Browse Items (13 total)

The Scold’s Bridle was a form of punishment reserved only for women, and was designed to stop those who were deemed verbally unruly. The flat piece of metal or the ‘gag’ went into the woman’s mouth and the bridle was fastened at the back. From the…

This helmet belonged to an Air Raid Precaution Warden for Sale. The first consignment of specialist ARP fire-fighting equipment was received in Sale as early as September 1938.

These spectacles are thought to date from the eighteenth century. In October 1709 The Tatler reported ‘About five years ago it was the Fashion to be short sighted’ but ‘that Mode of Infirmity is out, and the age has recover’d its sight: but the Blind…

Stretford Memorial Hospital was opened on 28 October 1914, with twenty beds, by the Old Trafford Divisional Committee of the Red Cross Hospital Society, as an auxiliary hospital to the Second Western General. It was enlarged from time to time as the…

A goffering iron, often known as an Italian or Tally iron, was used for frilled cuffs and ruffles. The tube was heated by inserting a hot metal poker-like rod. The frilled cuffs and collars would then be curled around the cylinder, smoothing them…

Before sugar cubes and granulated sugar were introduced at the end of the nineteenth century, sugar was bought as a cone or ‘sugarloaf’. Sugar nippers were used to break pieces off the cone.

Skirt lifters were used by Victorian ladies to stop their skirts from dragging in the dirt, or to allow for extra movement during physical activities, such as cycling or tennis. Although they were already in existence, skirt lifters became…

This match box dates from around 1830 and was donated with paper matches inside. Note the phoenix design on the front with the lettering 'M.B Co'. On the back of the box there is a rough rectangle for striking the matches on and the lettering ‘A.S…

These dolls are thought to date from the 1880s. Before the Victorian period, brown was the most popular eye colour for dolls but this changed to blue, inspired by the colour of the Queen’s eyes.

Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co. Ltd or ‘Metrovicks’ was an electrical engineering company situated in Trafford Park. The business started life as British Westinghouse in 1899 but took on the name Metropolitan-Vickers in 1919 after some changes in…