If you're not aware of Robert Owen's legacy, you're best to start here. The displays on Owen's life are broken up with mementos and pictures; it's quite text-heavy but it makes fascinating reading. Owen was the son of a saddler who became a successful cotton-mill owner. His then-radical reforms included reducing working hours from 14 to 16 hours per day to 10 to 12, setting a minimum working age of 10 and funding schools for his employees' children, which included music and dancing alongside academic instruction. He's considered a founding father of the co-operative and the trade union movements. At the corner of Gas and Short Bridge Sts a statue and garden herald him as a 'pioneer, social reformer and philanthropist'.
The museum is in the town-council building and also serves at the de facto tourist office.
