What the Fran

History and heritage

Being various thoughts on history, heritage, and related matters...

Some of my favourite quite trad museums include Manchester's People's History Museum and Museum of London: Docklands. Dove Cottage, the Wordsworth Museum. Woolsthorpe Manor, home of Isaac Newton. William Morris Gallery - I used to live nearby. Museum of the Home, Time and Tide in Great Yarmouth, National Justice Museum in Nottingham. National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park. I've also got a weird soft spot for the clothing gallery at the V&A? No one who knows me would expect this. I also love the Clockmakers' collection at the Science Museum. Most people who know me would expect this.

I also love pretty much any living history museum. Like Beamish and St Fagans National Museum of History. Most recently that has included the Highland Folk Museum.

In a preserved-not-museum-heritage way: Birmingham Back to Backs. Townend in the Lake District. The Tenement House in Glasgow. Old Hall Farm in the Lakes has some great vintage machinery though it seems like it's had a glow up since I was last there.

As far as stately homes go my pitch will always be: Chatsworth is really nice and all, but give me a rickety Tudor pile any day. A Warwickshire trio all very close: Baddesley Clinton (my favourite, extremely ramshackle), Packwood House (famous topiary), and Coughton Court. We went to Coughton while it was having work done and the team was very apologetic but it was fascinating to see the pieces being cleaned and stored, we got to go on the scaffolding to see the roof, and bought some old roof tiles. If you are going to Chatsworth you could also check out Haddon Hall.

Museums to-be-visited pile

Vaguely history and heritage themed posts

I've got some links to online museums, libraries, and archives on the links page.

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