Erewash Museum is inside Dalby House, a Georgian family home with Victorian extensions. Each room is home to exhibition galleries that tell the story of Erewash and its people from the Roman period right up to the 21st Century. There's lots to discover and learn about, from local industry such Stanton Ironworks, to how the Victorians lived, worked and played.
Every room shows great displays of objects with lots of interactives to explore. Information comes in various forms is available for visitors who want a quick tour or an in-depth look of the subject area. There are also interactive activities for families to enjoy.
The contents of the exhibition galleries change quite regularly so there is often something new to see. So come and discover your Museum and experience the heritage of the borough of Erewash.
There is a lovely small walled garden and front lawn space to have a picnic, enjoy the calm heart of the Ilkeston town centre or kick a ball about. Come visit any time we're open. Our shop is a great place to find local themed gifts and souvenirs.
Below are some of our permeant spaces. These do change and we'll keep the website updated with details.
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Victorian Kitchen and Scullery Based on the original kitchens of Dalby House, this room is set to look as kitchens would have done in the Victorian era. Hear from our talking picture how Cook feels about her job. Play with the wooden food and pretend to cook up your own meal in the kitchen. Open the cupboards and see what's inside, examine the strange mystery objects and see a real scullery. Would you have wanted to do the laundry? Items are mostly original objects from the Erewash area. |
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Stanton Ironworks Gallery Learn about the history of Stanton, and the people who lived and worked there. People say round here Stanton made two things: old men and pipes. The workers there grew old in their service, and many lives were lived there and in the communities that grew up around this important site. Open currently but due for renewal as the Danny Corns Industrial Gallery, after a great Stantonian and historian Danny Corns. Due open Spring 2021. |
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1950s Shop What was it like to shop in the past? Experience, or remember, a traditional local grocery store. Modelled on an Ilkeston shop from the 1950s. With hands on fun activities for younger visitors and plenty of memories for older visitors. |
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Lally Gallery Named for John 'pop' Lally, local school teacher, influential artist and great of the museum. This is our temporary art exhibitions space used by local artists to display their work, for community groups and projects to hold exhibitions and for the museum's own temporary exhibitions. For more details on the current and past programme see these event pages |
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Stables Restored to their original glory, with a few fun activities added for families, see the stables of Dalby House as they would have been. Listen as the pictures come to life! Hear from the farrier, the young lady of the house and the stable boy. How do they enjoy living and working at Dalby House? |
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Victorian School Room The school room has been temporarily removed and will be reinstalled in a larger space in January 2021 |
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War Gallery How did the people of Erewash cope with these times of intense hardship? What were their experiences of war, both at home and abroad. This gallery holds artefacts relating to the history of war in our area, mostly relating to the World Wars. |
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Letters of Hope Gallery This room tells the story of a remarkable young Ilkeston woman who defied the war office during WW2, Hope Robinson. She published a pamphlet on the lives of Prisoners of War in the Far East, and received thousands of letters thanking her, asking for copies of the pamphlet and requesting information. This remarkable archive is held at Erewash Museum, and the gallery explains more about this story and the work we've done exploring the letters and the people who wrote them. |
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Gallery 8, Temporary Exhibition Room This space is used for temporary museum exhibitions. Currently it is hosting an exhibition about Charter Fair and its long history. Previous exhibitions include the history of mining, Royal Erewash and lace, Cricket in Derbyshire and others. |
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Community Corridor A chance for artists, local groups and schools to display their projects at the museum! Use our community case to showcase your work. Also see our Mini Masterpieces wall for all the great art and crafts made by the families who visit here. Will your work go up on the Masterpieces wall? Contact us and look at our events page to see when our interactive events are taking place. |
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What Lies Beneath? Archaeology and Erewash. From the very ancient Neolithic and fossils through to the Romans and the Medieval monks at Dale Abbey, learn about the history of our area through the hidden treasures discovered under the ground. |
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