Portland Basin Museum

Portland Basin Museum is a free, family-friendly museum housed in a restored 19th-century canal warehouse on the banks of the Ashton Canal in Ashton-under-Lyne, bringing Tameside's industrial and social history to life.

Portland Basin Museum | Museums in Ashton-under-Lyne

• Opening Hours:

  • Monday: Closed (open on bank holidays)

  • Tuesday – Sunday: 10am–4pm

• Location: Portland Basin Museum, Portland Place, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL7 0QA

• Suitable for: All ages

• Booking: Free entry

• Website: https://www.tameside.gov.uk/portlandbasin

• Contact: 0161 342 5480

Set within a beautifully restored nineteenth-century Ashton Canal warehouse, Portland Basin Museum combines a lively modern interior with a peaceful canalside setting just outside Manchester. The museum tells the story of Tameside from before the Industrial Revolution right through to the present day, caring for thousands of objects made or used by the people who lived and worked in the area.

One of the museum's most popular features is its recreated 1920s street, where visitors can step back in time and explore a grocer's, a chippy, a pub and a doctor's surgery, with the sights and sounds of bygone Tameside brought vividly to life. Elsewhere, you can explore the area's industrial heritage, discover what life was like down the mines or on the farm, and marvel at a collection of historic machines.

Younger children are well catered for with the Nuts and Bolts interactive play area, designed for under-5s, while the museum's regularly changing temporary exhibitions give plenty of reason to return. There is also a shop stocking retro and vintage-inspired gifts and souvenirs, a free car park with disabled spaces, and the museum is fully accessible.

Photo credit: https://www.tameside.gov.uk/portlandbasin