Exhibition: Legacies of Windrush in Cambridge
2025-04-26 - 2026-01-26 | The Museum of Cambridge, 2-3 Castle Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB3 0AQ, United Kingdom
Legacies of Windrush in Cambridge is the first exhibition of its kind, shining a light on the lives and experiences of the Caribbean Windrush community and those who left an indelible mark on Cambridge and the UK.
This co-curated exhibition was created in partnership with Dr Carol Brown-Leonardi and the African Caribbean Research Group.
Featuring for the first time a series of oral histories from local Caribbean Elders in Cambridge, the oral histories capture special moments of family history, experiences and invaluable community stories. Stories collected in partnership with Dr Carol Brown-Leonardi share the fantastic legacy of the Windrush generation through music, food, religion, the arts and community. From pub landlords, local newsagent owners and steelpan bands, the exhibition celebrates the people at the heart of Cambridge’s community.
This project was only made possible thanks to public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England. This project brought together an intergenerational team of volunteers to tell the story of the local community. A group of young “Windrush Curators” worked alongside elders, family members and local community members to research, uncover and share the untold histories of Cambridge’s Caribbean past.
Displaying a range of personal items on loan from community members, the exhibit features photographs, textiles, steel pans, local cricket history and 6 new oral histories for visitors to explore.
Find out more about the exhibition here.
Accessibility
You can read about our accessibility information on our website here Accessibility – The Museum of Cambridge. If you’d like to chat through any accessibility requirements, don’t hesitate to give us a call on 01223 355159 or email enquiries@museumofcambridge.org.uk. Visitors with additional needs are welcome to bring a supporter or carer who will be admitted to the event free of charge.
Getting Here
We are in the centre of Cambridge. You’ll find us at the corner of Castle Street and Northampton Street. We are right beside Kettle’s Yard and only a 15-minute walk from King’s College.
You can park your bike at the bike parks on Bridge Street or on Northampton Street. There is a bus stop on Bridge Street. Check out the Stagecoach website to plan your journey to and from the Museum. Find out more about how to get here by train, bike, bus, car or on foot on our website.

MUSEUM UNLOCKED: A Day Behind the Scenes
2025-06-07 10:30 - 16:30 (Europe/London) | Enid Porter Room, Museum of Cambridge, 2-3 Castle Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB3 0AQ, United Kingdom
Ever wondered what behind the scenes of a Museum looks like? Now’s your chance to find out!
Join us for a one-day special event packed with FREE hands-on activities, expert talks, and access to hidden areas of the Museum.
When: Saturday 7 June 2025, 10:30am – 4:30pm
Where: Museum of Cambridge, 2-3 Castle Street, CB5 8SE
Cost: FREE!*
*All activities in our courtyard and Enid Porter Room, including Collection Care Chats, Behind the Scene Tours, Design Your Own Badge are free. Admission ticket is required for entry into the Museum itself (Standard entry £7, Concession entry £6, Free for 16 and under).

💬Collection Care Chats
Hear from our Collections Officer on what it means to care for the objects in the Museum. In our short 20-minute introduction, learn how we care for our collection with specialised equipment and skills, how we track and document items, and how we continue to safeguard Cambridgeshire history through our Museum objects. Sessions will run at 11:00am, 12:30pm, 2:00pm and 4:00pm.
🔍Museum Unlocked: Behind the Scenes Tour
The Museum boasts 40,000 objects in our care, and plenty of it is kept safely in our stores. Join our 30-minute behind the scenes tour to take a look at areas normally closed to the public and understand how we keep our objects safe. Due to space constraints, tours are limited to six people per tour, and sign ups are first come, first serve on the day at the Museum front desk. Sessions will run at 11:30am, 1:30pm, and 3:00pm.
🎖️Design Your Own Badge
Want to take a souvenir home? Make and take home your own badge inspired by your favourite object at the Museum to remember your time with us!
🖌️Conservation in Action: Have a Go!
Try your hand in cleaning an object from our collection, learn what materials are used and how to clean like an expert! Join our collections team and learn about how and why we clean the objects in our collection, and how you can support our collection care with the Adopt an Object scheme!

