The Museum was founded in 1963 by the late Frank Holland MBE who was passionate that self-playing musical instruments should be preserved and not destroyed and lost to future generations. Frank was a pioneer in this field and firmly believed that collections of musical instruments should be heard as well as seen. His work has been continued by enthusiastic volunteers ever since.
Our premises have come a long way since those early days. We now have separate galleries to display the instruments, an auditorium / concert hall, an air controlled environment, a cafe, toilets, a lift and parking.
The Museum is also home to the world's largest collection of historic musical rolls and has an extensive archive of related material.