Explore our marvellous museums

Throughout the county there are many magnificent museums which hold free and lowcost events and activities for all the family. Here we highlight some of our favourite museums that explore the county’s heritage, perfect for a rainy day.

Braintree Museum

Housed in the former Manor Street School, Braintree Museum houses and manages the district’s heritage and regularly hosts exhibitions, events and activities for schools, groups and visitors. The museum features Braintree’s archaeology, industry and craftsmanship, with exhibits and artefacts that were discovered in the local area. There’s a dedicated area for Crittall Windows and exhibits that focus on the importance of both the Courtauld and Warner textile firms to the town.

Visit before Saturday 1 July to the ‘Wonderful World of Ladybird Book Artists’ exhibition.

www.braintreemuseum.co.uk

Boxted Airfield Museum

Boxted Airfield Museum (near Colchester) features informative displays on the individual pilots, their uniforms and a recreation of a B26 Marauder aircraft cockpit – the only example in the country – and Marauder artifacts. Boxted Airfield, described as ‘the most important US Fighter base in the UK during World War Two’, was home to the American Fighter Group during the Second World War and after the war was over Boxted became home to several RAF squadrons. The museum is open on the last Sunday of every month during the summer from 10.00am to 4.00pm. Free entry for children.

www.boxted-airfield.com

Chelmsford Museum

Featuring archaeology, biology, fine art, geology, industrial, military and social exhibitions, along with a cabinet of curiosities, Chelmsford Museum in Oaklands Park has a wide range of objects and displays covering thousands of years of the city’s history and is a jewel in the county’s museums crown. Essex artist, Grayson Perry, also has two new works of art displayed in the museum, along with his other work, in the ceramics gallery. Visitors can take a break from the exhibitions with a visit to the Hive Café in the Victorian House - the café’s located in the original drawing room.

www.chelmsford.gov.uk/museums

Colchester and Ipswich Museums

With three museums to choose from there’s much to see in Britain’s newest city. Colchester Castle offers interactive displays, exhibits and all daily tours are led by expert guides. You may even be taken down into the Roman vaults or up onto the castle roof.

Visitors can enjoy 300-years of history in this Georgian townhouse via hands-on exhibits at Hollytree’s Museum. Explore Bernard Mason’s collection of Colchester clocks or learn about the origins of the lullaby ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’, which was written in Colchester.

Housed in the former All Saints Church is the Natural History Museum. Featuring exhibitions and interactive displays, visitors can learn about local wildlife habitats, biodiversity and climate change at this family-friendly and muchloved museum.

www.colchester.cimuseums.org.uk

Epping Forest District Museum

Housed in a beautiful listed Tudor building in Waltham Abbey, and a recent winner of the VisitEngland ‘Hidden Gem’ award, Epping Forest District Museum provides a fascinating day out. The museum has a vast collection, including a woolly mammoth tusk and the ancient Waltham Abbey Bible and much more.

www.eppingforestdc.gov.uk/ museum

Rayleigh Town Museum

Rayleigh Town Museum is a popular attraction in the heart of the community. The museum’s summer programme of events includes an exhibition on local churches and a Rayleigh Castle and Medieval collection. The museum also has brass rubbing, children’s activities, crafts and it’s free to enter.

www.rayleightownmuseum.co.uk

Maldon Museum in the Park

Housed in the Edwardian built former Park Keepers Lodge in Promenade Park is the Maldon Museum in the Park. This volunteer run museum offers visitors the chance to see exhibits directly related to Maldon and the district.

With displays in various rooms, the museum covers a range of themes throughout Maldon’s social history and showcases how life once was. With an array of clay pipes that were made and found in Maldon over the centuries, a ‘Time and Tide’ exhibit showcasing how life once was for fisherman on Maldon’s waterfront, to a 1940’s room depicting life during World War Two, there’s much to see and explore.

www.e-voice.org.uk/ maldonmuseuminthepark

Saffron Walden Museum

An award-winning museum with archaeology, natural and social history galleries with treasures like Samurai armour, Saxon gold and an Egyptian Mummy. Children can excavate in the archaeological sandpit and explore the galleries with ‘Wallace the Lion’. A special summer exhibition – ‘Uttlesford Open Art Exhibition’ - explores the theme “A Sense of Place.” www.saffronwaldenmuseum.org

Southend Museums

With four venues - a museum, hall, priory and a planetarium - there’s much to see and do at Southend Museums. View the Roman and Anglo-Saxon burials which were discovered in Prittlewell, Southend, at Central Museum or explore the night sky at the Southend Planetarium. Visitors can also visit Prittlewell Priory or view over 2,000 artworks at the Beecroft Art Gallery.

www.southendmuseums.co.uk

Wivenhoe Chapel Museum

From the past to the present, visitors to Wivenhoe Chapel Museum can discover the fascinating history of the town - from the Ice Age to the heyday of the town’s shipbuilding era – in this atmospheric museum. Visitors can also discover the fascinating stories about the town’s history and its inhabitants.

www.wivenhoehistory.org.uk/ content/topics/places-buildings/ wivenhoe-town-museum