ONE of the most popular objects with visitors in the County Museum wing of Hartlebury Castle is this wonderful carousel.

By pushing a 20p piece into the slot, visitors can make the horses gallop and transport themselves back into fairground nostalgia with the smell of candyfloss and the sound of laughter in the air.

This magnificent contraption was made by Baden George Hassell Bennett (1900-1982) – it is a scale model of a Wilson's Carousel, a company based in his hometown of Redditch. Bennett made a wide variety of objects over his lifetime.

At the age of two he contracted polio which left him unable to walk, but he used his practical skills to put together a hand-powered wheelchair/bicycle for getting around.

This carousel was a true labour of love which he worked on for over 60 years. It was donated to the museum by Bennett’s niece and restored by volunteer Gordon Bennett (no relation) in 2005.

Curators have recently moved the carousel to another area of the museum. Dismantling and rebuilding the model is no easy feat as there are 36 horses, each with many individual components and the mechanics are electrically driven so the engineering is quite complex.

When Hartlebury Castle re-opens the carousel will sit pride-of-place in the toy gallery on the top floor of the museum.

A huge amount of work is going on behind the scenes while the museum is closed to the public.

New exhibitions are being finalised, events and activities planned and sites cleaned and refreshed ready to receive visitors as soon as government guidance allows.

In the meantime, you can enjoy online exhibitions, craft activities and virtual talks, all of which can be found on the website and social media pages. Visit museumsworcestershire.org.uk for more information.