The museum building itself has an interesting history all of its own. It was originally
built as a Victorian swimming baths in 1892 by the owner of Dulley's brewery, and
was intended for the use of the people of Wellingborough. The water in the baths was
kept nice and warm by use of the waste heat created in the beer brewing process, as
the brewery was only next door. "I think there is a lesson to be learnt here in this age
of diminishing resources". Sadly by 1919 the baths had closed and the building had
been taken over by George Cox , and was used as a shoe factory right up until 1994,
when Cox's moved to a newer building. In 1995 Wellingborough council had made
plans to demolish the building and clear the site. A local businessman, Robert
Wharton, stepped in with an offer of buying the building, restoring it and using it for
the good of the towns people. Sounds kind of familiar? The Winfred Wharton trust
was set up to administer the building, and in 2007 after many years of hard work and
fund raising, the Wellingborough museum finally opened its doors to the public.
But what has this got to do with vintage slot machines? I hear you ask! Well one
of the attractions of the museum is a vintage penny arcade. Luckily they also have a
very nice cafe area, where you can sit and get a pot of tea and a bun, so Mrs Dale set
up a base camp in the cafe, whilst I went in search of the machines. At the moment the
old penny arcade is, like the rest of the museum, a work in progress, and is constantly
growing and changing as time goes by. They have about ten machines on show, ready
to take your old pennies, and about the same number of machines in storage and ready
for use. I am told by Robert that the machines are proving to be very popular with the
visitors.
Rujfler & Walker Spangles al/win and Testa Reaction Meter.
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