Colne Valley Museum
.JPG) Colne Valley Museum, Golcar | |
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| Established | 1887 |
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| Location | Cliffe Ash, Golcar, Huddersfield, HD7 4PY |
| Type | Textile, Crafts |
| Website | www.colnevalleymuseum.org.uk |
The Colne Valley Museum is located within the Colne Valley at Golcar, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. The museum consists of three converted 19th century weavers' cottages. The museum provides an insight into what life was like for a weaver in the early 1850s. The museum includes a clog maker's workshop, a handloom chamber, a spinning room, a cropping room, kitchen and living rooms. The museum is run entirely by voluntary members.[1]
History
The original row of four cottages was built in the 1840s by James and Sally Pearson, who were independent cloth manufacturers. It was built into a steep hillside with a traditional entrance for the lower rooms and a separate entrance to the upper floor at the rear of the cottages. In 1970, three of the cottages were converted to house the museum. They named the cottages 'Spring Rock'.
The museum features several restored period rooms which are also used for temporary exhibits. Permanent exhibits include a handloom and a spinning jenny, invented by James Hargreaves, a weaver's sitting room and 'gas-lit' clogger's shop.
The museum is open for school visits, for which the children are encouraged to dress in period clothing, from Monday to Friday. On some weekends, the museum opens for demonstrations and exhibitions by the volunteer helpers, who demonstrate the types of crafts that would have existed during the 19th century.