museumofcarpet.org.uk

The Museum of Carpet is normally open on Saturdays and Tuesdays, 10am to 2pm, with free entry (donations welcome). Because the museum is volunteer-run, opening depends on volunteer availability, so you should check in advance before making a long or special journey.

Opening Hours at a Glance

Why You Should Check Before Travelling

The museum describes itself as a volunteer-run, independent museum, and its published opening times come with an explicit caveat: it opens subject to volunteer availability. If you are travelling a long distance or making a trip specifically to see the museum, the museum itself advises checking with it beforehand. A quick confirmation can save you a wasted journey.

Planning Around the Power-Loom Demonstration

Power-loom demonstrations are described as the highlight of most visits and are generally held at 12 noon. The museum runs the power-looms only once per opening session to keep costs down, so if the demonstration is the main reason for your visit, aim to be there by midday rather than arriving late in the 10am–2pm window.

How to Confirm Before You Go

You can contact the museum through any of these channels:

• Email: [email protected]
• Telephone: 01562 69028
• Message via Facebook or Instagram

What Else Is On

The museum's Autumn Exhibition 2026, featuring Colin Simmonds' landscape paintings of the Severn Valley and the Wyre Forest, runs until Saturday 10 October. If that exhibition is part of your reason for visiting, check the current date against the closing date and confirm with the museum that it is still showing.

Bottom Line

Treat Saturday and Tuesday, 10am–2pm, as the expected pattern rather than a guarantee. Confirm by email, phone or social media before a long trip, and plan to arrive before noon if you want to see the power-looms running.

The main thing to plan your visit around is the power-loom demonstration, generally held at 12 noon and described by the museum as the highlight of most visits. The looms are run only once per opening session to keep costs down, so if the demonstration is your reason for going, arrive before noon and confirm the day's timing in advance. The museum is open on Saturdays and Tuesdays between 10am and 2pm, with free entry and donations welcome, but opening depends on volunteer availability — the museum asks anyone making a long or special journey to check with them first.

The power-loom demonstration

This is the centrepiece of a visit. Because the machinery runs once per session rather than continuously, the demonstration is a scheduled moment rather than something you can catch at any time. Practical implications:

• Time your arrival so you are on site well before 12 noon; the museum's published guidance is that demonstrations are "generally" at that time, not guaranteed.
• Check ahead by email ([email protected]) or phone (01562 69028) if the looms are the main draw, since volunteer availability affects both opening and demonstrations.
• Expect a single showing. If you miss it, there is no second run that session.

Temporary exhibitions and art

The museum programmes exhibitions alongside its heritage and industry displays. Its Autumn Exhibition features landscape paintings of the Severn Valley and the Wyre Forest by local artist Colin Simmonds — oil on canvas, developed over four to five years from watercolours, pen-and-ink drawings and oil studies. Simmonds trained at the Moseley School of Art and Birmingham College of Art, has exhibited with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the Royal Pastel Society, and is a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists. The exhibition runs until Saturday 10 October.

This matters for planning: the museum's offer combines heritage, art and industry, so a visit can cover both the working machinery and a changing art display. If a specific exhibition is your reason for going, check its end date against your visit date.

What the museum is

The Museum of Carpet describes itself as a volunteer-run, independent museum and "a jewel" of its kind — a centre of heritage, art and industry. That framing tells you what to expect: a compact, volunteer-staffed site rather than a large institutional museum, with costs covered partly by donations. The museum states it always needs help to cover rising costs and directs supporters to the Donate tab on its website.

Planning checklist

The single most useful step is a quick advance check: it confirms both that the museum is open that day and that the power-loom demonstration is going ahead, which protects a long trip and ensures you see the thing most visitors come for.

You can contact the Museum of Carpet by email at [email protected], by telephone on 01562 69028, or by message via Facebook or Instagram. To support it financially, use the Donate tab on its website; entry to the museum is free, but donations are gratefully received. These details apply to the museum as described on its own site, a volunteer-run, independent museum that says it always needs help to cover rising costs.

Contacting the Museum

The museum lists three contact routes:

Email or telephone is the most direct route for a specific question. The museum advises checking in advance if you are making a long or special journey specifically to visit, because opening is subject to volunteer availability.

Visiting Before You Donate or Travel

• Opening days and hours: Saturdays and Tuesdays, 10am to 2pm.
• Entry: Free, with donations gratefully received.
• Power-loom demonstrations: Generally held at 12 noon and described as the highlight of most visits. The looms run only once per opening session to keep costs down.
• Check first: Because the museum is volunteer-run, confirm your visit in advance for a long or special trip.

