The museum tells the fascinating and sometimes gruesome story of needle making in Victorian times.

The Mill is a listed building which houses original water powered machinery. Models and recreated scenes and an audio trail provide a vivid illustration of how needles were once made, and how Redditch came to dominate the world needle trade.

You can also step back in time and experience the largely unchanged atmosphere of an original scouring (polishing) mill. Much of the original Victorian water powered machinery remains as the only water powered scouring mill left in the world. The waterwheel itself is currently undergoing repairs, but would normally operate on Tuesday afternoons and weekends (March to October), and also for schools and group visits. Please contact the museum for the latest updates.

The middle floor is used as the temporary exhibition space for our varied exhibition programme.

The top floor holds an extensive and unique collection of needle related items. You will see some of the more unusual needles and their uses and also some very rare and beautiful needle and fish hook displays which were made for the exhibitions of 1924.

We have a very interesting collection of needle cases produced by the Redditch needle companies. The museum also exhibits a wonderful collection of photographs relating to the needle industry.