Whittlesey Museum

The Whittlesey Museum sits on the ground floor of the town hall in Market Street, Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire. The building itself was finished in 1825 and originally housed the local fire service with space for a horse-drawn engine. In 1857 it was remodelled in Italianate style by Richard Reynolds Rowe, adding decorative faience tiles and a row of five arched windows above the entrance. The first-floor assembly room once served as a magistrates’ court with a horseshoe-shaped table. After the council moved out, the building became home to an independent museum in 1976. It gained Arts Council Accreditation in 2007 and now partners with four other Fenland museums as one of the ‘Fenland Five’. The museum collects local archaeology, costumes, coins and social history including the Whittlesey Straw Bear tradition. Displays occupy the old caretaker’s cottage and the former fire-engine house. Outside in the courtyard, exhibits cover the brick industry and the railway that once served the area. A forge with a wheelwright’s bench and farm machinery shows how trades supported the local economy. Archives and medals join textiles and natural science specimens to tell the story of Whittlesey and its surrounding villages. Visitors find the collections arranged across two small buildings and an outdoor courtyard. Inside, glass cases hold costumes and coins while maps and photographs trace the town’s growth. The courtyard displays bricks and railway relics alongside a working forge. Seasonal exhibitions often focus on the Straw Bear festival or local archaeology finds. The compact site offers a quiet space to explore the town’s past without crowds.