Built in 1840, this impressive early Victorian home today houses a museum rich in character.

The museum opened more than 100 years ago when businessman Richard Whitaker gave it as a gift to local people.

The air of the Victorian gentleman's collection is maintained particularly well in some parts, while the changing exhibition spaces feel fresh and modern.

The ground floor of the museum is made up of a Fine and Decorative Art Room, a reconstruction of a Victorian drawing room, a taxidermy gallery and a room with changing exhibitions.

There is also a reception with a small shop and displays relating the history of the museum and the park in which it stands.

The Fine and Decorative Art Room contains some examples of ceramics and Victorian painting but most interesting are the layers of wallpaper from the different eras of the house that have been exposed during conservation and redecoration work.

Moving through the ground floor of the museum brings you to the wonderfully unsettling taxidermy room.

This is a cabinet of curiosities, and the star exhibit is the Tiger and Python Tableau, which was originally on display in 1813, as part of William Bullock's London Museum.

Upstairs is a larger and more frequently changing exhibition space which at the time of writing was exhibiting masks of the Horse and Bamboo theatre company in two light and pleasant rooms which have been altered to create one large space.

The social history gallery contains a wealth of objects arranged by theme on subjects as diverse as the two World Wars, transport, local industry and is certainly worth exploring.

Finally, on this upper floor there is a small but delightful display of 19th century fashion, donated by local ladies, which has been grouped by colour, an increasingly popular way to approach the display and interpretation of costume.

It's situated in Whitaker Park, Rawtenstall, where there are strolls and fine views across the Valley and a children's playground.

Open every day except Monday and Friday from 1pm to 4.30pm (4pm from November). Free. Call 01706 244682.