Woodhall Spa Cottage Museum

The Woodhall Spa Cottage Museum stands in the heart of Woodhall Spa, a former 19th-century spa town designed by Richard Adolphus Came. The museum occupies a corrugated-iron bungalow on Iddesleigh Road, built from a flat-pack supplied by Boulton & Paul Ltd in 1887. It is one of the few such cottages still standing in good condition. The building once belonged to John and Mary Wield, who worked in the town’s donkey-chair rides between the spa baths and hotels. Their son John created a photographic record of the new Victorian community, which now forms the core of the museum’s collection. The museum opened in 1987 after the Wield family’s home came on the market and local people formed a trust to preserve it. In the early 1980s, John Wield’s photographs and memorabilia were offered to the town for public display. A £677,600 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2011 allowed the building to be refurbished and new exhibits installed. The project also removed damaged wooden outbuildings, including an old donkey stable and photography studio damaged by arson. Inside, visitors find the Wields’ original living space preserved as it was from 1887 to the 1960s. Photographs and ephemera show Woodhall Spa’s growth as a spa town and the daily life of its residents. The tourist information centre shares the building, offering maps and local advice. Outside, the quiet street and well-kept surroundings reflect the town’s Victorian charm.