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National Trust Museum of Childhood, Sudbury Hall, Derbyshire
It re-opened in 2008 following a two–year rejuvenation project and now offers a bigger, better, more engaging and enjoyable museum for all ages, interests and abilities.
Implementing the project involved extensive consultation with visitors, non-users, specialists and volunteers. It also required the conservation of over 2,000 items and the sensitive development of the interior of a Grade 1 listed building, creating 50% more floor space and making the entire Museum fully accessible. An expanded programme of formal learning based on the Museum’s resources ranges from support to the National Curriculum to child care and child development course at colleges and universities. Over 90,000 people visited the Museum in its opening year and reactions have been overwhelmingly positive. Some of your comments: The Museum of Childhood is a wonderful combination of endless nostalgia to adults and of fun and education to children. The comment 'I had one of those' must be the most used comment. I never tire of walking around and seeing something new every time. We had a wonderful day, with very helpful and friendly staff. I think they deserve to be able to build on what they have already achieved and therefore they get my vote. Too many toys and pastimes will be forgotten without places like the Museum of Childhood. It’s a wonderful place to visit - very informative and fun for young and old. It adds a lot of custom to Sudbury Village which is very small and which could become isolated. It is a very good source of knowledge for the village school and pre-school children who often come for visits to see both modern and old games and toys as well as the history around their village. The setting is outstanding with beautiful gardens including the boating lake where children love to feed the ducks and wildlife or just picnic. I hope you are able to see why the prize would be so well deserved. It is a wonderfully kept, unique place to visit. A thoroughly engaging museum, which explores all aspects of childhood from Victorian exploitation to contemporary delights. A centre of excellence unrivalled outside London, and one which engages with the nearby population of many cultures and attracts children of all ages, from toddlers to grandparents. Mrs H Dunning, AbingdonHaving spent my childhood nearby, I've always enjoyed this museum. In later years I've lived in London, but always visited when seeing my family. My daughter (now 14) has always enjoyed it too! We love the even much-improved museum: t's such fun to remember all our childhoods, take part in activities, climb the chimney and see how children lived. We look forward to many more visits and hope the museum wins the prize! I live in Sudbury and I think the Museum of Childhood is brilliant. It is informative, user-friendly, airy and bright and the staff are friendly and knowledgeable. I know they want to do even more with it than they are now, and it would be great if they were given the opportunity to do so. Please let them win! Thank you. It is simply one of the most interesting and best-managed places of this kind. Very well done improvements, brilliant collection. As a teacher I visit this museum regularly and take groups of school children. The exhibits are presented in an interesting, fun and interactive way. Staff are friendly and informative. A particular favourite is the schoolroom exhibit. I also take my own family, as I know that they'll have a great time. Adults too have a good time as many of the exhibits trigger memories of their own childhoods. When visitors to the county ask me which places they could visit I always recommend Sudbury Hall and the Museum.
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Housed in the 19th century servants’ wing of Sudbury Hall, the National Trust’s Museum of Childhood is all about play. Originally opened in 1974, it holds collections of national significance, including the Betty Cadbury collection of ‘Plaything Past.’
The Museum is intended to have a broad appeal: it is not just for children, and is about much more than toys. It contains seven permanent galleries - with the themes of Outdoor Adventure, Work, Home, School, Baby, Stories & Imagination, and Toys - and a further gallery for temporary exhibitions. It is full of inventive displays and offers the rare chance for big and small kids to have a ‘hands-on’ experience with its collections. Visitors of all ages can go wild in the play gallery where they can try Victorian street games, and be taught a lesson in the Victorian school room. The rush of memories triggered by the contemporary collection transfixes adult visitors, while younger visitors can empathise with the lives of children in the past who may not have had it quite so easy.
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