Mechanical Music Museum

Mechanical Music Museum

An eclectic mix of mechanical and musical marvels from days gone by, Keith Harding's Mechanical Music Museum features a unique collection of instruments that play themselves, from music boxes to automata. You can visit the restoration workshop, and purchase clocks and musical instruments from the ever-changing collection in the shop.

Set in a historic building in the pretty Cotswold town of Northleach is a collection of self-playing instruments that were the Victorian equivalent of a home entertainment centre.

All exhibits are in perfect playing order, and most can be purchased, so the exhibits change regularly. Self-playing pianos feature recordings made by famous composers playing their own composition, including works by Paderewski, Rachmaninov and Gershwin. One of the more 'modern' exhibits is a 1930s era handmade gramophone.

Many of the exhibits were repaired here in the museum's own workshops. One of the historic pieces sent here for restoration was an organ clock once owned by Catherine the Great of Russia, and another was a similar clock from Kensington Palace.

See clocks, toys, automata, music boxes, and watches, as well as reference books and CDs of recordings made on historic instruments.

This is not a stuffy museum with historic objects kept out of reach behind dusty glass; it's an opportunity to enjoy live entertainment, as you enjoy a guided tour by a knowledgeable expert.