Hat Works

About the museum

Hat Works is housed in Wellington Mill in Stockport, a cotton mill built in 1828 that later became a hat factory, a bicycle factory, a snooker hall and a bike shop. In 1895 the Ward family business, Ward Bros, bought the mill and continued its hatting and outfitting trade there. The building fell into disrepair, and in the mid-1990s a development grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund helped to bring it back into use as a mixed scheme of apartments and the museum.

The museum tells the story of fur felt hat-making, which concentrated around Stockport from the 17th century and grew into a large and prosperous trade in the late 19th century. The ground floor introduces the craft and its mechanisation, including a recreated hatter's cottage where visitors can walk through the back kitchen of a late 19th-century terraced house. Displays also cover hat block making and local businesses such as a Stockport haberdashery.

The newer Gallery of Hats presents hats from around the world and invites visitors to look at the colours, shapes and materials of headwear and what hats say about their wearers. Guided tours on selected days lead through the factory floor, where hatting machinery is explained. The council-run museum, described as the only museum in the UK devoted to hats and hatting, shares the mill with the arts and wellbeing charity Arc, which runs the museum cafe and its own exhibitions.

Highlights

• Gallery of Hats with headwear from many countries
• Factory floor with hatting machinery, shown on guided tours
• Recreated late 19th-century hatter's cottage
• Displays on hat block making and the Stockport hatting trade
• Try-on opportunities for visitors of all ages

Permanent exhibitions

• Gallery of Hats – Hats from many parts of the world, shown for their colours, shapes, materials and what they say about the people who wear them.
• The hatting industry – The ground floor explains fur felt hat-making and its mechanisation, with a recreated hatter's cottage.

Founded

2000

Operated by

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

General admission is free. It does not include a guided tour, which must be booked separately. Group and private tours can be arranged with the bookings team.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: not available
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum is on the lower floors of the mill and can be reached by lift or by two flights of stairs. The lift has braille or raised numbers and audio announcements; its doors are 89 cm wide and the car measures 137 cm deep by 132 cm wide. The factory floor has a hard, uneven surface. There is no parking and no designated accessible drop-off point at the museum. Information is given through spoken word, tours, printed text, large images and silent film, and films with speech are subtitled. Touch-screen buttons are large and high-contrast. Ear defenders for adults and children and a quiet space are available. An AccessAble guide can be downloaded.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Hands-on stations

The museum describes things to see, do and try on for all ages. Children aged 8 and over are welcome on the factory floor tour.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop

The Hat Works Cafe is run by the wellbeing charity Arc and serves soups, sandwiches, snacks and cream teas. The refurbished museum shop sells hats, books on millinery and fashion and gifts, and there is also an online shop.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit