Get hands on and discover some of the things used by people who made cloth in Stroud in the past. A chance to look closely, touch and hold some amazing objects to find out about the different jobs that people did including shearing sheep, weaving, and dyeing the cloth to explore more the people who worked in this industry in the past. 

Drop in between 11am and 3pm. Free, donations welcome. Family friendly. 

If you are a teacher looking for resources relating to this topic, please see our Learning Resources and Facilitated School Visits.

Be inspired by the history of making cloth in Stroud and try weaving with paper. Learn the basics of weaving and create your own colourful design to take home with you.

Designed for families with children over 5 years old to join in together.

Drop in between 11am and 3pm. £1 per child. Please pay on the day.

Try your hand at weaving, watch a spinning wheel in action, and plan your Open Mill Day visits to learn more about our local textile heritage. Free, family friendly drop-in activities with Gaynor Veal from Stroudwater Textile Trust. All ages welcome.

For more information about when you an visit local mills and the work of Stroudwater Textile Trust please visit their website.

This talk is part of the At The Margins exhibition programme. Join Morwena Stephens, Textiles & World Costume Conservator, to examine the use of wool tradecloth in creations by indigenous makers from around the world, especially North America, Polynesia and Asia. The presentation identifies examples in Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum World Cultures collection where the selvedge has been incorporated as part of the design of the garment, in sacred, decorative and functional objects, as well as how the tradecloth has been used.

Free but booking recommended.

Book online or call 01453 763394.

Image: Detail from the ‘View of Wallbridge’ painting on display at The Museum in the Park (c. 1790), showing locally produced and finished wool cloth drying in the fields near Stroud town.

Dr Lucy Gundry is a curator, lecturer and researcher living in Somerset. In this talk, Gundry invites the audience to take a step back in time and into someone else’s shoes. To metaphorically dress up in items of clothing from At the Margins exhibition. This will not be a physical act but an imaginative one. By ‘imaginatively inhabiting’ a past life through examining the ‘worn’ and ‘unworn characteristics’ (Gundry 2020) in dress exhibits we can glimpse into how lives were worn out through clothes. What might it have felt like to be the wearer of these items or indeed to wear these items out in the world today?

Free but booking recommended as places are limited.

Book online or call 01453 763394.

This talk will be followed by Dr Jo Turney’s talk ‘In the Wrong Clothes’ at 3pm, with a break for tea and coffee in between.

Image: TP-W 1 - NF.2000-0559 Women’s folk dress (open front detail) T.Parry-Williams © Norsk Folkemuseet

Part of the At The Margins exhibition programme, this talk will focus on the ways in which identity is formed, established, attributed and manifested through textiles and dress objects and practices. It will centre on the personal, the political, the geographical, and the social, addressing issues that articulate notions of belonging and alienation, whether we stand out or fit in. Underpinning this argument, and drawing from the themes of this exhibition, the discussion will consider those considered 'outside' of society, such as the residents of the workhouse at Prindsen, whilst also considering those for whom identity is constructed through national identity and collective belonging. 

Free but booking recommended as places are limited.

Book online or call 01453 763394.

Image: Prinds Christian Augusts Minde exterior © Fin Serck-Hanssen

Explore and discover the hidden history of Stratford Park with our NEW free outdoor heritage trail. Families with children of all ages are invited to come along and enjoy finding out about the story of this special place. And if indoor exploring is more your thing, choose from one of our fabulous museum trails. We look forward to seeing you!

Part of the Safer Stroud Community Event in Stratford Park.

With Tim Parry-Williams, Professor of Art: Textiles, Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design, University of Bergen and Kari-Anne Pedersen, Curator of Textiles and Dress (Retired), Norsk Folkemuseum.

Emerging from the research project Beyond Heritage: Material Making Meaning, this session will explore the apparent use of imported British woollen cloth in pre-1900 Norwegian raudtrøyer folk dress. Whilst ornamental detailing and colour shaped identity within Norwegian Romantic Nationalism, they also point to a largely unknown global movement of materials. Unfolding tantalising links to the textile histories of Stroud, the session will reveal how local cloth making traditions and trade may have influenced the distinct visual language of this Scandinavian dress culture. 

Free but booking recommended.

Book online or call 01453 763394.

Image: TP-W 2 - NF.1992-1581 Women’s folk dress (inside-outside detail) T.Parry-Williams © Norsk Folkemuseet

An al fresco farce for all the family!

