History of the museum

Weaver Hall Museum is housed in the old Northwich Union Workhouse building, built from 1837-39. The workhouse provided a last refuge for the poor of mid-Cheshire, and the displays at the museum tell this story from the daily routine to the diet of the inmates. Visitors can explore the workhouse schoolroom, the Master’s sitting room and the Guardian’s Boardroom, where weekly meetings took place to make decisions about the care of the poor.

The workhouse closed in 1968 and about half of the structure was pulled down the following year. The famous author Robert Westall, a local resident, campaigned to save the building and so it survived to become Weaver Hall Museum in 1977.

The displays now explore the history of the workhouse, along with Northwich industries such as boatbuilding, chemicals and salt mining. There are also galleries exploring archaeology, transport and local history. These displays are spread through the rooms of the old workhouse and the stories are told through films, models and eye-catching artefacts.