It was extended and improved during occupancy by Thomas Herrick about the beginning of the 19th century and renamed Merridale House.

His son Albert Baldwin Bantock, who was twice Mayor of Wolverhampton and also High Sheriff of Staffordshire in 1920, further improved the property following his father's death in 1896.

Upstairs, the focus shifts to the men and women who shaped Wolverhampton and the industries they created with displays featuring locally-made enamels, steel jewellery and japanned ware.

The museum is unusual in that it avoids for the most part the use of traditional "glass case" displays, and instead presents a "more informal and imaginative setting"; visitors are, for example, encouraged to sit on any furniture they can find.

Bantock Park has 48 acres (190,000 m2) of land and includes a play area for children, a small, 18 hole golf course, a putting green, and football fields.