I’ve gone past The Musical Museum in Brentford a few times on the bus, but had never been until it was open for free for the 50th anniversary weekend. Though I was supposed to be packing for my holiday, I took a break in order to go down to Kew Bridge.
The museum contains one of the world’s foremost collections of automatic musical instruments, including pianos, orchestrions, orchestrelles and violin players, among others. The star of the collection is the Wurlitzer organ, which is located in the hall. When I arrived, a tour was just going into the hall, so I tacked onto the end and enjoyed a quick performance from the tour guide. We also got to see the organ lowered down into the pit!
As well as having a look around myself, I attended the beginning of the next tour, in which the enthusiastic guide played us some of the instruments. This was great fun and I found the ingenuity and cleverness of these machines fascinating. There were several children there and they seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves.
The museum normally costs £10 but as I mentioned, it was free on the anniversary weekend. The museum completely relies on entry fees to run and maintain the instruments, so I’d urge you to visit and check out this quirky and unusual museum.
FACTS
Address: 399 High Street, Brentford, TW8 0DU
Website: musicalmuseum.co.uk
Opening Hours: Fri-Sun (& Bank Holiday Mondays) 11am-5pm
Prices: Adult £10, Concession £17.50, Child £4; under-5s free