Gloucester Waterways Museum
Gloucester Waterways Museum is housed in a Victorian warehouse at Gloucester Docks in the city of Gloucester, England. It is located along the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal and River Severn. Until 2010, it was known as the National Waterways Museum at Gloucester.
It is one of several museums and attractions operated by the Canal & River Trust, the successor to The Waterways Trust.
History
The museum opened in 1988. Formerly known as the "National Waterways Museum, Gloucester", it was one of three museums operated by the Waterways Trust that focussed on the history of canals in Britain. The museum went through extensive refurbishments between 2007 and 2008, adding new galleries. In the summer of 2010 the Gloucester site was renamed the Gloucester Waterways Museum, focussing on the local area. This meant that the museum could apply for funding of a different type from the types that were available to national museums.The museum features a collection of boats including narrowboats, river barges, canal and river tugs, and a steam-powered dredger. There is also a steam crane and heavy oil engine in the setting of a canal repair yard, which is complete with working machine shop, forge and weighbridge, and a hydraulic accumulator. The museum uses modern interactive techniques and hands-on exhibits, including a model of a section of a canal with working locks.