographies of the six local men who were killed in the conflict alongside the original war memorial board now permanently housed in the museum. Also new for this year is a print currently being prepared by local artist Leo Wager showing the Green Children of Woolpit. Many visitors are fascinated by this legend, and we are delighted to be able to add this print to our display about them.
We also have a small ‘shop’, and this now includes souvenirs such as coasters, place mats, key rings, fridge magnets, pens and rulers, all showing the centre of the village and designed by the late Anne Wilding who was a great supporter of the museum. We also have a range of booklets about Woolpit, postcards and an updated village centre walk leaflet.