About the Museum

​The world-famous Bakelite Museum is a unique collection of ordinary and extraordinary objects from the Naughty Nineties to the Swinging Sixties.  It includes thousands of items that were used in homes and workplaces throughout the country, things made of Bakelite and other early plastics in fabulous colours and patterns, and things that were part of everyday life in the Bakelite era.
 
Bakelite, the first proper plastic, was a revolutionary material.  It enabled mass-production and its insulating capabilities allowed cars and aeroplanes to be made.  It was known as “the material of a thousand uses” and in various guises it was used by everybody.  The museum gives a delightful, humorous look through a keyhole into the past – including its visions of the future (See the Stars Wars telephone!).
 
We have a 1930s caravan and experimental plastic bicycles.  There are telephones and gramophones, ovens and irons, cruets and calculators, televisions, toys and tie-presses and even machines from the first and last Bakelite factory in Britain. It’s a treat for vintage enthusiasts and design connoisseurs and it’s a nostalgic feast for those who remember these things and full of delightful surprises for those who don’t.