Ruddington's Framework Knitters Museum weaves new life into a 400-year heritage

Long before Nottingham was famous for fashion boutiques, it was famous for making the clothes the world wore. The knitting frame was invented in Nottinghamshire, and in the village of Ruddington, just south of the city, the Framework Knitters Museum keeps that remarkable story alive.

By the start of the 19th century framework knitting had taken hold in Ruddington. New houses and frameshops were built for knitters and their families, and the 1851 census found that half of the village's household heads worked in the trade. Whole families lived and laboured together, producing hosiery by hand on frames in their homes and workshops, until steam-powered factories overtook hand methods towards the end of the century.

The museum occupies a unique complex of listed frameshops, cottages and outbuildings arranged around a garden courtyard, together with a former chapel. Restored to show the working and living conditions of 19th-century framework knitters, it is one of the few places in Britain where visitors can see a working frame. As the museum puts it, it is "one of the few places left where you can experience the living and working conditions of Victorian craftspeople."

Recently redeveloped, the museum has had a lively 2026. Its first May Day festival in May drew more than 450 visitors over the bank holiday weekend, inspired by the revived Cowslip Sunday celebrations in Lambley, and the community helped create a textile Green Man designed by artist Helen Brownett from handmade leaves. New Braille visitor guides and accessible tableware in the café have been introduced with support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and a new gate by recycled steel sculptor Gavin Darby now welcomes visitors.

There is plenty beyond the frames, too. Parker's Yard offers a café, gift shop and gallery space, the Chapel Gallery hosts community groups and weekly children's art classes, and the learning programme runs school trips, workshops and family history sessions. Volunteers play a vital part in keeping the site running.

For anyone interested in where fashion really begins, with skill, patience and thread, it is a fascinating and moving visit.

The Framework Knitters Museum opens from Wednesday to Saturday and on bank holiday Mondays, and adult tickets include an annual pass. Visiting details and events are on the museum's website.