When fashionable 18th century London society comes to take the waters in the spa-town of Bath, comic confusion, daring duels and romantic entanglements abound. At the centre of it all is heiress Lydia Languish, who is determined to elope with the penniless Ensign Beverly rather than marry the eligible Jack Absolute.

Come and sample the sparkling wit and whirlwind plot of ‘The Rivals’, a Restoration Comedy which has delighted audiences for over 250 years with its collection of comic characters, including the formidable Mrs Malaprop, a creation so famous for the way she mangles the English language that her name is now immortalised in the dictionary.

This brand new adaptation combines Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s masterpiece with Rain or Shine’s fast and furious comic flair.

Outdoor performance in the Walled Garden. Please bring rugs or camping chairs to sit on and warm layers and clothing to suit the weather. Gates open at 5pm for picnics. Teas, coffees and ice creams available to buy from the Museum’s foyer café.

Tickets £16 / £8 children aged 5 to 15 (booking fees apply)

Book online if you possibly can, if not call us on 01453 763394

Join Liz Taylor, Volunteer Facilitator and Embroiderer at Fine Cell Work, to hear about the work of this ground-breaking UK charity. Established in 1997, it focuses on rehabilitation through stitch. The mission is to enable people in prisons to redefine themselves through the power of creativity and craftsmanship. Through high-quality, paid needlework projects, Fine Cell Work provides incarcerated individuals a chance to build new identities—offering not only skills and income, but a renewed sense of purpose and hope for the future.

This talk is part of the At The Margins exhibition programme. It will be followed at 3pm by a talk (live online) with Jessica Hemmings, Professor, HDK-Valand, Academy of Art and Design, University of Gothenburg.

 Free but booking recommended. Book online or call 01453 763394.

“Breakin rocks in the hot sun... I fought the law and the law won”, the opening lines of Sonny Curtis’ 1958 hit song, epitomize the hard manual labour historically associated with incarceration. But softer forms of penal labour also occur inside prisons. When undertaken in contexts of such sensory extremes, carceral craft has the potential to act as a tool of further oppression, or offer an outlet for expression. Through colonial and contemporary examples such as needlework in South African prisons and batik production in Indonesia, this lecture attempts to offer a reminder of the fundamental ambiguity that underpins the labour of textile craft.

A live online zoom talk with Professor Jessica Hemmings, HDK-Valand, Academy of Art and Design, University of Gothenburg. Join us in person at The Museum in the Park, or join the session online from your own home.

Booking required - book online or call 01453 763394.

Image: Prinds Christian Augusts Minde exterior © Fin Serck-Hanssen

Explore the history of former workhouse Prindsen, Oslo, through two very different perspectives. This session offers moving and thought provoking insights into workhouse history, and how contemporary artists respond to this history with compassion and respect.

Part of the At The Margins exhibition programme. There will be a break with tea and coffee provided.

Session 1: ‘The Norwegian workhouse Prindsen: history from an inmate’s perspective’ with Caroline Juterud, Historian, Oslo City Archives

The history of the workhouse Prindsen located in Oslo, Norway, is complex and powerful. In this talk historian Caroline Juterud will explore the space between the formal and legal part of Prindsens history and the practical daily life of the inmates of this institution. Juterud is a historian at the Oslo City Archives, where she works as a photo and video archivist. Her Master’s degree thesis was based on research into the poor relief system in Oslo in the mid-19th century and she has published widely on the history of the Prindsen workhouse. She has conducted extensive work cataloguing the institution’s archive.

Session 2: ‘Prindsen - Approaching a workhouse history through weaving’ with Dr Franz Petter Schmidt, Prof. Oslo National Academy of the Arts

In this talk textile artist Franz Petter Schmidt will explore the varying degrees of connection with the history of the workhouse which has been ongoing negotiation and unfolding since he first began working with the history of the weaving workshop at Prindsen nearly ten years ago. His entry point is a search for resonance between the workshop and aspects of his own story, as a weaver and tailor, but also in relation to mental health and queer perspectives. Schmidt is a textile artist, a men’s tailor and a weaver. For 20 years, he has worked with the archives and the historic production facilities at Sjølingstad Woollen Mill in Lindesnes and Prindsen workhouse in Oslo as his main sources. 

Free but booking recommended. Book online or call 01453 763394.

Image: Prinds Christian Augusts Minde exterior © Fin Serck-Hanssen

Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour – just three of the six wives of Henry VIII. But behind every Tudor Queen were her ladies-in-waiting.

