The Museum of Cambridge

'How To' Guide to House Histories
2021-03-28 17:00 - 18:15 (Europe/London) | Zoom
Join us to learn how to research your house history with public historian Helen Weinstein, followed by Q&A hosted by Lucy Walker, Chair of Trustees, Museum of Cambridge.
Please join us for this talk as part of the Cambridge Festival where Helen Weinstein, Community Historian at IronWorks, will showcase sources from Sturton Town in Cambridge telling stories of working class residents from the Victorian Era onwards.
In this illustrated talk Helen will be introducing a wide range of examples from the Sturton Town Area just off Mill Road in Cambridge, linking the stories of Resident Occupations in Victorian times to material objects in the Museum of Cambridge.
Helen will show participants how to find out about properties and the environment of Victorian Cambridge using well known sources like the 1891 census and the trade directories, sharing examples of the range of stories in newspaper and photography archives at the Cambridgeshire Collection. Helen also has considerable experience of maps and manuscript sources, and will show histories revealed when you dig deeper into the Cambridgeshire Archives with fascinating stories about the allotments, commons and parks, public health and sanitation, pub and brewery licensing, workhouse and charitable committees to illuminate the hidden histories of individual Victorian streets and their residents.
Q&A The talk will be hosted by Lucy Walker, Chair of Trustees at the Museum of Cambridge; and Helen & Lucy invite you to ask questions in response to the talk, as well as to share photos, objects or paperwork you’ve found associated with your own house history!
This event partners the Museum of Cambridge where Helen Weinstein has co-curated an Exhibition called “Forge” alongside local residents in Sturton Town and Artist in Resident at IronWorks, Hilary Cox Condron; which we invite Cambridge Residents to view online at our exhibition website here.
You can learn more about Cambridge Festival here.
Donations
The Museum of Cambridge is in need of your help. This event is free to attend, but we’d be so grateful if you can offer a donation of any size to support us to secure our future. Once you have secured your ticket via Eventbrite, you can donate to the museum here.

Easter Holidays Storytelling with Epic Tales
2021-04-08 11:00 - 2021-04-09 15:30 | Cambridgeshire
Cambridge is full of fascinating stories. Are you ready to hear some of them?
Join us and professional storyteller and folklorist Chip Colquhoun , for a series of FREE online sessions for families with children.
Back by popular demand, these stories will transport you into a world of Cantabrigian adventure!
The sessions will run for roughly 30 to 45 mins each. They will take place on Thursday 8th and Friday 9th of April, at 11am and 2.30pm, so you have two different slots each day to choose from.

You should book 1 ticket per device you are going to use (i.e. if there are three kids but all of them will watch on the same single device, you need to book 1 ticket only)
This event is family friendly, for kids aged 5 and above (although children of all ages are welcome to join in).
BOOK HERE: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/easter-holidays-storytelling-with-epic-tales-tickets-148757845721

To attend, you must sign up choosing a slot, have a broadband connection and Zoom installed on your computer. Installing Zoom is free, and you can access it via a phone, laptop, or tablet.
You can download Zoom here: https://zoom.us/
A link to join will be sent to all attendees 20min before the start of the sessions, so please keep an eye on your emails on the day.
Children attending this event must be supervised by an adult at all times.
Any questions, please email us on eventbrite@museumofcambridge.org.uk
We look forward to seeing you soon!
This free event is made possible thanks to a grant by Cambridge City Council.
If you would like to support the Museum of Cambridge, please donate to our fundraising campaign #YourMuseumNeedsYou.
Click here to donate online.

Cambridge Kids! Riddle of the White Sphinx
2021-04-08 19:30 - 20:15 | Zoom
Hidden Tales author Mark Wells reads a bedtime story from the Riddle of the White Sphinx.

Have you ever wanted to go on a real-life treasure hunt?
Here’s your chance.

