The museum tells the fascinating story of needle making in Victorian times.

Forge Mill is a listed building which houses original water powered machinery. Models, recreated scenes and original audio provide a vivid illustration of how needles were once made and how Redditch dominated the world needle trade.

You can step back in time and experience the largely unchanged atmosphere of an original scouring (polishing) mill. This is  the only water powered needle scouring mill left in the world and much of the original Victorian machinery remains. The waterwheel itself is currently undergoing repairs but would normally operate on Tuesday afternoons and weekends (March to October), and also for schools and group visits. Please contact the museum for the latest updates.

The middle floor is used as the temporary exhibition space for our varied exhibition programme.

The top floor holds an extensive and unique collection of needle related items. You will see some of the more unusual needles and their uses as well as some very rare and beautiful needle and fish hook displays.

We have a very interesting collection of needle cases produced by the Redditch needle companies. The museum also exhibits a wonderful collection of photographs relating to the needle industry.