Museum expansion plan

Why does the Cromwell Museum need to expand?

The Cromwell Museum tells the story of one of Britain’s most complex and internationally significant figures, Oliver Cromwell, and has the best collection of artefacts in existence relating to him. The collection has nearly 1,000 items, including portraits, clothing, miniatures, arms and armour and historical documents written by or about Cromwell. The museum is operated by an independent charity, the Cromwell Museum Trust.

The Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon was founded in 1962, housed in the centre of the town in a beautiful, if tiny, medieval building. Over recent years it has been refurbished, attracted record visitor numbers and been dubbed “a national museum in a matchbox”. Its limitation is its tiny space, some 70m squared, which restricts the amount that can be displayed and the number of visitors that can be accommodated. The space and building means that we have no toilets, a limited shop space and no café – facilities which visitors expect from most museums – and has limitations for school and group visits.

The proposal to expand follows record-breaking success for the Cromwell Museum. Visitor numbers in 2024/25 exceeded 15,000, the highest in over 30 years, with over 1,000 schoolchildren receiving outreach sessions or visiting in person. The museum generated more than £465,000 for the local economy last year and received national press coverage and TV features.

With all this in mind, the Cromwell Museum Trust has the ambition to expand the museum beyond its current building.

"The Cromwell Museum makes a massive contribution to the heritage, culture and economy of Huntingdon – it’s a real gem of a place. This expansion will both bring the story of Oliver Cromwell, ‘warts and all’, to more people while breathing life back into the historic town centre."

Paul Bristow, Mayor, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority

Expanding into where and how?

Thanks to the Combined Authority’s Market Towns programme, Huntingdon Town Council has acquired a listed building, 7–8 Market Hill, just across the road from the existing museum building on its behalf. The 360m squared Grade II listed building, vacant for five years, will be transformed into the museum’s new home with four times the current display space, a café, shop, research and education areas. The project has been supported so far by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Huntingdon Town Council and Huntingdonshire District Council.