Nantwich Museum welcomes Mornflake 350th anniversary donation

Nantwich Museum has received a cash boost from a major South Cheshire employer celebrating a milestone 350^th anniversary.

The Pillory Street landmark has welcomed a £350 donation from breakfast company Mornflake in Crewe which has pledged to give back to the community and support specially selected charities throughout.

The family milling business founded in 1675 is also celebrating by sending breakfasts to schools and planting trees – the first was a well-established oak planted on land near its Gresty Road mill.

Managing director James Lea said: “This is a very special year for us and we want to make it a memorable one, supporting the community where we live and work.

“Nantwich Museum works hard to share the rich history of Nantwich and plays a vital role in the town economy by attracting many visitors.

“There’s a certain synergy with what we do as a family company to promote the Cheshire heritage story so we were delighted to make the museum a recipient of our Mornflake Mighty Oats 350^th anniversary donation of 2025.”

The museum, a registered charity, welcomed more than 20,000 visitors and hundreds more children on school tours in 2024.

It relies on donations and the support of 100 volunteers who greet visitors, organise exhibitions and man the gift shop.

Last year ended on a high for the town attraction. It scooped the prestigious South Cheshire Chamber ‘Ambassador of the Year’ award for putting the area on the map for excellence.

Manager Kate Dobson said: “We’re over the moon. Mornflake is a local business steeped in history and highly regarded as a local employer.

“The current economic climate makes it hard for charities to gain support so the donation is very much appreciated.”

The Morn­flake story spans centuries of the Lea family starting with William Lea who began milling oats at Swettenham Mill, South Cheshire in 1675 – nine years after the Great Fire of London.

The firm runs the oldest manufacturing site in Crewe employing over 300 people and proudly celebrates its local roots with its Crewe headquarters on the packaging of breakfast products shipped worldwide.

Since exporting its first products to the Seychelles in 1958, Mornflake has become an exporter to 80 different countries and its porridges, crispy muesli and crunchy granolas are top sellers in supermarkets nationwide.

Those famous oats will now also be enjoyed by visitors to Nantwich Museum’s monthly coffee mornings.

Its volunteer bakers were delighted to hear of a bonus donation – a large quantity of Mornflake oats which can be used in their cake recipes.

For upcoming museum events and exhibitions go to nantwichmuseum.org.uk