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Museums & Landmarks

Hat Works

๐Ÿ“ Stockport, North West

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โ˜…4.5(462 Google reviews)๐Ÿ’ฐยฃ7๐Ÿ‘ถ8+

Free-entry museum in Stockport's historic mill district with galleries holding hundreds of hats across multiple periods and styles, plus a working hat factory on the lower level. Guided tours available - Liza Ward is frequently named as exceptional.

โœ“ Free entryโœ“ Guided toursโœ“ Working factoryโœ“ Hundreds of hatsโœ“ Creative workshopsโœ“ All ages

๐Ÿ† Funzaroo Verdict

A genuinely free and engaging option for families with children of any age. Younger children respond well to the variety of hats and the working machinery downstairs; older children and adults get more from the guided tours. Book a tour with Liza Ward if available - reviewers single her out repeatedly.

โ„น๏ธ What to Know Before You Go

๐Ÿ’กEntry is completely free including galleries, factory floor and exhibitions
โฐBook a guided tour - Liza Ward is specifically praised by multiple reviewers for her knowledge and delivery
๐ŸŽŸ๏ธCheck current gallery access before visiting as water ingress has closed some areas temporarily
๐Ÿš—Look out for arts workshop days run by the charity in residence

๐Ÿ’ฌ What Families Are Saying

View all reviews โ†’
4.5
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462 Google reviews

5โ˜…
317
4โ˜…
101
3โ˜…
30
2โ˜…
6
1โ˜…
8

G Reviews from Google

G

Gav G

9 months ago

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โ€œWonderful exhibitions, fun things for young children, a lovely cafรฉ and a charity providing arts workshops on certain days. ๐Ÿ‘ They also have a period wall map which labels the Island of Taiwan independently of China and I see no issue with this. A designation on a map in a hat museum does not make a fully independent, sovereign country claim, nor would anyone assume this reflects an implied political statement of such an establishment. But even if it did, it does not detract from the quality or the experience on which one should be rating such a place. So keep your hats on folks.โ€

C

Catherine Leeson

9 months ago

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โ€œFabulous place to visit - literally hundreds and hundreds of hats - more than you can ever imagine. Also, has the factory downstairs with interesting info all about days gone by. Has a cafe (didn't use it though) and a shop, and all of this for free. Clean and great displays throughout the museum.โ€

A

Andrew Jones

11 months ago

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โ€œGreat place for any creative kids and adults. Lots of activities to do on day we visited with museum on lower level. Hat gallery was closed as water ingress on floor. Nice cafe and interesting building.โ€

๐Ÿ“Š Commonly mentioned in Google reviews

Based on Google review tags

Kids area

49 reviews

Hat making

34 reviews

Hat collection

14 reviews

Knowledgeable guide

14 reviews

Free entry

10 reviews

Overview

Hat Works occupies a Victorian mill building in Stockport town centre and claims to be the UK's only museum dedicated entirely to the hat trade. Upper galleries display hundreds of hats spanning centuries of fashion and function. The lower level contains a working factory with machinery demonstrations. Creative activities run on certain days, including charity-led arts workshops. An on-site cafe and shop are available.

๐Ÿ• Opening Hours

MondayClosed
TuesdayClosed
WednesdayClosed
Thursday10:00-16:00
Friday10:00-16:00
Saturday10:00-16:00
SundayClosed

๐Ÿ“ Other Museums & Landmarks in Stockport

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