Nantwich Museum

Nantwich Museum stands in Pillory Street at the heart of Nantwich, a red-brick building designed by Thomas Bower in 1888. It occupies the site of the old town jail and once served as the public library. The museum opened in January 1980 to tell the story of the town and its surroundings. Its collections cover Roman salt making, the Great Fire of 1583 and the Battle of Nantwich in 1644. Local trades feature too, including shoe and clothing manufacture and clock making. The displays show how salt shaped the area’s economy from Roman times onward. Cheshire cheese takes a central role in one gallery, alongside the Joseph Heler meeting room. A community gallery hosts changing art shows, while the Millennium Gallery presents temporary exhibitions. Among the artworks is Benjamin Killingbeck’s only known painting of Nantwich Racecourse, titled Mr Walsh’s Perdita. Maps, portraits and works by local artist Herbert St John Jones add further layers to the story. Visitors find two extensions added to the original building. The Cheshire Civil War Centre opened in April 2019 to focus on the 1644 conflict. Temporary shows rotate through the Millennium Gallery, and the community gallery highlights local artists. Portraits of historian James Hall and pieces by Walter J. Hall and Herbert St John Jones hang alongside maps of the district. The museum’s rooms and galleries sit close to the town’s shops and cafés, making it easy to combine a visit with a walk through Nantwich.