Please note that Conservation in Action: Have a Go will begin at 11am and is inside the Museum of Cambridge building, which requires an admission ticket (£ 7/Standard, £6/Concession, Free for 16 and under).
🍰 Sweet Treats, Too!Enjoy a bite-sized treat on us! Free sweet snacks catered by local café Bridges will be available in the Enid Porter room throughout the day, as a little thank-you when you sign up to our mailing list.

Accessibility
You can also read about our accessibility information on our website. If you’d like to chat through any accessibility requirements, don’t hesitate to give us a call on 01223 355159 or email enquiries@museumofcambridge.org.uk. Event attendees with additional needs are welcome to bring a supporter or carer who will be admitted to the event free of charge.
Getting Here
We are in the centre of Cambridge. You’ll find us at the corner of Castle Street and Northampton Street. We are right beside Kettle’s Yard and only a 15-minute walk from King’s College.
You can park your bike at the bike parks on Bridge Street or on Northampton Street. There is a bus stop on Bridge Street. Check out the Stagecoach website to plan your journey to and from the Museum. Find out more about how to get here by train, bike, bus, car or on foot on our website.
Photography and Videography
Please also note that photographs will be taken throughout this event, and images may be used in future marketing and reporting materials. If you do not wish you or your family’s photograph to be taken, please make sure to let us know.
Healthy Events
If you’re feeling unwell or have recently tested positive for Covid-19, please do not attend this event. We’ll be happy to offer you a refund if applicable, and welcome you at the Museum on another day.

Talk: Secrets Never to be Told: From Cambridge to Canada, the Surplus Woman's Tale
2025-06-12 13:00 - 14:00 | Enid Porter Room, Museum of Cambridge, 2-3 Castle Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB3 0AQ, United Kingdom
Discover the real story of a ‘surplus woman’ and her story of emigration from Victorian Cambridge to British Columbia.

A surprise inheritance from an unknown Canadian led to Fiona Chesterton’s extraordinary investigation into her distant cousin, Jessie Heading. Born illegitimately to a farmer’s daughter in 1877, Jessie was adopted by a childless housekeeper. For thirty five years she lived a quiet life in domestic service in late Victorian and Edwardian Cambridge until emigrating to British Columbia in 1912. She was one of thousands of young women deemed surplus to British society who enrolled on emigration schemes to distant parts of the Empire. She lived fifty eight years in her new country, mainly in a small cabin in a rural township.
Fiona will describe how she went about her research, using photographs and memorabilia as well as archives in Cambridge, London and Vancouver. Along the way, she will give some tips for those interested in exploring their own family history.
About the speaker:
Fiona Chesterton had a long career in Television journalism, production and commissioning working mainly for the BBC and Channel Four. In the past few years, she has pursued her interest in family history and non-fiction writing.
She published her first book Secrets Never To Be Told late in 2021. She was interviewed about the book by BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour programme and several local radio stations.
She has lived in Cambridge for nearly ten years and is a member of the Cambridgeshire Family History Society, the Mill Road History Society and the Society of Authors. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Television Society.
She is now working on her second book, a memoir of her early career at the BBC, which is due to be published later in 2025.
You can find out more about Fiona here: www.fionachesterton.com

Supporting the Museum of Cambridge
The Museum of Cambridge is an independent Charity and is not part of either the Cambridge Council or the University of Cambridge. We kindly suggest a donation of £8, which includes the talk and entry to the Museum of Cambridge (usually £7 for Standard, £6 for Concession). Your donation supports the daily running and conservation care of the Museum, an independent charity.

Book Now!

