1 / 2Hat Works
📍 Stockport, North West
Free-entry museum in Stockport's historic mill district with galleries holding hundreds of hats across multiple periods and styles, plus a working hat factory on the lower level. Guided tours available — Liza Ward is frequently named as exceptional.
Wonderful exhibitions, fun things for young children, a lovely café and a charity providing arts workshops on certain days. 👍 They also have a period wall map which labels the Island of Taiwan independently of China and I see no issue with this. A designation on a map in a hat museum does not make a fully independent, sovereign country claim, nor would anyone assume this reflects an implied political statement of such an establishment. But even if it did, it does not detract from the quality or the experience on which one should be rating such a place. So keep your hats on folks.
🏆 Family Action Verdict
A genuinely free and engaging option for families with children of any age. Younger children respond well to the variety of hats and the working machinery downstairs; older children and adults get more from the guided tours. Book a tour with Liza Ward if available — reviewers single her out repeatedly.
ℹ️ What to Know Before You Go
💬 What Families Are Saying
View all reviews →436 Google reviews
Gav G
2 months ago
“Wonderful exhibitions, fun things for young children, a lovely café and a charity providing arts workshops on certain days. 👍 They also have a period wall map which labels the Island of Taiwan independently of China and I see no issue with this. A designation on a map in a hat museum does not make a fully independent, sovereign country claim, nor would anyone assume this reflects an implied political statement of such an establishment. But even if it did, it does not detract from the quality or the experience on which one should be rating such a place. So keep your hats on folks.”
Catherine Leeson
2 months ago
“Fabulous place to visit - literally hundreds and hundreds of hats - more than you can ever imagine. Also, has the factory downstairs with interesting info all about days gone by. Has a cafe (didn't use it though) and a shop, and all of this for free. Clean and great displays throughout the museum.”
Andrew Jones
3 months ago
“Great place for any creative kids and adults. Lots of activities to do on day we visited with museum on lower level. Hat gallery was closed as water ingress on floor. Nice cafe and interesting building.”
Alison Taylor
6 months ago
“Never been before. It is well worth a visit. We went for the guided tour with the very informative Liza Ward. Thank you Liza we really enjoyed our visit.”
Reviews from Google
Overview
Hat Works occupies a Victorian mill building in Stockport town centre and claims to be the UK's only museum dedicated entirely to the hat trade. Upper galleries display hundreds of hats spanning centuries of fashion and function. The lower level contains a working factory with machinery demonstrations. Creative activities run on certain days, including charity-led arts workshops. An on-site cafe and shop are available.
