Staffordshire County Museum

Staffordshire County Museum sits in the old servants’ quarters of Shugborough Hall, a grand house near Milford in Staffordshire. The building once held kitchens, laundries and brewhouses for the estate staff. After years of closure the displays have returned to these rooms alongside new exhibitions in the farm buildings. The National Trust now manages the estate and has brought back some of the museum’s collections to the site. The museum holds more than twenty-five thousand social history objects and thirty-five thousand photographs from the last two centuries. Its strongest areas are domestic life, costume, medicine and land transport. A notable section features horse-drawn carriages once owned by local aristocrats and gentry. Another highlight is the puppet collection assembled by Douglas Haywood, plus shoes from Stafford’s last shoe factory. Visitors find restored Victorian rooms showing how servants worked and lived. Galleries explore themes such as health, toys and costume, while the farm displays cover agriculture. Temporary exhibitions in Shire Hall and online access let people see more of the collection beyond the estate. The displays bring to life Staffordshire’s social and agricultural past through everyday objects and artworks.