Where: The Hat Works in Stockport is housed in Wellington Mill, a cotton-spinning factory built in 1830-31. The building, which became a hat works in the 1890s, is Grade II-listed.
What: The two-storey building is the UK’s only museum dedicated to the hatting industry, hats and headwear, and features a re-created hat factory with working Victorian-era machinery and a collection of hats from around the world. Katie Cavanagh, the team leader for collections and exhibitions, says: “There are three elements to the museum: the historic, which deals with millinery developing from a cottage industry to an industrialised one; the machinery, which demonstrates the engineering side; and the products – the hats on display.”
Opened: The museum opened in 2000. Prior to that, small displays of hatting equipment were exhibited in the nearby Stockport Museum, before being moved to the former Battersby’s hat factory in 1993.
Collection: The machinery floor contains more than 20 pieces of functioning Victorian hat- making machinery, including a Tangye steam-powered engine that drove the lathes and block- copying machines, though it is now powered with electricity. The first floor is dedicated to the origins of hatting and its transition from a small industry to a large industrialised one, while the second floor displays different hat styles and materials curated from a collection of more than 400 items. There is also a temporary exhibition space, where Hats Amazing is currently showing (until 19 March 2017). The staff ’s favourite objects form the basis of the show, which is curated by museum trainee Hannah Josey.
Highlights: “I love the machinery floor,” says Cavanagh, “and the way hatting transformed from being housed in two-up, two-down buildings called bow garrets, where the workers would complete all the processes in a little building in the back garden, to the huge industry it is now.”
Help at hand: “There are a 10 people working in the museum at any one time,” says Cavanagh.
Budget: The Hat Works is funded by Stockport Council. Admission is free, with guided tours costing £4.75 (£3.50 concessions) but nothing for children.
Sticky moment: “All the local authority cuts,” says Cavanagh. “We do get concerned that museums aren’t being seen as essential, but there’s never been any discussion of closures so we’ve been lucky with that.”
Survival tip: “We’re able to appeal to a broad range of people,” Cavanagh says. “We have the industrial element, which is interesting to some people, and then there’s the local historical element, which generates local support and interest. There are a lot of people whose research involves the hatting industry so we have a captive audience there too, as well as on the creative side with designers and makers using the collections for inspiration.”
Visitors: 19,515 in 2014-15.
Future plans: The museum has started offering courses in millinery. “We want to move towards becoming a centre of excellence for millinery in Britain,” says Cavanagh.
What: The two-storey building is the UK’s only museum dedicated to the hatting industry, hats and headwear, and features a re-created hat factory with working Victorian-era machinery and a collection of hats from around the world. Katie Cavanagh, the team leader for collections and exhibitions, says: “There are three elements to the museum: the historic, which deals with millinery developing from a cottage industry to an industrialised one; the machinery, which demonstrates the engineering side; and the products – the hats on display.”
Opened: The museum opened in 2000. Prior to that, small displays of hatting equipment were exhibited in the nearby Stockport Museum, before being moved to the former Battersby’s hat factory in 1993.
Collection: The machinery floor contains more than 20 pieces of functioning Victorian hat- making machinery, including a Tangye steam-powered engine that drove the lathes and block- copying machines, though it is now powered with electricity. The first floor is dedicated to the origins of hatting and its transition from a small industry to a large industrialised one, while the second floor displays different hat styles and materials curated from a collection of more than 400 items. There is also a temporary exhibition space, where Hats Amazing is currently showing (until 19 March 2017). The staff ’s favourite objects form the basis of the show, which is curated by museum trainee Hannah Josey.
Highlights: “I love the machinery floor,” says Cavanagh, “and the way hatting transformed from being housed in two-up, two-down buildings called bow garrets, where the workers would complete all the processes in a little building in the back garden, to the huge industry it is now.”
Help at hand: “There are a 10 people working in the museum at any one time,” says Cavanagh.
Budget: The Hat Works is funded by Stockport Council. Admission is free, with guided tours costing £4.75 (£3.50 concessions) but nothing for children.
Sticky moment: “All the local authority cuts,” says Cavanagh. “We do get concerned that museums aren’t being seen as essential, but there’s never been any discussion of closures so we’ve been lucky with that.”
Survival tip: “We’re able to appeal to a broad range of people,” Cavanagh says. “We have the industrial element, which is interesting to some people, and then there’s the local historical element, which generates local support and interest. There are a lot of people whose research involves the hatting industry so we have a captive audience there too, as well as on the creative side with designers and makers using the collections for inspiration.”
Visitors: 19,515 in 2014-15.
Future plans: The museum has started offering courses in millinery. “We want to move towards becoming a centre of excellence for millinery in Britain,” says Cavanagh.