Turton Tower

19/06/2026

Museums on the Air (also known as International Museums Weekends) is a global amateur radio event where radio enthusiasts set up temporary and permanent stations at museums. Operators use special call signs to contact other museum stations worldwide, promoting radio communication at heritage sites.

The event is spearheaded by the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) and typically takes place over two consecutive weekends every summer. If you are a radio ham or a heritage enthusiast looking to participate or visit, here are key details: International Museums Weekends takes place on June 20–21 and June 27–28, 2026. During these days, participating museums will broadcast across various HF and VHF frequencies, exchanging unique QSL cards with other.

We are pleased to welcome back the Bolton Wireless Radio Club, who will be in the Turton Tower grounds on Saturday 20th June. Call in and find out about HAM radio. They are a great bunch and would love to to tell you about their club and what they do. 📡📻

17/06/2026

Now that we finally have a nice day the Turton Tower Bee Group have given the hives an inspection. Four of the five hives are doing really well and they will be keeping an eye on the fifth one for signs of a queen. The bees seem to be happy in the sunshine and are making the most of all the lovely nectar and pollen around the grounds. 🌼🐝🍯

08/06/2026

This is an amazing offer from the Art Fund. Lots of fabulous museums and heritage sites to visit, including Turton Tower, all for just £20 for a 3 month membership. Spend the summer visiting history and culture 💕

50% off major exhibitions

07/06/2026

People volunteer for lots of reasons and Susan, one of our room stewards, found herself looking for a new hobby. She describes feeling a bit lost and how she was missing some of the things that made her feel like herself after retiring early.

Susan began to look for new ways to fill her time but didn’t want to do something too similar to her previous work life! She had always loved history so ended up at Turton Tower and says she hasn’t looked back since. image.png

One of her favourite objects in the house is this portrait of Sir Lee Knowles, the last private owner of Turton Tower who used it for weekend retreats, as it’s one of the finest portraits in the Tower and she has a local connection to it!

The Knowles family home was in Pendlebury, Swinton just outside Manchester. His home was called Westwood House which was later demolished after his death and replaced by a housing estate called Westwood that Susan actually lived on.

Inspired to volunteer this ? Email [email protected] for more information

🖼️ Sir Lees Knowles (1857–1928) by Charles Mendelssohn Horsfall on loan from Salford Museum & Art Gallery.

06/06/2026

Margaret, one of the Turton Tower room stewards, took a break from chatting to visitors to tell us about her favourite room in the house and why she enjoys volunteering at Turton. 👋

Do you have a passion for history that you want to share with others? Join us as a volunteer! Email [email protected] for more information.

05/06/2026

Happy ! Volunteers are at the heart of Turton Tower, they keep the house in good order, engage with visitors and ensure our gardens and beehives are thriving. Here are some of our volunteer stories.

Kathryn from our Collections Care team worked as the headteacher of a local junior school. After signing off many school trips for her pupils she decided to come and see Turton Tower herself.

On a visit with her husband Kathryn spotted dusty objects and wondered if they had anyone to help clean them! After making enquiries she was able to join the Collections Care group where she received training and happened to already know one of the volunteers. She then offered up her sewing skills and helped make some of the dressing up costumes available in the house. 🧹🧵

Kathryn’s favourite object is the arts and crafts style fireplace surround in the Morning Room. At first glance it looks black from years and years of fires. But when you look closer you actually realise how beautiful it is. No two panels are the same and each is decorated with designs of exotic birds and plants.

As part of her role as a Collections Care volunteer Kathryn is working on a long project to try and clean the fire surround and reveal its former glory. ✨

Interested in helping to look after historic objects?
Email [email protected]

30/05/2026

It’s another beautiful day in paradise and Phil and Sue from the Kitchen Garden Group have their fabulous plant table up and running. Bargain plants for sale all day so call in and get your bedding plants now because they won’t last long 🌼🌸💕

28/05/2026

Here’s a date for your diary - Saturday 27th June. 🌼
The Turton Tower Kitchen Garden group will be holding their annual open day for the prestigious National Garden Scheme. This is always a great day with lots to see and do. 🌸

22/05/2026

That moment we have all been waiting for has finally arrived…. Blue skies and sunshine ☀️ and it’s even better because it’s a Bank Holiday weekend. Turton Tower and the Woodland Cafe will be open all weekend including Monday so why not pay us a visit.

14/05/2026

This was a fantastic event last year and we’re really looking forward to attending again this year. If you’re a craftsperson looking for a great venue to showcase your work then this is the place 💕📖📚