DURING THE 1970s, Philip and Jeannie Millward began collecting folk art and other artefacts in the Swat Valley of Pakistan. Over the years, these intrepid travellers have been collecting folkloric and other objects from all over south Asia: from Pakistan, India, Indonesia, and so on. At first, they stored their growing collection in a warehouse in Norwich. The Millwards’ collection grew and grew and included things bought from auctions and dealers in the UK. Today, a part of what they have amassed is beautifully displayed in a building with an interesting history.

The Millwards’ South Asia Collection is housed in a huge building, which opened in 1876. It was designed to be an indoor roller-skating rink. However, by 1877, this enterprise failed, and the building became used for Vaudeville theatre. Five years later, it became a Salvation Army ‘citadel’, and then in 1898, it became a builders’ merchant’s storehouse. In 1993, the edifice was purchased by the Millwards, who converted it to become a museum to display items from their collection.

The museum’s exhibits are beautifully laid out, and clearly labelled. Many of the objects on display are very fine examples of their type. I have seen only few museums in India that come up to the high standard of this museum in Norwich. Many of the fine pieces that the Millwards have brought from the Indian subcontinent and elsewhere in the past might not now be allowed to leave their countries of origin. But luckily, they have come to Norwich where they are being expertly cared for.  The museum is not simply a display place. It works with academic institutions such as CEPT University in Ahmedabad (Gujarat) to carry out research projects that help put objects in the collection into their true context.

Although the museum is the main attraction of the place, the former roller-skating rink also houses a shop where finely crafted, high quality folkloric goods, sourced in India and other places, can be bought. What is on sale has been purchased directly from the craftspeople who made them, rather than from middlemen. And the prices attached to them are very reasonable – not much greater than one would expect to pay in good handicraft shops in India.

Norwich is filled with attractions for the visitor. Less well-known than the castle, the cathedral, and the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, the Millward’s South Asia Collection in Bethel Street should become one of the first places a visitor heads for.