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Tewkesbury Museum battle diorama

Experience the heat of battle!

Stand in awe and fascination at the Battle of Tewkesbury diorama! Built in 1971 to mark the 500th anniversary of the battle, see 2,000 figures locked in medieval combat. See more . . .

We Need You!

If you have some time to spare and would like to help us run the museum, please get in touch.

To find out more about trustees click here, to find out more about volunteering click here

Opening Hours

Winter opening (till 25 March)

Saturday, Sunday and Monday
11.00am – 3.00pm

Summer opening (from 26 March)

Saturday, Sunday and Monday
11.00am – 4.00pm

Tuesday to Thursday
12 Noon – 3pm

Friday
Closed

Warning:  these are our planned opening hours; the actual ones depend on the availability of our volunteers, so it’s possible we’ll be closed on some of these days.  If the front door is open and there’s a white board outside, we’re open!

Entry to the exhibitions is free, but all our running costs are funded by your kind donations

Tewkesbury Museum Logo

You are welcome to spend time in the wonderful unspoiled seventeenth century building that is Tewkesbury Museum. Discover Tewkesbury’s rich and diverse history through a collection which ranges from Roman remains through to wartime austerity. Learn about notable Tewkesbury people like Antarctic explorer Raymond Priestley. Study the magnificent diorama of the Battle of Tewkesbury and the unique fairground model.

museum-building-small-IMG_2060The building itself is a time capsule. Restored by Abbey restorer Thomas Collins in the nineteenth century and donated to the town as a Museum by an ‘anonymous gentleman’ in the twentieth, it is unique, full of original features, eclectic and eccentric.

The Museum is very child-friendly, with activities to keep them absorbed for hours.

As a small independent museum we offer local knowledge, local research and a fascinating glimpse into times gone by.

We’re often open outside our core hours; it’s worth a look to see if we are open.

We also do our best to open for individuals or groups outside these hours, by special arrangement.

Allow at least an hour for a visit

Access:

Access is difficult for visitors with mobility issues, for further access information click here

Tewkesbury Museum Sign

4 days ago

Thanks to Steve Goodchild for his talk last Tuesday on Inns, Taverns & Beerhouses. Very much enjoyed by another large audience. Made even better by the announcement that museum is to get £367K grant to repair and weatherproof the building. Our next talk is by Linda Pike, long serving projectionist at the Roses, (where Linda's first boss was Stan Stennett). When not showing films, or volunteering at the museum, Linda has been studying for a post grad history degree degree, focusing on cinema during the Second World war. In her talk she looks at how women moved into her profession during the war, and what that work involved in the days of 35mm film. This will be a very interesting talk, for those interested in changes in women's place in society, and changes more generally in the cinema in the Golden Age of film. No popcorn, but tea and cake are included in the £3 admission. All profits go to Tewkesbury Museum. ... See MoreSee Less
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6 days ago

Great news for Tewkesbury! The Town Museum is to be restored the aid of a £367,000 government grant. The museum building at 64 Barton St was built in the 17th century. It could again be one of the most striking buildings in town; many of the walls, ceilings and windows are either original or very old replacements. It was given to the town by Martin Cadbury and has been occupied by the museum for the past 60 years. Unfortunately, over the past 40 years it has fallen into decay: roof leaks, failing lead gutters and a collapsing, very ornate ceiling has meant that the top floor is closed to the public. The lower floors are damp, draughty, and lack of efficient heating means that volunteer staff and volunteers freeze in the winter. The condition was so bad that, despite a £30,000 roof repair carried out with the aid of an emergency grant from Historic England two years ago, it is still listed on the “At Risk” register. Undeterred by all this, our volunteers have kept the museum open, and developed new displays including the Battle diorama, the life of Raymond Priestley and the model fairground which continue to attract large numbers of visitors. The planned work will not just restore the building to its former glory, but improve the heating and ventilation to preserve our collection and allow us to welcome ever more visitors from Tewkesbury and around the world.Joanne Raywood, Chair of the museum trustees, enthusiastically welcomed the news, saying it will “allow the building to take pride of place as one of our most prized exhibits. Tewkesbury museum has many wonderful local tales to tell. Come and visit us as we open a new chapter in the story of one of our town’s iconic buildings.” The grant, from the Arts Council’s Museum Estates Development Fund (MEND), was awarded to Tewkesbury Town Council as sole trustee of the George Watson Memorial Hall Trust, which owns the building, and who worked with the Trustees of the museum charity, to secure the funding. We will post more news on the museum development over the coming weeks and months, In the meantime the museum is open to the public, opening hours can be found on our website and Facebook page. ... See MoreSee Less
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3 weeks ago

Latest museum talk, 21 March. ... See MoreSee Less
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1 month ago

Thanks to the enthusiastic audience who attended Tewkesbury Museum's first talk of 2023. Next up is Ian Boskett with "Ashchurch to Tewkesbury" , the story of Tewkesbury's link to the mainline railway. Should be a good one. March 7th, 7 PM, Tewkesbury Baptist Church, in the appropriately named Station Rd. All profits to Tewkesbury Museum. ... See MoreSee Less
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2 months ago

Magic Lantern. Late 19th/early 20th centuries. Lanterns were the forerunner of the slide projector. Light was produced from limelight, oil, gas or electric arc lamps. Slides were glass, either from photographs or hand painted. This lantern was sold by C S Baynton, who traded as photographic retailers in Birmingham between 1896 and 1926. The lantern would have contained a paraffin lamp - hence the chimney- but this is missing.Tewkesbury Museum hosted a Lantern Show in February. The lanternist, Patrick Furley, displayed a very small part of his collection of over 100 models, and two members of the audience brought their own lanterns. ... See MoreSee Less
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2 months ago

Tewkesbury Museum will re-open on Saturday 4th FebruaryOpening hours 11 to 3 Saturday, Sunday & Monday Only ... See MoreSee Less
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