About
Walsall Leather Museum is the only museum in England dedicated to the leather goods trade, celebrating and preserving the skills, tools, and products of an industry that has made Walsall world-famous for over three centuries. The museum is housed in a restored Victorian factory in the heart of Walsall, the traditional centre of England's leather goods manufacturing industry, and continues to be a place where the craft is actively practised and demonstrated to visitors.
Walsall's leather trade dates from the late 17th century, when the town became a major centre for the manufacture of saddlery, bridles, harnesses, and other equestrian equipment. The proximity of iron-working industries supplying buckles and fittings, combined with skilled local craftspeople and good transport links, enabled Walsall to dominate the national saddlery and harness trade for over 200 years. The town's leather manufacturers supplied cavalry regiments across the British Empire and royal households worldwide.
The museum, which opened in 1988, occupies a former Victorian leather goods factory and retains much of its original industrial character. Visitors can watch skilled craftspeople at work in the museum's workshops, using traditional tools and techniques to produce leather goods by hand. The sight, sound, and smell of a working leather workshop provides an authentically sensory experience that brings the trade vividly to life in a way that no display case can replicate.
The collections include thousands of objects illustrating every aspect of the leather goods trade, from the tanning and preparation of hides to the manufacture of saddles, bags, wallets, belts, and luxury accessories. Royal warrant products, export samples, trade catalogues, and archive photographs document the global reach of Walsall's leather industry at its Victorian and Edwardian peak.
The museum also explores the social history of leather working, telling the stories of the men, women, and children who worked in the town's workshops and factories over three centuries, and examining the trade unions, welfare organisations, and community structures that sustained leather working communities through economic change.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
📅 Best Times to Visit
💡 Visitor Tips
- Spend time in the working workshops watching the craftspeople — the sight, sound, and smell of a working leather workshop is genuinely extraordinary and unlike almost any other museum experience.
- The museum shop sells handmade leather goods produced in the museum's own workshops. These make exceptional, genuine-quality souvenirs and gifts and support the museum's craft programme.
- The museum is free and compact, making it an ideal complement to a visit to The New Art Gallery Walsall, which is just a 5-minute walk away.
- Walsall station (Cross-City Line from Birmingham) is a 7-minute walk from the museum. The town centre is easy to navigate on foot between the two cultural attractions.
- Children are fascinated by the working workshops and the hands-on elements. Family craft activities are available during school holidays.
- Weekday mornings offer the best chance of seeing craftspeople at work and having time to chat with them about their skills and the history of the trade.
- Photography is freely permitted and the workshop scenes make wonderful photographs. The craftspeople are accustomed to visitors and happy to be photographed at work.
- Walsall is also home to the acclaimed New Art Gallery Walsall and the Victorian arboretum. A full day taking in all three is very rewarding and entirely free.
Highlights
Discover the unique exhibits and collections at this museum.
Collections
The museum's collections encompass thousands of objects relating to the leather goods trade in Walsall and England, including tools, machinery, finished goods, trade samples, photographs, and documentary archives spanning over 300 years of the industry.
The Leather Trade
Comprehensive displays tracing the full process of leather goods manufacture from tanning to finished product, with tools, machinery, and examples of the extraordinary variety of leather goods made in Walsall.
Saddlery and Harness
An outstanding collection of Victorian and Edwardian saddlery, bridles, and horse harness representing the trade that made Walsall world-famous. Includes ceremonial, military, and working examples.
The Working Workshop
Active craft workshops where museum craftspeople practise traditional leather working techniques, producing goods using historical tools and methods that visitors can watch and purchase.
Themes
Time Periods
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.