A rare antique tool vital for completing a town's museum collection has been found in a strange stroke of luck.

The Warren's knife cleaner was one of the items sold at The Little Dustpan in Wymondham, a popular ironmonger founded by Charles Standley in 1895.

The shop was run by members of the Standley family until it closed in 1986 and to celebrate its influence on the town, Wymondham Heritage Museum has since recreated it at its Bridewell location.

The Little Dustpan was located on Town Green for more than 90 yearsThe Little Dustpan was located on Town Green for more than 90 years (Image: Wymondham Heritage Museum)

On display are many of the items that would have been sold during the Victorian and Edwardian eras - except the knife cleaner until very recently.

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Sarah Standley, the museum's display manager and great-granddaughter of Charles Standley, said: "When Pamela Standley, my auntie, died and we cleared her house we found an antique knife cleaner which we believe came from The Little Dustpan in the 1890s.

A knife cleaner was needed to complete the Dustpan collection A knife cleaner was needed to complete the Dustpan collection (Image: Wymondham Heritage Museum)

"Not having a need for it, we put it up for auction and then a few years later the idea to recreate The Little Dustpan at the museum came up. 

"There was a list of goods we wanted to use for the displays including oil lamps, tools, crockery, baskets - and a Warren's knife cleaner.

"At this time I was kicking myself for not having kept it and I scoured auction sites but was unable to find one at a reasonable cost."

In a stroke of luck, a YouTube channel was donating an antique knife cleaner similar to those sold at the DustpanIn a stroke of luck, a YouTube channel was donating an antique knife cleaner similar to those sold at the Dustpan (Image: Wymondham Heritage Museum)

But in a stroke of luck, a YouTube channel called SORTEDFood featured a very similar knife cleaner in a video which garnered more than 480,000 views.

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The YouTube channel offered to donate it and with the help of her son Miles, Sarah reached out and told her story and the reason for needing it. 

Sarah Standley successfully requested the cleaner from the YouTube channel to be displayed at the museumSarah Standley successfully requested the cleaner from the YouTube channel to be displayed at the museum (Image: Wymondham Heritage Museum)

Several weeks later it arrived. 

"When we opened the box we found that 130 years of soot had become dislodged and gone everywhere," Sarah said.

"The museum's maintenance manager, David Brackenbury, who worked at The Little Dustpan until the early 1970s, then restored it."

It is now on display at the museum which is open seven days a week.