Trowbridge Museum

Trowbridge Museum tells the fascinating story of Trowbridge, Wiltshire's county town, and its long and distinguished history as one of England's most important centres of woollen cloth manufacture. The museum is housed in a prominent position within the Shires shopping centre on Court Street, and its collections and displays bring to life the industries, communities, and characters that shaped this proud market town over more than eight centuries.

The woollen cloth trade was the engine of Trowbridge's prosperity for centuries. From the medieval wool merchants who established the town's wealth to the great Victorian mill owners who transformed it into an industrial powerhouse, the cloth industry pervades every aspect of Trowbridge's history and identity. The museum traces this textile legacy through machinery, fabrics, tools, and personal stories, from the handloom weavers who worked in their own homes to the factory workers who tended the great power looms of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The museum's collections extend beyond textiles to cover the broader social, economic, and cultural history of Trowbridge and the surrounding area. Local archaeology, natural history, civic history, and the stories of notable Trowbridge residents all feature in the displays. The museum holds an important collection relating to Isaac Pitman, the inventor of the shorthand writing system that bears his name, who was born in Trowbridge in 1813.

Trowbridge Museum is a community resource in the fullest sense, actively engaged with local schools, societies, and individuals in collecting, preserving, and interpreting the heritage of the area. Temporary exhibitions, events, and outreach programmes supplement the permanent displays throughout the year.

For anyone interested in the industrial history of the West of England, the story of the British woollen cloth trade, or the social history of a thriving Wiltshire market town, Trowbridge Museum offers an absorbing and rewarding visit.