Cromwell Museum Trust celebrates 10th anniversary
“We’re delighted to be celebrating our 10th anniversary as an independent charity and are hugely grateful to everyone who has been a part of the story over the last decade"
The Cromwell Museum Trust is celebrating its tenth anniversary this month, whilst looking forward to an exciting future. The Museum was threatened with closure in 2014 leading to the establishment of an independent charity, the Cromwell Museum Trust, which took over in April 2016. Since then, the Museum has doubled its footfall, expanded its collections, refurbished its displays and is now looking to an exciting future with an expansion project over the next few years.
The Cromwell Museum was originally opened in 1962 and holds the best collection of objects in the world relating to the life and times of the 17th century soldier and statesman Oliver Cromwell. It has a collection of around 1,000 items, including portraits, clothing, miniatures, arms and armour, historical documents written by or about Cromwell and even a hat reputed to have been worn by him. It aims to tell the story of this fascinating, complex and controversial character ‘warts and all’.
The museum was run by Cambridgeshire County Council until budget cuts in 2014 led to its potential closure. A public campaign led to a reassessment and the foundation of the Cromwell Museum Trust as an independent charity. It works closely with Huntingdon Town Council, which owns the historic building in which the museum is located, the oldest in the town. Over the last decade the Museum has grown its visitors from 6,500 to 14,000 per year, expanded its collections and undergone a major refurbishment in 2020. It has survived the pandemic, changing visitor patterns and financial pressures to be now looking to expand. With the support of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Huntingdon Town Council and Huntingdonshire District Council a building has been purchased adjacent to the existing building to expand into over the next five years.
A celebratory event was held on Friday 17 April at Huntingdon Town Hall to thank the many people who have been involved with the museum over the last decade, including its dedicated team of volunteers, trustees past and present, local councillors, museum members, donors, historians and staff.
Stuart Orme, Curator of the Cromwell Museum says “We’re delighted to be celebrating our 10th anniversary as an independent charity and are hugely grateful to everyone who has been a part of the story over the last decade. This includes the many volunteers who have been the backbone of what we have achieved, several of whom have been with us throughout the whole ten years! It’s an exciting time for us as we start to plan and fundraise for our expansion over the next few years.”
The Cromwell Museum continues to offer a vibrant programme of events and exhibits throughout the year – more details of these, the story of the Museum and details of its exciting plans for the future can be found online at: www.cromwellmuseum.org.