Tewkesbury Museum

Tewkesbury Museum sits in a 17th-century half-timbered building on Barton Street. The property was donated to the town in 1956 with the condition it become a museum. After earlier tenants left, the museum opened in 1962. Reforms in 1974 threatened its future when Tewkesbury’s old borough was dissolved. A determined clerk saved the museum by transferring its identity to the new district council. The museum holds Roman finds uncovered during construction of the Roses Theatre. A diorama shows the Battle of Tewkesbury in detail. Exhibits explore the town’s mop fair and a 1950s funfair model. Antarctic explorer Raymond Priestley is remembered through items from his home village. In 2010 the diary of Lieutenant Mark Evison appeared alongside letters from earlier soldiers. Visitors walk through rooms filled with local stories and objects. The Roman skeleton and artefacts stand near the battle diorama. The funfair model and mop fair displays show changing traditions. Priestley’s Antarctic pieces sit beside Evison’s wartime diary. The Friends of Tewkesbury Museum keep the collection alive and welcoming.