They were her confidantes and her chaperones. They had the right to enter her most private chambers, dressing and undressing her and listening to her secrets. But they had unique power too – and political agency.

In her book ‘The Waiting Game: The Untold Story of the Women Who Served the Tudor Queens’ lecturer and author Dr Nicola Clark explores their daily lives and why they had to make choices about loyalty that simply didn’t exist before.

Nicola will be sharing some of the stories of these remarkable women when she joins Jo Durrant in conversation. Dr Nicola Clark is a Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of Chichester and writes about women in the Tudor period. Her first book, Gender, Family, and Politics: The Howard Women, 1485-1558, was published by Oxford University Press in 2018. She also writes for public audiences, with work featured in History Today and History Extra, and has appeared on television as part of the BBC's The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family, and More4's Royal Scandals. 

This event is part of Jo Durrant’s ‘Our Beautiful Universe’ series and takes place in the Pavilion in the Museum's beautiful Walled Garden. Tea and coffee included and there will be a chance to ask questions or share ideas after the talk if you so wish. 

Tickets £7 / £5 including tea and coffee. Museum Members can bring a guest for free - look out for our ‘2 for 1’ ticket offer. Book online or call 01453 763394.

Fancy a whistle stop history tour, taking in all the big moments from the Romans to the two World Wars? But featuring individuals you might not have met before?

Award-winning history teacher, writer and historian Shalina Patel is the creator of the sensational Instagram account @thehistorycorridor, which posts bite sized history lessons. In her book ‘The History Lessons’ she invites you to reclaim your history education, by celebrating stories and people that are less familiar but no less fascinating.

Shalina Patel has over 15 years of experience in the classroom and is Head of Teaching and Learning at Claremont High School Academy in London. In 2018 she won the Silver Pearson Teaching Award for Outstanding Teacher of the Year. She has been featured in publications from the Guardian to The Times and on programmes like BBC Woman’s Hour, BBC’s Teach Me a Lesson and Newscast. Shalina’s first book ‘The History Lessons’ was released in May 2024 and was heralded by the Guardian as aiming to ‘show adults their historical blind spots’ by ‘highlighting stories traditionally left out of the textbooks.

Tickets £7 / £5 including tea and coffee. Museum Members can bring a guest for free - look out for our ‘2 for 1’ ticket offer. Book online or call 01453 763394.

Join Mikron on their latest musical adventure to the Great British Seaside! 

Wouldn’t you trade anything for a trip to the beach? A centuries old tradition, full to the brim with nostalgia and escapism! But as history ticks on, some places get left behind…

When Holly arrives in the quaint seaside town of Fiddling-On-Sea, she expects a quiet break from the din of the big city. However, she soon finds herself plunged into a whole new world of coastal chaos. ‘Fiddling-On-Sea’s Best Beach Hut Competition’ is in full swing, and the summer heat is rising…

As the competition deadline draws closer, the deep history of the seaside floats to the surface, washing up a host of characters and stories from centuries gone by. It doesn’t take Holly long to realise there is far more at stake than just a prize for best beach hut.

Outdoor performance in the Walled Garden. Please bring rugs or chairs to sit on and clothing to suit the weather. Gates open at 6.30pm for picnics.

Tickets £16 (£14 concs), family ticket £45. Book online or call 01453 763394.

From the fabulous company who brought you The Little Mermaid, Hercules, Beauty and the Beast and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the classic fairytale of magic, true love and custom-made shoes is brought to life in this brand new show for all ages.

Embark on the most magical adventure as Cinderella comes to the Museum in the Park’s Walled Garden this Summer. Expect magic, madness and plenty of silliness for all the family to enjoy!

There will be two outdoor performances in the Walled Garden, starting at 1pm and 4.30pm, gates open at 12.30pm and 4pm. Booking required.

Please bring rugs or picnic chairs to sit on and clothing to suit the weather - sunhats and suncream, or warm layers and waterproofs! Refreshments and ice creams on sale in the Museum’s foyer café.

Tickets £13, £11, family ticket £44 - for full details and to book online click here

‘As You Like It’ is probably Shakespeare’s most entrancing romantic comedy. Rosalind, the daughter of a displaced Duke, is banished from the court by her Father’s brother. Along with her cousin Celia, she escapes to the Forest of Arden and disguises herself as a man. She teases Orlando, a young man, who does not recognise her as the girl he loved at a distance. The pastoral world of the Forest is inhabited with a colourful array of folk, looking for love, and woven into this delightful tale, full of comedy and music.