If a power-loom demonstration is the main reason for your visit, the 12 noon timing is the detail to plan around, and a quick call or email beforehand protects against a wasted journey.

Supporting the Museum Financially

The museum describes itself as volunteer-run and independent, and states that it always needs help to cover rising costs. The site directs supporters to the Donate tab on its website for more information. Entry remains free, so a donation is optional rather than a ticket price.

The site also refers to subscribing, but the supplied information does not set out subscription terms, prices, or what a subscription includes, so check the website directly before committing to anything beyond a donation.

A Current Reason to Visit

The Autumn Exhibition 2026 of landscape paintings by Colin Simmonds, depicting the Severn Valley and the Wyre Forest, runs until Saturday 10 October according to the site. The paintings were produced over four to five years, with the final oil-on-canvas works prepared through numerous watercolours, pen-and-ink drawings, and oil studies. If you plan to see it, confirm opening before travelling, since the exhibition end date and volunteer availability both affect whether a visit works.

The Museum of Carpet is a volunteer-run, independent museum in the UK dedicated to carpet heritage, art and industry. It is open on Saturdays and Tuesdays between 10am and 2pm, with free entry and donations gratefully received. Because it is run by volunteers, opening depends on volunteer availability — check in advance if you are making a long or special journey specifically to visit.

What You Can See and Do

The museum describes itself as a "jewel of a volunteer-run, independent museum," and its programme combines industrial heritage with art.

Power-loom demonstrations

Power-loom demonstrations are the highlight of most visits. They are generally held at 12 noon. The museum runs the power-looms only once per opening session in order to keep costs down, so time your visit around the midday demonstration if this is your main reason for coming.

Exhibitions

The museum hosts temporary exhibitions alongside its heritage displays. One example from the site: an autumn exhibition of landscape paintings by local artist Colin Simmonds, depicting the Severn Valley and the Wyre Forest, running until Saturday 10 October. The paintings were produced over four to five years, with the final works in oil on canvas preceded by numerous watercolours, pen-and-ink drawings and oil studies.

Key Visitor Information

Contacting the Museum

The site lists three contact routes:

• Email: [email protected]
• Telephone: 01562 69028
• Message via Facebook or Instagram

Use one of these before travelling if you need to confirm that the museum is open on a particular day, or if you want to check the timing of the power-loom demonstration.

Supporting the Museum

The Museum of Carpet is independent and volunteer-run, and states that it always needs help to cover rising costs. Donations are welcomed; the website's Donate tab has more information. Entry itself remains free, so a donation is the way to contribute to running costs if you wish to support the museum.

The Museum of Carpet's Autumn Exhibition 2026 features landscape paintings of the Severn Valley and the Wyre Forest by local artist Colin Simmonds. The exhibition runs until Saturday 10 October and is included with the museum's free entry (donations welcome). Because the museum is volunteer-run and opens only on Saturdays and Tuesdays, 10am–2pm, subject to volunteer availability, check in advance before making a special journey.

What You'll See

The exhibition centres on Simmonds' landscape paintings of two nearby Worcestershire landscapes: the Severn Valley and the Wyre Forest. All final works are oil on canvas.

According to the artist's statement, the paintings were produced over four to five years. In preparation, Simmonds created numerous watercolours, pen-and-ink drawings and oil studies before completing the final canvases. He describes working directly from nature as essential to a genuine connection with, and understanding of, the purpose of painting, and says this body of work emerged partly as a reaction against more abstract approaches.

About the Artist

Colin Simmonds trained at the Moseley School of Art and Birmingham College of Art. His exhibition record includes the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the Royal Pastel Society, and his work is held in the collection of the Arts Council of Great Britain. He is a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists.

Planning Your Visit

The power-loom demonstrations are described as the highlight of most visits, so timing your visit around noon lets you see both the exhibition and a demonstration. The museum notes that it runs the looms only once per opening session to keep costs down.

Before You Travel

The museum is independent and run by volunteers, and opening is subject to volunteer availability. If you are making a long or special journey specifically to see the exhibition, contact the museum first to confirm it will be open:

• Email: [email protected]
• Telephone: 01562 69028
• Message via Facebook or Instagram

Supporting the Museum

As a volunteer-run, independent museum, it relies on help to cover rising costs. Visitors can donate; the museum directs people to the Donate tab on its website for more information.