Ruddington Village Museum

About the museum

Ruddington Village Museum opened in 1968 to show the collection that its founder, Dorothy Shrimpton, had built up over about ten years. The first home was a wing of The Hermitage, a building owned by St Peter's Church. The space was small, and in the late 1970s a second site opened in St Peter's Rooms, a former Victorian school building opposite the church. The two sites were run side by side until the Hermitage closed in the late 1980s.

Once the museum was left with one over-full site, it moved to displays built around local shops. This coincided with the gift of the fittings of an old fish and chip shop. The shop had been shut in 1941 when its owner was called up for the war and was found again only after his death in 1985; volunteers spent six months conserving it, and it was rebuilt inside the museum with the fat, ashes and equipment as they had been left.

Today the museum explores retail life in Ruddington in the late Victorian and early Edwardian period. Alongside the shops there are displays of farming, a schoolroom, toys and games, costume and textiles, and archaeological finds from Flawford churchyard. The museum also holds parish, census and burial records and photographs, which can be consulted by appointment.

Highlights

• Fish and chip shop left as it was in 1941
• Recreated ironmonger, chemist and cobbler shops
• Edwardian schoolroom where children can write on slates
• Farming equipment and a telephone exchange
• Mole Hunt trail for children

Permanent exhibitions

• Fish and Chip Shop – The fittings of a village fish and chip shop closed in 1941 and reconstructed in the museum with its original coal-fired twin fryer and equipment.
• Village shops – Recreated Edwardian shops including an ironmonger, a chemist and a cobbler, with hands-on activities for children.
• The Schoolroom – An Edwardian classroom where visitors can try writing on slates and dressing as a pupil of the time.

Founded

1968

Admission & discounts

Admission includes a guide booklet and, if wanted, a guided tour.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• 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

There is ramped access and the displays are accessible to wheelchair users. The accessible toilet is in a listed building and has a high-level WC, grab rails and an emergency alarm. One disabled parking space is directly outside the entrance and four more are within 100 yards. Visitors who contact the museum in advance can have suitable volunteers on duty.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations

Children can write on slates in the Edwardian schoolroom, try on a blazer and satchel, catch rats in the farming section, grind pills in the pharmacy and play with old toys. The Mole Hunt trail gives a certificate and a small prize to children who find all the hidden moles. Scout, Cub, Brownie, Beaver and Rainbow groups can arrange visits.

Getting there & parking

From Nottingham take the A52 ring road, then the A60 towards Loughborough, and enter the village via Kirk Lane, following the brown signs. The bus journey from Nottingham station takes about 25 minutes.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit