Epping Forest District Museum

About

Following a judge's visit in 2022, Epping Forest District Museum has been awarded Hidden Gem status in VisitEngland’s Visitor Attraction Accolades. Marks were allocated for the outstanding experiences provided to visitors across categories including welcome and best told story. The Museum scored an overall 90% with 100% in cleanliness, customer care and staff knowledge. The museum was praised as: "A fine example of a small museum with a varied and intriguing range of content drawn from the local area, supplemented by a calendar of considered, relevant temporary exhibitions." Employees were also praised for their knowledge and helpfulness.

The museum tells the story of the people and events that shaped the local area. The fascinating collection including paintings, jewellery, costumes, a woolly mammoth tusk and the Waltham Abbey Bible.

There are changing exhibitions, galleries, gift shop and enjoy a variety of activities suitable for all ages plus events and activities that take place at the museum and in the community.

Housed in a beautiful Grade II* listed Tudor building dating from 1485 to 1603, the entire building is fully accessible and a lovely community space for all to use.

Events and Activities

As well as a programme of major exhibitions throughout the year, the museum staff run an ongoing range of activities both in the museum building and out in the community. These can all be found on the museum website.

About the Museum

The recently redeveloped museum features six galleries, the opportunity to see behind the scenes, a lift making the entire building accessible and impressive new community space for all to use.

Epping Forest District Museum tells the story of the Epping Forest district through its collections of over 50,000 objects including

• Art
• Archaeology
• Photographs
• Social History
• Documents

The redevelopment enabled the museum to showcase many more items in the collection than have been on display before.

A new gallery addition, The Core Gallery, features a cabinet of curiosities for visitors to explore. Showcasing some of the fascinating collections of objects from tea pots to bottles, this special gallery also features windows into behin-the-scenes areas allowing visitors to see the storage areas and work areas for the first time. These windows allow visitors to peer into the art and costume stores as well as a space used to work on the collections.

As well as the fantastic galleries for you to visit at the museum, a wide variety of events and activities for all ages is also on offer. From drop in family activities to artist led workshops, talks, tours and special events there is something for everyone.

Epping Forest District Museum is committed to providing access to all. Outreach services are also available including talks, study days, school workshops and memory boxes. Call the museum on 01992 716882 to find out more. The museum welcomes assistance dogs and water can be provided if required.

Contact us

Email the museum here. Call the museum on 01992 716882. Visit the museum website.