£8k Funding for Improved Museum Shop

Staff and volunteers at Ruddington’s historic Framework Knitters’ Museum are celebrating the award of new cash to upgrade their newly established café and shop. ‘Parker’s Yard’ was added late last year when the museum site expanded into the former ‘Gun Cottage’ – between the original workers’ cottages and frameshops and the old Knitters’ Chapel. This allowed a brand new visitor entrance, hospitality and retail area – including a separate new garden. It was achieved via grants totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds from The Heritage Lottery Fund, FCC Communities Foundation, various…

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Barbara’s New Book

A Ruddington legend has been busy again – this time launching her new book about a very specific bit of our village history. You may or may not have realised that 2017 marked the 50th anniversary of James Peacock Infant and Nursery School‘s move from St Peter’s Rooms on Church Street to its current, larger premises at Manor Park. At the time of this half-century celebration, Barbara Breakwell was a School Governor (from 2009 to 2018) and also the Treasurer of ‘The Friends of James Peacock School’. “I like local history…

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New Ruddington Café Launches

The recently opened coffee shop within the new extension and gardens at Ruddington’s knitting and textile museum is now officially in new hands – following its ‘launch’ this weekend. The Split Screen Coffee Company – which has previously traded from The Bottle Top on High Street as well as from its famous converted VW camper van – is now running the hospitality area at Parker’s Yard within the former ‘Gunn Cottage’. Along with the museum gift shop and its Old Chapel, these are areas of Ruddington’s internationally famous tourist attraction which can…

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Telly Fame For Our Framework Knitters!

Ruddington will feature on national television again this week – after a well known presenter and her camera crew secretly dropped in on one of our village’s heritage attractions earlier in the year. It was at the start of February that BBC1‘s Bargain Hunt came to Nottinghamshire, where host Natasha Raskin Sharp and experts Ben Cooper and Izzie Balmer brought the two teams antique hunting. During the morning of Friday February 4th Natasha visited Ruddington’s Framework Knitters’ Museum on Chapel Street to discover how a 16th-century curate revolutionised the world of knitting –…

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New Museum Manager Announced

Following the stepping back of former manager and curator Jim Grevatte, Ruddington’s Framework Knitters’ Museum has just revealed its latest boss. After completing “a competitive recruitment process” for their new ‘Operations Manager’ role, the venues’ Trustees say they are “delighted” to announce that Ruddington resident Sarah Godfrey has been appointed. Sarah is already well known for her extensive community work within our village. The Trustees add: “With a strong arts background, Sarah brings us an unusual combination of both creativity and commercial awareness, as well as a wealth of experience…

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It’s Goodbye to Jim

The man who has guided a Ruddington museum through one of the most important periods in its history has now left for pastures new. Jim Grevatte, who’s been the Manager and Curator at The Framework Knitters’ Museum since December 2018, has just stepped down from the role following the appointment of a new ‘Operations Manager’.* However, he will continue as a trustee for our internationally famous Chapel Street tourist attraction. Over the last three years, Jim has been instrumental in implementing (amongst many other things) the ‘Right Good Yarn’ project…

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Funding Boost for Museum

Staff and volunteers at Ruddington’s historic Framework Knitters’ Museum say they’re “super happy” to have received new funding worth £62,925. The cash will be used for urgent structural, chimney, window and roofing repairs, as well as improving the heating and security at their Chapel Street tourist attraction. The award is part of a £48m national package of additional government support for museums and libraries in the UK from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Arts Council England. The museum has already benefitted from extensive previous funding to help with its ambitious…

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What’s Happening with the Church Clock?

If you tend to glance up at our Parish Church tower to check the time, when you’re making your way through Ruddington, you might have been rather misled lately. Even though the hands of St Peter’s clock may reassure you are not late for that midday appointment after all, they have actually been frozen at six minutes to twelve for quite some time!  Indeed, there are two incorrect clock dials on the historic building. The most prominent of these is the south face of the tower – with a newer…

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Night at the Museum

Those attending the official re-opening of Ruddington’s famous Framework Knitters’ Museum this week got to see it in a different light…. the dark! Staff and volunteers at Ruddington’s now internationally acclaimed tourist attraction welcomed invited guests to see the newly expanded site at four o’clock on Tuesday afternoon (23rd November) – and it was soon apparent why this time was chosen. As night fell, the workers’ cottages – recently restored to how they would have looked in 1890 – and the museum’s new ‘community garden’ were lit by candles and other…

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Volunteers Needed for Expanded Museum

As Ruddington’s Framework Knitters’ Museum on Chapel Street moves towards re-opening in October, it’s looking for new volunteers. Jan Perret writes… If you are local to Ruddington, you will probably have noticed that the museum has been undergoing extensive building work over the last few months, thanks to a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and FCC Communities Foundation. This money has allowed us to create a new entrance, reception, shop and cafe in the old ‘Gunn Cottage’ and this means we have more opportunities for you to be involved…

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