Harborough Museum

Harborough Museum sits on the first floor of a former corset factory in Market Harborough, a historic market town on the Leicestershire–Northamptonshire border. The building once housed the R & W H Symington corset works and now also contains the district council offices. A partnership between Leicestershire County Council, Harborough District Council and the local historical society runs the museum. Since 2014 a charitable trust has overseen its affairs. The museum collects objects from south-east Leicestershire and north Northamptonshire. Its displays trace the town’s past as a centre of industry and trade. Regular exhibits include Symington corsets, Soups, Table Creams and Pea Flour, Harbouro rubber goods and Falkner’s boots. A long-case clock made in Harborough in the 18th century and 17th-century toys found behind church panelling are also shown. The museum is recognised by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. The Hallaton Treasure forms the centrepiece of the galleries. This Iron Age hoard of more than five thousand coins, a silver-gilt Roman helmet, jewellery and other objects was discovered in 2000 by local archaeologists and the University of Leicester team. Most items date from the time of the Roman conquest. The helmet underwent ten years of conservation at the British Museum before returning to Harborough in 2012. Nearby cases hold the unique collection of over two hundred 17th-century toys from St Dionysius Church, made from wood, bone and fabric.