Museum of Leathercraft

Museum of Leathercraft 'There's nothing like leather!' Our collection tells the world story of leather from prehistory If it is to do with leather we are here to help!

Founded in 1946 by John Waterer and Dr Claude Spiers, the museum now has over 5000 leather objects, examples of ingenuity, creativity and superb craftsmanship that serve to show the importance of leather as a raw material across the centuries. we annually commission pieces from emerging designers and craftsmen working in leather.

10/11/2023

So here we are on this overcast November day making the announcement that this will be the final post on the Museum of Leathercraft page as we know it. The era of being an independent museum is at an end.

We cannot say at this moment if a new page will be set up to keep you updated with whats going on with the collection, or whether we'll be keeping this one and just changing the name, or whether it'll be deleted and the traffic moved over to the Council run page. Who knows. But we will still be keeping an eye on this one for the short term, to answer any questions if possible.

But our museum team would like to say a massive thankyou to everyone who supported us, even if you've never visited or donated and just followed this page , or played a few rounds of box roulette. It all helped, and it let us know that people loved our museum and were interested in our work with this collection, even from a far.

Down below, I've posted a link to a fabulous video made by one of our supporters, De Montford University. Its such a shame we only knew of their film making skills at such a late date, as they would have been perfect for making advertising and promotional videos for the museum . The video is a sort of tribute to the museum . A good bye as we know it.

So click on the MOLFinal.mov below, and enjoy .

Thank you .

23/10/2023

As the end of another era dawns on the museum, what better way to remember this era than seeing it immortalized on TV .
12:15 on BBC one today, we will be featured on Bargain hunt.
Make sure you tune in .

Regular over seas visitor , Erica Munkwitz , often calls in from Washington USA to indulge us with research material an...
30/08/2023

Regular over seas visitor , Erica Munkwitz , often calls in from Washington USA to indulge us with research material and American cookies . Erica has helped us with further research of our Queen Victoria saddle and has shown great enthusiasm for the topic.

So it's only fair we give her shout , and show you her excellent new book. Women, horse sports and liberation. Full of references , drawings and paintings its a scholarly look at sports history, women's history, British history and imperial history of the 18th century and beyond.

Historically , the streets were a dangerous place . We carried swords and knives , anything for protection , or even for...
11/08/2023

Historically , the streets were a dangerous place . We carried swords and knives , anything for protection , or even for more sinister reasons .
However it seems the Doge's of Venice weren't having any of it , as we can see here.

This is a license or pass from the Doge , to allow you to carry arms , and even ride a horse through the city

Printed on Vellum, dating from the 18th century ..

Time for an early bird edition of Box Roulette . So make sure you catch the worm . For those who don't know the rules......
11/08/2023

Time for an early bird edition of Box Roulette . So make sure you catch the worm .
For those who don't know the rules.....
Simply comment down below any number between 1 - 1102. We'll reveal the contents of the box corresponding to that number, and post pictures and information about the object.
The first number commented down below will get picked.

Ok, so the results for today's box roulette are in . It was a difficult one this as box 913 had a few items in it worthy...
04/08/2023

Ok, so the results for today's box roulette are in . It was a difficult one this as box 913 had a few items in it worthy of a mention. However , I decided to go with this .

So without further ado, let's whip the lid off, and have a nosey at today's item.

In box 913 , we have ...

A wallet. But no ordinary wallet. Despite its incredible condition it actually dates from 1788.
Clearly Mr Thomas mcGrath was a man who just happened to forget his wallet a lot on nights out to the tavern or chop House , it shows little sign of ware.

But what also strikes me is the stamped decoration inside , and also the striking marbled paper inside the pockets. This was clearly no budget piece.

I also like the date doodled inside . 6th June .

Well it's gone back to our usual gloominess outside today. So lets cheers ourselves up with another round of ...BOX ROUL...
04/08/2023

Well it's gone back to our usual gloominess outside today. So lets cheers ourselves up with another round of ...BOX ROULETTE !!!

For those who don't know the rules.....
Simply comment down below any number between 1 - 1102. We'll reveal the contents of the box corresponding to that number, and post pictures and information about the object.
The first number commented down below will get picked.

The results for box roulette and box 623 are in.We have ......A cow harness. Yes there is such a thing . Why the spikes ...
26/07/2023

The results for box roulette and box 623 are in.

We have ......

A cow harness. Yes there is such a thing . Why the spikes ? It's a bit of a sad story really. The spikes are to stop the calf from feeding from its mother. It's a diary farming tool.

This one came from Kendal area. First half of the 20th century.

Its been a few weeks due to work schedules, but I think it must be time for a round of box roulette. As the sun is final...
26/07/2023

Its been a few weeks due to work schedules, but I think it must be time for a round of box roulette.
As the sun is finally out and its stopped raining, its put us in a good mood, so I thought we'll mix things up and do it on Wednesday instead of Friday.
For those who don't know the rules.....
Simply comment down below any number between 1 - 1098. We'll reveal the contents of the box corresponding to that number, and post pictures and information about the object.
The first number commented down below will get picked.

Address

Grosvenor Centre
Northampton
NN12EW

Telephone

01604745681

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Our Story

Founded in 1946 by John Waterer and Dr. Claude Spiers, the Museum of Leathercraft was intended to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for all things leather. With over 10,000 items, the museum tells the world story of leather from prehistory to present day through objects such as George III’s toilet, ancient Egyptian underpants and Samuels Pepys’ wallet. Nowadays, we’re known as the National Leather Collection and are as well known for our crafting, workshops and events as we are for our museum. Anything you need to know about leather? Just ask!