Bakewell Old House Museum Travel Guide

Tucked away in Cunningham Place, Bakewell Old House Museum occupies one of the town’s oldest buildings, a timber-framed house dating back to the reign of Henry VIII. Originally built as a tax collector’s cottage, it later grew into a gentleman’s residence in Elizabethan times, complete with a garderobe (Tudor toilet) and exposed beams. Over the centuries, it served as mill workers’ housing for Sir Richard Arkwright’s cotton mill and later as a home for Victorian families like the Pitts. Walking through its rooms, you feel the weight of these overlapping lives, from Tudor tax records to Victorian toys and industrial-era tools.

The museum’s charm lies in its intimate, personal collections. Artefacts found sealed in walls, ceramics, textiles, costumes, cameras, and toys have been donated by local families over decades, each with a story tied to Bakewell and the surrounding Peak District. Interactive displays and QR codes bring these objects to life, explaining how they were used and who might have owned them. Changing social history exhibitions keep the narrative fresh, exploring everything from local trades and domestic life to quirky local characters like Philus the Bakewell elephant.

Children are very much part of the experience here. The popular Rat Trail guides young visitors from room to room, with ratty facts and puzzles to solve. There are dressing-up costumes, a Victorian dolls’ house, old-fashioned board games, and traditional outdoor games in the courtyard. Free colouring sheets and occasional craft activities add to the fun, while themed trails like the scavenger hunt and ‘Journey with George’ offer a choose-your-own-adventure style of exploration. Completing a trail often earns a special pin badge, making it a rewarding visit for little ones.

This is not a hushed, formal museum. It’s a friendly, slightly quirky space where visitors are encouraged to touch, play, and imagine. The Tudor toilet and Victorian privy are particular highlights, offering a tangible sense of how people lived centuries ago. The museum is also dog-friendly (with some restrictions during school visits), and it participates in the Derbyshire Day Out discount scheme, giving ticket holders reduced entry to other local museums. Whether you’re a local revisiting childhood memories or a visitor discovering Bakewell for the first time, the Old House feels like stepping into a well-loved, slightly eccentric family home.