Accessibility
You can also read about our accessibility information on our website. If you’d like to chat through any accessibility requirements, don’t hesitate to give us a call on 01223 355159 or email sumyin.wong@museumofcambridge.org.uk. Event attendees with additional needs are welcome to bring a supporter or carer who will be admitted to the event free of charge.
Getting Here
We are in the centre of Cambridge. You’ll find us at the corner of Castle Street and Northampton Street. We are right beside Kettle’s Yard and only a 15-minute walk from King’s College.
You can park your bike at the bike parks on Bridge Street or on Northampton Street. There is a bus stop on Bridge Street. Check out the Stagecoach website to plan your journey to and from the Museum. Find out more about how to get here by train, bike, bus, car or on foot on our website.
Photography and Videography
Please note that this talk will be recorded for future viewing online. Please also note that photographs will be taken throughout this event, and images may be used in future marketing and reporting materials. If you do not wish you or your family’s photograph to be taken, please make sure to let us know.
Healthy Events
If you’re feeling unwell or have recently tested positive for Covid-19, please do not attend this event. We’ll be happy to offer you a refund if applicable, and welcome you at the Museum on another day.

In Discussion: Bishop Williams and the Cambridge Community
2025-06-19 18:00 - 19:00 | Enid Porter Room, Museum of Cambridge, 2-3 Castle Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB3 0AQ, United Kingdom
From the exhibition Legacies of Windrush in Cambridge, discover the local history of the Caribbean community in Cambridge.

From international missions, to building tech literacy and confidence in seniors in the community, Bishop Lynwal Williams has been a key part of the Cambridge Caribbean community for more than 40 years. Join Dr Carol Brown-Leonardi and Bishop Williams for an in-depth discussion of the Caribbean Community in Cambridge. Interviewed as part of the Legacies of Windrush in Cambridge exhibition, Bishop Williams, born in Jamaica, has been a central part of the Cambridge community since 1984. As part of the Greater Bibleway Church, Bishop Williams continued supporting the community which developed out of front-room churches in the 1950s. His work is both local and international, supporting mission work in the Caribbean, India and Africa. Join us for a discussion of community, togetherness and history with Bishop Williams and Dr Carol Brown-Leonardi, Thursday 19th June 6 pm – 7pm. Dr Carol Brown-Leonardi is a lecturer at the Open University, local historian and anthropologist. She is founder of the African Caribbean Research Group (ACRG). Dr Brown-Leonardi lectures in sociology and social sciences. For more information on the African Caribbean Research Group, please see their website. ACRG Cambridge – The site of the African Caribbean Research Group. Supporting the Museum of Cambridge
The Museum of Cambridge is an independent Charity and is not part of either the Cambridge Council or the University of Cambridge. We kindly suggest a donation of £8, which includes the talk and entry to the Museum of Cambridge (usually £7 for Standard, £6 for Concession). Your donation supports the daily running and conservation care of the Museum, an independent charity.

Book Now!

Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England

Accessibility
You can also read about our accessibility information on our website. If you’d like to chat through any accessibility requirements, don’t hesitate to give us a call on 01223 355159 or email sumyin.wong@museumofcambridge.org.uk. Event attendees with additional needs are welcome to bring a supporter or carer who will be admitted to the event free of charge.
Getting Here
We are in the centre of Cambridge. You’ll find us at the corner of Castle Street and Northampton Street. We are right beside Kettle’s Yard and only a 15-minute walk from King’s College.
You can park your bike at the bike parks on Bridge Street or on Northampton Street. There is a bus stop on Bridge Street. Check out the Stagecoach website to plan your journey to and from the Museum. Find out more about how to get here by train, bike, bus, car or on foot on our website.
Photography and Videography
Please note that this talk will be recorded for future viewing online. Please also note that photographs will be taken throughout this event, and images may be used in future marketing and reporting materials. If you do not wish your or your family’s photograph to be taken, please make sure to let us know.
Healthy Events
If you’re feeling unwell or have recently tested positive for Covid-19, please do not attend this event. We’ll be happy to offer you a refund if applicable, and welcome you at the Museum on another day.
