Opening times

  • Monday Closed
  • Tuesday Closed
  • Wednesday 10am - 4pm
  • Thursday 10am - 4pm
  • Friday 10am - 4pm
  • Saturday 10am - 4pm
  • Sunday 10am - 4pm
More information

Opening times

  • Monday Closed
  • Tuesday Closed
  • Wednesday Closed
  • Thursday Closed
  • Friday Closed
  • Saturday Closed
  • Sunday Closed
More information

Opening times

  • Monday Closed
  • Tuesday Closed
  • Wednesday Closed
  • Thursday Closed
  • Friday Closed
  • Saturday Closed
  • Sunday Closed
More information

Opening times

  • Monday 9.30am - 5pm
  • Tuesday 9.30am - 5pm
  • Wednesday 9.30am - 5pm
  • Thursday 9.30am - 5pm
  • Friday 9.30am - 5pm
  • Saturday 9.30am - 5pm
  • Sunday Closed
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Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum / About the Museum / Our History

Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum is the first to explore the history of the Northumbrian pipes and showcase bagpipes from Scotland, Ireland, Spain and other countries around the world.

Morpeth Chantry was founded in the 1300s by Richard of Morpeth as a place for prayers to be said in memory of his parents and his benefactor the Lord of Morpeth John of Greystoke. The building is a rare surviving example of a bridge chapel, where blessings would be given to the passing traveller in exchange for a small fee.

Through the centuries the Chantry has had a multitude of uses – as the town grammar school from the 1550s to 1846, as council offices and concert venue in Victorian times, and as a mineral water factory in the 20th century. The Chantry was restored to be used as a museum and craft centre in the 1980s.

In the charming Chantry building, visitors to the Bagpipe Museum can:

  • Discover a unique piece of Northumberland’s heritage: the Northumbrian small pipes
  • Browse the displays of pipes and panels to learn how the local small pipes differ from the famous Highland war pipes
  • Experience the William Alfred Cocks’ collection of bagpipes, including ivory small pipes belonging to Robert Bewick (son of Tyneside engraver Thomas Bewick), a miniature set made for Queen Mary’s dolls’ house, a set of pipes from the Jacobite Rising and richly decorated French pipes from the court of French King Louis XIV