An outdoor performance in the Museum’s beautiful Walled Garden. Please bring warm layers and weather-appropriate clothing, and rugs or low-backed camping chairs to sit on. Gates open at 6pm for picnics, show starts at 7pm.

Advance booking highly recommended to secure your tickets!

Tickets £16, Concs & children (5 - 17 year olds) £15 (under 5s free)

Book online or call 01453 763394

She’s one of England’s most famous monarchs, but queenship was by no means certain for Elizabeth I. Before she was three years old she had been a princess and then declared illegitimate following the brutal execution of her mother, Anne Boleyn. Many dangers and tragedies plagued her early life and by the time she did succeed to the throne in November 1558, she’d experienced more drama than most at the age of just 25.

Dr Nicola Tallis explores all of this turbulence and more in her book ‘Young Elizabeth’. Nicola is a historian and author who has also written about the lives of Lady Jane Grey and Margaret Beaufort. She joins Jo Durrant to talk about the longest reigning Tudor and some other incredible women from history.

Dr Nicola Tallis is an independent author and historian, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She has worked as a curator, researcher, and lecturer, and specialises in the use of jewels in late medieval and Tudor England. Nicola has spoken at many prestigious events and venues including the Emirates Festival of Literature, the Tower of London, Hampton Court, and the National Archives. She has made numerous television and radio appearances, including on BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are?, Channel 5’s The Vikings and The Gunpowder Plot, and Channel 4’s Frankie Boyle’s Farewell to the Monarchy. Nicola is the author of five books, and her latest, Young Elizabeth: Princess. Prisoner. Queen. was Book of the Week in The Times.

This event is part of Jo Durrant’s ‘Our Beautiful Universe’ series and takes place in the Pavilion in the Museum's beautiful Walled Garden. Tea and coffee included and there will be a chance to ask questions or share ideas after the talk if you so wish. 

Tickets £7 / £5 including tea and coffee. Museum Members can bring a guest for free - look out for our ‘2 for 1’ ticket offer. Book online or call 01453 763394.

Jenny Wren Productions presents Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Treasure Island’, adapted by Matthew Bassington and Aidan Mosby …

Looking for adventure? Join Jenny Wren Productions as we sail the seven seas in search of buried treasure! There’s never a dull moment on board ship – the grog flows, we love a sea shanty, and Long John Silver and his parrot are always game for a laugh.

But it won’t all be plain sailing as murder and mutiny abound, not to mention the dreaded “Black Spot”; surrounded by all those brawling buccaneers, who can you trust?

Anchors away as our small but perfectly capable crew take you on a journey to Treasure Island.

In the open-air in the Walled Garden – please bring a chair or blanket to sit on. Suitable for older children as well as adults. Show starts at 6pm, grounds open at 5pm for picnics.

Booking details to follow soon!

It’s a subject many of us love to talk about – the weather! But how do forecasters make their predictions? And what role do mathematical equations play in forecasting models?

Dee Atkins-Greig is a maths and meteorology tutor and a certified coach. Her early meteorological career was as a forecaster with the Royal Navy before she later became a weather presenter for BBC South on TV and local radio.

Dee joins interviewer Jo Durrant to share her passion for this subject, discussing everything from how storms are named to what constitutes a heatwave, and her favourite clouds. Plus, she’ll reveal some of the behind-the-scenes secrets of TV weather presenting.

Dee is a maths tutor, meteorology enthusiast, and ICF-trained coach. She began her career as a Royal Navy forecaster before moving into BBC local TV and radio as a weather presenter. She later became an instructor at the Met Office College and was partly responsible for the training of Tom Schafernaker and Chris Fawkes among other BBC weather presenters. After retraining as a secondary maths teacher and a short stint as a classroom teacher, Dee moved to Warsash Maritime Academy where she taught GCSE level maths and meteorology to Merchant Navy deck cadets. Now, as a dedicated maths and meteorology tutor, Dee helps students build confidence and develop independent learning skills. 

She is passionate about weather and clouds and is on a one woman mission to educate the world on how to get the best from their weather app!

This event is part of Jo Durrant’s ‘Our Beautiful Universe’ series and takes place in the Pavilion in the Museum's beautiful Walled Garden. Tea and coffee included and there will be a chance to ask questions or share ideas after the talk if you so wish. 

Tickets £7 / £5 including tea and coffee. Museum Members can bring a guest for free - look out for our ‘2 for 1’ ticket offer. Book online or call 01453 763394.