Galleries and Collections

Ground floor

A visit to Weaver Hall Museum begins with a short introductory film in our mini cinema, ‘The Regalette’, which sets the scene for the galleries. 

You will walk through our ever-changing Special Exhibitions Gallery.

We have two other galleries to explore on the ground floor – our Victorian Workhouse Schoolroom which explores school life in the Workhouse.  This is in the very room where school lessons were once delivered.  Visitors to the museum at weekends and school holidays can also explore the magnificent Board of Guardians’ Meeting Room where the guardians of the workhouse used to meet to conduct the affairs of this institution.  This room is often used by school groups during the week so may not be open to general visitors then.

First floor

At the top of the stairs is our Salt of the Earth gallery exploring some of the highlights from the story of mid-Cheshire people from the Bronze Age to the present day. 

From here you can go off in three different directions to explore…

By river, road and rail which explores the area’s transport links including the story of Northwich’s two rivers, and the local canal, road and railway systems.

 

Life in a Market Town, the story of life in Northwich from disasters such as fire, flood and subsidence to keeping the peace, and from wartime to leisure time.

Making salt  This gallery shows how salt has been produced in Cheshire for over 2,000 years, exploring the rock salt mining story and depicting the dramatic effect of salt subsidence in Northwich and Winsford. 

There are a variety of hands-on activities throughout the displays as well as a gallery quiz for children to enjoy.  Can you spot our special Cheshire characters hidden in the museum?

Photographic collection

The Museum has a photographic archive of over 5,000 images. These range from photographs of local people, the salt industry, subsidence in Northwich and other local scenes.  These and the other collections can be viewed by appointment with the Curator.