We are sorry that your visit did not live up to our expectations. There are reasons for asking visitors not to touch the irreplaceable exhibits that are on open display, the most pressing being that we cannot clean them like any other surface to safeguard against the transmission of Covid-19. All the objects on display whether behind glass or on open display are precious, and prior to Covid-19 this was one of the attractions of visiting the museum. We understand how the 'come and touch me' sign is currently not applicable hence the additional information we provide to visitors, asking them to refrain from touching at the present time. We actively monitor light levels in the museum and adjust our lighting accordingly. In some situations they are deliberately dim to ensure we preserve the objects. Additionally, you may have noticed for example that some of our window shutters are closed due to the risk of light and UV damage which will damage the exhibits over a period of time. We have to strike a difficult balance between presenting the objects and caring for them longer term. We understand that this balance may not be right for everyone and for that we can only apologise.

Thank you for your lovely review and we look forward to welcoming you back again in the near future.

Ah! We continue try and find ways to help visitors get a sense of how much there is to see here, so your review will help with this, thank you.

Thank you for your helpful and informative review. We are pleased to read you had a lovely visit to both the museum and the town of Stroud. We look forward to welcoming you back in the future!

Thank you ever so much for your review. We will ensure that we feed this back to our volunteer, Brenda - I know she will be delighted to read it. It really helps our volunteers and staff to hear such reviews, so thank you. Glad you were able to make use of the wider park as well.

Thank you for the lovely review and reference to the lovely location...we agree! See you again soon.

Thank you for taking the time to write a review. We used to be a bit smaller before the garden opened in 2016! Glad you had a good visit, do come again.

Thank you for your lovely and informative response, we are glad you had an excellent visit.

Thank you for your lovely review, the pop-up café as part of the craft fair was popular. We have a permanent small café in the reception area, selling snacks, hot and cold drinks. We look forward to welcoming you again.