The Folk of Gloucester

About the museum

The Folk occupies three timber-framed buildings on Westgate Street in the centre of Gloucester. Numbers 99 and 101 are Grade II listed Tudor houses dating from about 1506 to 1512, and number 103 is a partly timber-framed house of the mid-seventeenth century. Over the centuries the buildings housed shops and workshops, and by the 1740s they were used for making pins until about 1850. Later they served as an undertaker's and as shops.

The city council bought and restored the buildings in 1933 and opened them as Gloucester Folk Museum, which was later extended with a pin factory annexe, a cider house in Quay Street and further council additions in the 1960s to 1980s. The council closed the museum in 2019 because of the cost, and in 2021 the property passed to Gloucester Civic Trust, a local charity.

Under the Trust the site has become a community heritage venue, known as The Folk of Gloucester, with a cafe and bar, a garden, rooms for hire and a year-round programme of music, theatre, workshops and children's events. Visitors can still see parts of the historic interiors, including a reconstructed Victorian kitchen, surviving wall paintings on the first floor, a display on Cotton motorcycles that were once built behind the site, and a horse-driven cider mill and press in the cider house. Guided tours of the buildings are sometimes offered. Because the houses are old, there are many steps and staircases.

Highlights

• Tudor timber-framed merchant houses
• Reconstructed Victorian kitchen
• Surviving wall paintings
• Cotton motorcycles display
• Horse-driven cider mill and press
• Secret Garden and cafe

Founded

1933

Operated by

Gloucester Civic Trust

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free entry during opening hours. Guided tours and events may be charged separately.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• 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 historic buildings have many steps and staircases; tours of the upper floors are not suitable for visitors with limited mobility. The venue does not publish further accessibility details.

Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

The year-round programme includes children's events and workshops.

Getting there & parking

The Folk is on Westgate Street in the centre of Gloucester.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Cafe and bar with home-cooked lunches, cakes and coffee; a small shop in the entrance; garden known as the Secret Garden.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Rooms in the main building and the modern Ed Shed meeting space can be booked.

Plan your visit