Walsall Leather Museum
Latest Reviews
We spent a very enjoyable couple of hours here. Whether you have an interest in our industrial past or not it is still a great place visit. The staff are very helpful and it's worth taking the time to listen to the talks/demonstrations. There is a payable car park opposite is you are travelling by car.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
Took the kids so that they learn about the history of where we live, and we all really enjoyed it and learned a lot
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
We filled a rainy Saturday afternoon perfectly with a visit to this museum. The leather industry is a part of Black Country industrial history that I knew very little about so that I was able to fill in knowledge gaps and learnt a lot about the leather trade. We were offered a free guided tour (entrance is free too) and ended up with a personal tour with an engaged and knowledgeable guide who really made an effort to answer our questions. The tour finished with a demonstration of leather working. The café has good reasonably priced simple meals and the shop goes beyond being a generic gift shop with locally made leather products. Truly excellent and my advice is go there - you literally have nothing to lose!
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
We went to the Leather Muséum in january and it was just very nice ! We work in the leather industry in France so it was interesting to see how it is in the UK!
All people there were very welcoming and helpful, Beautiful objects and a great store (Especially books and leather articles)
Thank you very much to all the volunteers!
Best regards from France!
All people there were very welcoming and helpful, Beautiful objects and a great store (Especially books and leather articles)
Thank you very much to all the volunteers!
Best regards from France!
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
My husband and I visited the leather Museum on Easter Monday. We were very lucky as the car park next to the museum was free but only costs normally £3 for the day and the museum was open. It's normally closed on a Monday. We had a fab time. There was a wonderful atmosphere with many activities for young children. The staff were very chatty and helpful and answered many local questions. I watched a show in the foyer on Frankenstein's new invention. A 3 minute show that was very well done. So thanks for that. I also made a leather book mark for 50 p and a free key ring to remind me of my visit. I recommend this especially if the weather isn't the best. The cafe looked good and the prices not expensive but we didn't stop and use. Lovely clean toilets. I learnt lots about the leather industry and now appreciate the products that are made as works of art. Thanks to the staff and council for this free event.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
took the grandchildren here on Easter Monday, the Easter Magician and puppet show were an added bonus to this little museum which in itself was steeped in local history.
Free admission an added bonus.
Free admission an added bonus.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
Fantastic food and ambience. It was packed so this is a testament to the quality of the food and the staff that work here. Will definitely come again. The Leather Museum is fantastic.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
Really interesting museum - never knew of the history of leather in Walsall. Speaking to a retired leather worker was fascinating to hear the process of how saddles were made.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
this is a place that tells the storey of the working of the one of the main industries of the town for avery long time there is still some of the industry left in the town but not a lot the museum its self is an old leather factory
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
Someone (actually, it was author Tim Moore) once said that some of the best museums in the country are the ones with the least prepossessing names. Walsall Leather Museum certainly is in that category. Well worth a visit, as it is a fascinating glimpse into the history of the town.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
The children not keen to go but quickly got absorbed and the friendly and knowledgeable staff kept them engaged. Worth a visit for all ages.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
It was absolutely fascinating to learn about Walsall's history of leather-making. The staff were very friendly and informative. We were lucky enough to have a talk from local leather craftsman, Keith Parker, who told us about the machines used for stitching and splitting, and showed us various examples of leather produced from different animal skins including ostrich, crocodile and ray! We also looked at his work and were particularly impressed by the hat box he made which contains around 6,000 stitches!
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
My 9 year old really wanted to have a look round, the last time I visited was 20 years ago. Went on Friday as he had teacher training, had a lovely walk round, free to get in, there was a school in at the same time but this did not cause us any issues. If you have an hour to spare and interested in local history well worth a visit.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
I went on the weekend (Saturday) Its was really interesting and a really fascinating collection. I would highly recommend this place to anyone interested in local history and craftsmanship! The volunteers are also very helpful, they explained all different types of leather; how it was used in history and how it is still used today. There is also a lovely little cafe and a large carpark just over the road. Also the shop sold lots of great leather work from top makers.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
Visited on a Saturday. Entry was free and there where a few volunteer staff (some still working in the leather industry) on hand to talk us through the tanning process and tools used in the trade. To take everything I would allow at least an hour.. maybe two if you decide to visit the cafe on site! For a small fee you can make a keyring which would appeal to younger visitors and the large carpark opposite the museum is very reasonably priced.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
This is a little known museum in the centre of Walsall.
It is a few minutes walk from the station and town centre. Ideal for senior citizens who can use their bus passes. The museum is free to enter. We had an excellent tour with Ian as our guide who has worked there for 20 years and is also an author of local history books. The whole museum was extremely interesting but on a Friday they have two past workers, Wendy and Paul telling you all about their experiences having worked in the leather industry for over 40 years.
It is a few minutes walk from the station and town centre. Ideal for senior citizens who can use their bus passes. The museum is free to enter. We had an excellent tour with Ian as our guide who has worked there for 20 years and is also an author of local history books. The whole museum was extremely interesting but on a Friday they have two past workers, Wendy and Paul telling you all about their experiences having worked in the leather industry for over 40 years.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
Our year 1 classes had a great time taking part in the Shoe Maker and the Elves workshop. They loved creating their slippers and really enjoyed making a key ring each and the dog collars. Exceptional value for money!
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
Very informative place to visit to get all the background on the history of leather working in Walsall.
Children can get hands on with making small leather items.
Good clean and tidy facilities ,makes a welcome change to some other places visited in the past.
Well done Walsall keep up the good work, we will visit again later in the year so we can sit out in the garden with a cup of tea etc.
Children can get hands on with making small leather items.
Good clean and tidy facilities ,makes a welcome change to some other places visited in the past.
Well done Walsall keep up the good work, we will visit again later in the year so we can sit out in the garden with a cup of tea etc.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
I visited in February half term with my 2 youngest grandchildren, my friend and her cousin's daughter and we had a fabulous day. There were activities for the children to do and they were fully occupied. Today I returned with my husband, sister and brother-in-law. We really enjoyed it. Very interesting and informative. The staff were friendly and helpful on both occasions. In February we used the cafe which is lovely. A good range of food and drinks are available. Food was served hot and we didn't have to wait long for it.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
Well presented, interesting for adults and young children very friendly staff and excellent facilities and all free! Amazing! Highly recommended
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
Really great place to visit ... We very very impressed and thought the staff were very knowledgeable.. Quite a bit to see ... Will be going back to spend a bit more time there ... Also surprised to find it wasfree...
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
I went with a group of friends from U3A. We had a very interesting tour of the museum with one of the volunteers, Ian, who was informative and entertaining. Then we met 2 retired leatherworkers, Wendy and Paul, who gave us an idea on what it was like to work with leather from cutting out to finishing. They were enthusiastic and proud to have been part of the long tradition of leatherwork in Walsall. Everyone answered our many questions with patience and I came away wondering why most of us had never visited the museum before. It needs as much support as possible to continue educating visitors and schoolchildren. MT, Solihull
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
After driving past for a few years finally made the time to go in and have a look we found it to be a fascinating place, lovely staff, very informative, enjoyed our visit and will be returning soon
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
My wife and I visited the museum on Friday 26th February 2016, with a group of friends, traveling there by train from Solihull. We had a tour guide called Ian, who was extremely informative on the history of leather making, and we enjoyed the tour immensely. The highlight, at the end of our tour, was meeting two retired workers in the leather industry,Paul and Wendy, who talked to us about their 45 year careers working in Walsall. It was great being able to ask questions and get answers from two people with all that practical experience of working with leather. The tour lasted about 11/2 hours, which included about a 20 minute talk and demonstration from Paul and Wendy.
The tour was free and I commend Walsall Council for supporting the museum.
We had a very good value lunch after our tour in their café.
The tour was free and I commend Walsall Council for supporting the museum.
We had a very good value lunch after our tour in their café.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
By arrangement we had coffee/tea on arrival in the meeting room where we were able to leave our personal belongings whilst having a tour lasting about 1.5hours. The tour guide was knowledgeable and amusing. In addition we were entertained by 2 volunteers who, between them, had more than 90 years experience in the leather industry: in their workroom we were each able to make a small embossed souvenir to take away. We then had a very pleasant and inexpensive lunch in the meeting room. The whole experience was interesting, educative and enjoyable.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
