Love The Smell of Leather?
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Recommendation added: 19/04/2006 16:50
By: dewberry (YSUK rating +816)dewberry has been thanked 2 times for this contribution
"At the start of the Easter holidays, we found ourselves in Walsall with a few hours to kill. I'd seen signs pointing to the Walsall Leather Museum so we decided to pop in and have a look around for something to do.
The museum itself is located in an old leatherworks factory which has been converted to house the displays, just outside Walsall Town Centre. Getting there by car is easy, simply head into Walsall along the M6 and get onto the main Ring Road. From here you can't go wrong as the museum is well sign posted. Using public transport you'll need to get a bus into the Town Centre and then embark on roughly a miles walk to reach the museum.
The first thing which hits you is the gorgeous smell of leather; this smell is apparent throughout your entire visit. Unlike Cadbury World, where you gradually get used to the smell of chocolate, Walsall Leather Museum just honks of... well… leather and you never get accustomed to it! I love it! The displays are really interesting, showing leatherworks through the years. They're well laid out and arranged in a good chronological order, making it easy to walk through and see at a glance what kind of thing is more likely to interest you.
A large part of the display area is dedicated to saddles which have been made in the area over the years. Included here are some saddles upon which Royal backsides have actually sat, as Walsall was once seen as the 'Leatherworking Capital of England' they were often called upon to craft beautiful saddles for both our Royal family and also visiting dignitaries from Europe. The examples on display here range from practicality personified to all the pomp required of a saddle for an English Kings parade around the country. All are beautifully and intricately worked, and all are very big which means this display requires a large area within the museum.
As you walk through the museum, you'll find out about the local Walsall leather trade as the displays are carefully arranged to tell visitors the story. Clearly printed timelines and maps of the area are placed at strategic points to give you more of an insight in how the leather goods were both made and transported around the country 100 years ago. There are some tatty looking displays, but don't forget these are historical artefacts and have been well used over the years so you can't really expect (or even want!) 'brand new', can you?
In all, it'll take you around an hour to get around all the collection and see all the artefacts. But then, my favourite part. On certain days there are live demonstrations, where you can watch trained leatherworkers as they make beautiful handbags and purses from scratch. I was transfixed by one such worker who was busy assembling and hand stitching the most gorgeous brown leather handbag I've ever seen. Visitors are encouraged to get as close to 'the action' as possible, although any questions should be directed at the various ushers walking around the demonstration area as the workers obviously need to concentrate properly on the item they're producing.
This is an interesting section of the museum and even my children, who had been totally disinterested by exquisitely produced Gladstone bags and 200 year old Reindeer leather, were enthralled by the deftness with which these demonstrators yielded their needle and thread.
Throughout the year, Walsall Leather Museum holds craft days where you can have a go at making your own leather item using one of their patterns. Unfortunately, this wasn't happening on the day of our visit but I'll definitely arrange my next one to coincide with one of these DIY workshops as I think it'd be a great experience for both adults and kids.
There's a great shop in the museum which sells quality leather items and also small souvenirs of your day out. I bought the leather bag which I mentioned earlier for the bargain (I think!) price of £14 and also a small leather money pouch for each of the children which cost £4 each. Also available are such items as magnets, pencils and postcards along with some lovely books dedicated to the history of both leatherwork and the town of Walsall itself.
The small Saddleroom Coffee Shop is lovely. Here you can sit and relax after your walk through the museum with a delicious cup of good quality coffee or tea. There's a menu available containing all sorts of fresh home made meals and cakes; I heartily recommend the Ploughman's Salad which consisted of fresh crusty bread, huge chunks of cheese, fresh and crispy salad, ham and a variety of pickles. I also had a side order of potato wedges which were slightly too greasy for my liking, but my partner and kids loved them. The home made Cheese & Bacon Quiche is delicious, as is the Coffee & Walnut Cake which we sampled after eating our meals.
Walsall Leather Museum is free to visit, which makes for ultimately a very cheap day out if you live locally to Walsall. The only real cost involved is parking as the museum doesn't have it's own car park so you need to leave your car in one of the many Pay & Display car parks around the area. Fee's range from 50p per hour (minimum of 2 hours needed) to £4 for a full days parking, there's a car park directly opposite the museum but this fills up pretty quickly so you might need to find a space in Walsall Town Centre.
The museum is open nearly every day of the year, including most Bank Holidays. The only days it closes are during the Christmas period (24th - 26th), New Years Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Mayday. So, go any day apart from these and fill your boots - leather ones, obviously.
Walsall Leather Museum
Littleton Street West
Walsall
WS2 8EQ
Tel: 01922 721153"
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