A museum celebrating Stockport's history of hat making has welcomed record numbers of visitors since re-opening.

More than 5,500 people have been to Stockport's Hat Works Museum since it reopened on March 8, after years of work to improve the building and the displays at a cost of £100,000.

It's the first time in four years that the whole of the Hat Works has been open to visitors.

People from all over Greater Manchester and around the country have walked through its doors since the relaunch, including from as far away as Sudbury – a town in Suffolk more than 200 miles away.

Museum staff also said they've welcomed international visitors while on trips to the UK, from countries such as America, China, and New Zealand.

Overall, there's been a 54 percent increase in visitor numbers compared to the same period in 2019.

Bronwen Simpson, from Derry, is a museum officer at the Hat Works.

The 42-year-old said the increase in visitors has led to record hat sales at the museum shop, as well as more people wanting to learn how to make hats at the site.

(Image - Stockport Council)

The surge in interest has led to plans to reinstate a millinery programme at the Hat Works Museum in future.

Ms Simpson said: "We're noticing lots of people buying hats here, we're making record sales, both women's and men's.

"It's classic styles that are still selling, like trilbys and homburgs, and cloches for women.

"There's definitely a lot of interest, people love wearing hats, and more people are discovering the joy of it as well.

"We're lucky here that we've got that hat-making knowledge, and eventually we will reinstate our millinery programme.

"In the last five years lots of people have learned how to make hats here, and have gone on to set up their own businesses as well – it's keeping that history alive.

"I live here [in Stockport] and I feel very proud of it, I think it's a really innovative place that's full of creativity.

"I think that comes from its industrial heritage, coming up with a new way of doing something, that's in the town's DNA."

The Hat Museum includes one of the Duke of Wellington's hats! (Image - public domain)

Based in a grade II listed Victorian mill in the town centre, the museum has more than 1,300 items on show for visitors to enjoy, including examples of the manufacturing process.

Stockport Hat Works Museum was also involved in the celebrations of the town's year as Greater Manchester Town of Culture, with a recent cultural weekend of events taking place around the borough which included the Hat Works Museum.

The tradition of hat making has long been associated with the town, as factories made use of the rivers to power their machinery and get rid of waste.

From the 17th century Stockport became a key area for the hat trade, which was once the main employer in the area.

During a 60-year boom in hatting from 1875, Stockport was home to a total of 30 major hat factories.

Work at the building was part of a £1 billion transformation taking place around Stockport town centre, led by the town hall.

Stockport council leader Mark Hunter last month stressed how important it was to "remember where we've come from" and recognise the town's "proud heritage."

Other recent projects in Stockport town centre include the opening of the new transport interchange, as we as the new two-acre Viaduct Park, and residential developments.

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