Stockwood Craft Museum

Stockwood Craft Museum:
The Stuff That Bedfordshire Is Made Of

Stockwood Park in Luton is the home of the Stockwood Craft Museum, one of the best museums in Bedfordshire at the moment and one that is based on the very heart of the industry that enabled the county to prosper many years ago. The two industries that Bedfordshire was built on were agriculture and textiles, and this museum actively celebrates the latter of the two.

Believe it or not, the collection of lace and other crafts and textiles that were initially house within the Stockwood Craft Museum were actually gathered by one person – Thomas Wyatt Bagshawe. Although he was not actually in the industry himself, he was a historian and took an active interest in the heritage and progression of the county. As such, he chose to only collect items from Bedfordshire itself, meaning that his collection is as exclusive as it is unique and strongly identifies with the county alone. The whole atmosphere of the museum breathes life into the past and this may be why some visitors return again and again!

Today, the collection began by Mr Bagshawe in the early years of the 20th Century have been added to by individual since, but it still holds the same regional identity that it did before. The exhibitions are arranged to highlight the folk culture that has existed there for centuries. As such, there are permanent exhibitions and travelling exhibitions that bear relevance to the tone of the museum. As such, if you really want a taster of what life was like back in the early part of the 0th Century and in the hundred years previous for individuals that tried to make a living in the folk culture via textiles and crafts, you should look no further!