Blog

International Women’s Day

When the history of Birmingham is told, pen making is right up there with every fine trade the city was founded on. The names of brothers John and William Mitchell will rightly also always be mentioned as the first manufacturers to use machines for cutting pen nibs. Wrongly, though, there are people who don’t get […]

It’s World Book Day

Today the whole world honours books – and what are books written with? Okay, thee days it’s mostly computer keyboards. Yet the greatest works of literature ever written were first done by hand using exactly the kinds of pens we have here in the museum. We don’t use the word ‘exactly’ lightly, either. During the [...]

New year’s resolution: fix that handwriting

Handwriting
Where else could you go to learn beautiful handwriting? Right here in the Pen Museum you’ll always find a chance to try out calligraphy – and there’s always a workshop to teach you how to do it properly and fix that handwriting. Calligraphy is more than just exquisite handwriting, it’s a true art form in [...]

Happy Christmas Everyone!

Happy Christmas everyone! We are closed, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and reopen on Wednesday December 27th. We are closed on New Year's Day. Hope to see you guys real soon!

The Pen Museum’s first Poet-in-Residence

‘Appropriately, a museum devoted to pens is also full of writers and you’ll be hearing from them all.’ Poet in Residence Two months ago, blogger-in-residence William Gallagher gave this insight into the Pen Museum and its natural aptitude for storytelling. Based in a former pen manufactory, stories are woven into the very fabric of the [...]

Christmas & New Year Opening 2017

Christmas Festive Holiday 2017
Pen Museum Christmas & New Year Opening times and days 2017  The Museum will be closed Monday 25 December, Tuesday 26 December and Monday 1 January 2018. Otherwise, the Museum opening times and days remain as published. Monday - Closed Tuesday to Saturday open 11am to 4pm Sunday open 1pm to 4pm Last admission 3.15pm. [...]

West Midlands Volunteer Awards

West Midlands Volunteer Awards
On 19 September at the Birmingham Hippodrome, 130 guests were treated to a fantastic evening of fun and entertainment for the West Midlands Volunteer Awards ceremony. These awards were established to highlight the crucial work and invaluable efforts made by volunteers to the museum sector. One of these guests was Nick Lambert, Visitor Engagement volunteer from the [...]

What it’s Like to Volunteer at the Pen Museum

I first came to the Pen Museum as a young child; I am now 21 years old and so much has changed here since then. As a volunteer, I have seen the stages of transformation that have been undertaken here, and I’ve been able to be a part of it. Being a small museum volunteers […]

Blogging at the Pen Museum

Antiques for Everyone

It just seems right that a museum devoted to pens should have a blog and thanks to Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and Writing West Midlands, I got to be the official Blogger in Residence. I asked for it. Quite literally: I’m a writer and when being considered for museum work, I really did say “Hello, […]

New Exhibition – Black Country: The Pit to the Pen

Black Country: The Pit to the Pen

As part of a recent launch of new facilities and exhibition space, the museum has teamed up with local poet, Elinor Cole and Dudley Museums Service to create a new exhibition, “Black Country: The Pit to the Pen. Visitors will be able to see Elinor’s poetry alongside the etchings of Solihull-born Richard Samuel Chattock whose […]