#64
Museum of Brands
A time-tunnel through 150+ years of everyday stuff—packaging, adverts, toys, tech—arranged by decade so you feel how design, prices and priorities shift. It’s compact, nostalgic, and unexpectedly revealing about war, women’s work, health scares and the birth of ‘convenience’. Expect 60–75 minutes, plus a breather in the garden.
Opening Hours
Sunday: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Monday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Thursday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Friday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Saturday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
What's not to miss inside?
Time Tunnel
Decades at walking speedShelf by shelf you watch typography, materials and mascots evolve—and values with them.
📍 Main circuit
Wartime Shelves
Design under rationingPlain wrappers, thrift tips, recycled tins—packaging learns austerity.
📍 1940s section
Colour Boom
Printing tech meets pop cultureFluoro inks, swinging mascots and supermarket aisles as theatres of persuasion.
📍 1960s–70s run
Green & Clean
Eco claims and ‘healthy’ halosCompostable packs, ‘plant-based’ badges—virtue goes mainstream on the shelf.
📍 2000s–today
Inspire your Friends
- Founder Robert Opie began the collection at 16 with a saved sweet wrapper—one teenager’s keepsake became a national archive of everyday design.
- The museum’s ‘Time Tunnel’ layout makes advertising history legible without a lecture—you feel inflation, new materials and social change just by walking.
- Original wartime packs show how brands adapted—less ink, fewer metals, smaller sizes—decisions driven by government controls and supply shocks.
