The owners of a Cumbrian ironmongers and hardware shop have opened up a museum at the back of the store, featuring antique anvils, plumbing tools and baking tin rollers - and two mysterious objects no one has been able to identify.


JB Banks & Son' owner Vanessa Graham told DIY Week how the museum features the shop's former tinsmithing and plumbers' workshop. "It's always been there," she said, "but hasn't been used since the 1950s.

"It's got all the anvils and the rollers for forming the baking tins. We've put in a few other things like old shop signage. And there's the office with sit up and beg desks."

The museum is attracting over 20 people a day into the shop.

"Though not quite as much as Keswick, Cockermouth is a tourist area. And we're getting tourists and locals."

And, while visitors don't feel obliged to buy on the way out, Mrs Graham says it gives them an opportunity to see what's in the shop.

The two mysterious artefacts are the only items in the shop that haven't been labelled up - but what on earth are they? If you know, leave a comment or contact DIY Week.

Make a comment?

Your name
Subject

Inform me of responses to this comment

Your email

Enter number above (anti-spam)

DIYWeek.net does not edit comments which are submitted directly by our users to express their own views. Please report abuse of our comment system here.