Museum of Nottingham Life at Brewhouse Yard

Museum of Nottingham Life at Brewhouse Yard

Located at the base of Castle Rock, beneath historic Nottingham Castle, is the Museum of Nottingham Life at Brewhouse Yard. The museum explores the rich heritage of Nottingham over the past 3 centuries. See reconstructions pf historic shopfronts, period rooms, and special exhibition galleries. Step into a Victorian chemist's shop and imagine how you'd enjoy shopping at the Edwardian grocery.

Try your hand at using a traditional hand pump to draw water from a well. Then there is the 1920s shopping experience, a recreation of a row of shops including an ironmonger, pawn shop, doctor's surgery, cobbler shop, music shop and a barbershop.

Tour the rock-cut caves behind the museum

Experience for yourself what it was like in a WWII air raid shelter carved out of the solid rock behind the museum. Step into a Victorian home and see how residents of Nottingham lived and worked over the years. See how children played in times past in the Toys gallery, and the contributions made by individuals and organisations in the Community Showcase.

The museum stands beside the historic Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, perhaps the oldest inn in England. Above it towers Castle Rock, riddled with caves, and at the top of the Rock is Nottingham Castle.

The museum is housed in a row of historic 17th-century cottages. The cottages formed part of a cluster of 20 buildings in an area named for the brewing that once took place here.

The museum is housed in 17th-century cottages

The museum holds a large collection of documents, maps, local portraits and archive material.

The Museum of Nottingham Life is part of Nottingham City Museums, the umbrella organisation that looks after the top local museums including the Nottingham Industrial Museum, the Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Newstead Abbey, and Wollaton Hall.