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About the Museum
Radstock was at the heart of the Somerset Coalfields which stretched from Bishop Sutton in the West to Peasedown St John in the East and from Pensford in the North to Coleford and Nettlebridge in the South. The coalfield reached its peak of production in the early 1900s but the last of the Somerset collieries, Kilmersdon and
Writhlington, closed in 1973. The Radstock, Midsomer Norton and District
Museum Society was founded in 1985 to
preserve the social and industrial heritage of the communities of the whole of the former Somerset Coalfield. The
first issue of 'Five Arches', the Journal of the Society, appeared in 1986 and the
Society's Collection was first put on permanent display at Barton Meade,
Haydon, in 1989.
In 1996 the old Radstock Market Hall was acquired and three years
later, on 10th July 1999, Radstock
Museum opened its doors
and became the new home of The Society's Collection.
Run by a team of dedicated volunteers with only one paid employee the Radstock Museum celebrates the lifestyle of the typical Somerset
coalminer. The Museum illustrates not only the home life of the mining
families, but also the vibrant social, commercial and industrial structure of the district over
the past two hundred years.
Dedicated areas demonstrate the coalface and the miner's hard,
dangerous working conditions. Shop at the Co-op as his wife did over 70 years
ago, relive the trepidation felt by his children in the strict Victorian Board School;
see how the community life centered round the twin pleasures of the church and
the pub.
His sporting activities focused on football, quoits and
pigeon-racing – all well documented within the Museum. The Friendly Societies
formed the safety net for the mining community in times of need and pit
disasters. The Great Western Railway and the Somerset & Dorset Railway,
which superseded the Somersetshire
Coal Canal,
impacted greatly on the community, with the Radstock S&D Station being
adjacent to the Market Hall and the GWR station being close by.
Local enterprise depicted includes the Blacksmith's Forge and a Victorian Printing Office complete with 1856 Albion Press and
composing area. Besides the collieries, other local employers in the town were
boot and shoe manufacturers, brewers, printers, foundries and agriculture; all
of these are represented within the Museum.
Memories and physical reminders live on – take one of the four
heritage walks to visit the former pit sites, or collect fossils. Learn more about
Radstock, the people and the surrounding areas by subscribing to "Five
Arches" the Museum's own periodical publication.
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