Join Hidden Tales author Mark Wells on an otherworldly adventure around the Museum of Cambridge as he reads from the Cambridge treasure hunt book, ‘The Riddle of the White Sphinx’.
But be warned, you may never visit a museum the same way again!
Learn more about the Riddle of the White Sphinx here.

Booking details:
This event is family friendly, aimed at families with children aged 8 and above (although children of all ages are welcome to join in).
You should book 1 ticket per device you are going to use (i.e. if there are three children, but all of them will watch at the same single device, you need to book 1 ticket only).
Children attending this event must be supervised by an adult at all times.
To attend, you just need to sign up via Eventbrite, have a broadband connection and Zoom installed on your computer. Installing Zoom is free, and you can access it via a phone, laptop, or tablet. You can download Zoom here: https://zoom.us/.
The day before the event, we will send you a ‘Zoom Invite’ with joining instructions which explains how to attend the session.
If you have any concerns or questions about attending this event, or have any access needs you’d like to discuss, please email Annie on annie.davis@museumofcambridge.org.uk.

You can donate any amount you like to attend this event.
All proceeds from this event will go towards the Museum of Cambridge’s fundraising appeal #YourMuseumNeedsYou, which aims to help us overcome the huge financial blow dealt by the Covid-19 pandemic.
You can secure a ticket to this event by making a donation to our urgent appeal – you can choose how much to donate in exchange for your ticket. Please support us to survive the next few months by buying a ticket to this event, or donating directly to our fundraising appeal: bit.ly/MOCDonate

National Lottery Ticket Holders- Read on!
We will also be making 10 free tickets available to National Lottery ticket holders, to say thank you to them for supporting our Museum through the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Simply email a photograph of a lottery ticket bought in the last year to annie.davis@museumofcambridge.org.uk to claim your free ticket. One event ticket per lottery ticket, distributed on a first-come-first-served basis.

Cambridge Calling! Community Workshop
2021-04-20 12:00 - 2021-05-06 18:30 | Cambridgeshire
Do you want to connect with other city residents?
Do you want to learn new and fun skills?
Do you want to be part of a rewarding project?
Do you want to make a difference in your community?
Do you want to add your voice to a public space?
If the answer to those questions is YES, then you are in the right place!

The Museum of Cambridge is looking for individuals who want to connect with others to share their stories about the city we live in: people from all walks of life who love Cambridge and want to reflect on what makes our city unique.
Find out more about this on our website here: https://www.museumofcambridge.org.uk/museum-making/
We particularly want to connect with disabled, disadvantaged, and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) individuals.
If you have any questions or access requirements, please email us on enquiries@museumofcambridge.org.uk
All the sessions are run on Zoom for the time being. You will need to have a broadband connection and Zoom installed on your computer. Installing Zoom is free, and you can access it via a phone, laptop, or tablet.
You can download Zoom here: https://zoom.us/
This programme is made possible thanks to a grant by Cambridge City Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
If you would like to support the Museum of Cambridge, please donate to our fundraising campaign #YourMuseumNeedsYou. Click here to donate online.

We can’t wait to meet you!

Cambridge Talks: Weathering Identity
2021-04-28 19:00 - 20:15 | Zoom
Join us for Cambridge Talks, a series of events raising funds for the Museum of Cambridge’s fundraising appeal #YourMuseumNeedsYou.
What does it mean to live in weather?
What memories do you have of weather in Cambridgeshire and the Fens?
How does weather relate to a sense of place and identity?
These questions are particularly relevant at a time when both weather and local identity are being reconfigured in England, the former through climate change and the latter through the changing role of the England in the wake of Brexit and Scottish nationalism.
These questions are explored through the project ‘Weathering Identity: weather and memory in England’, a collaboration between King’s College London and the Museum of Cambridge.
This project seeks to explore how people build their lives around the weather; how we remember the weather, and how weather relates to our sense of place and belonging, with a particular focus on the east of England.
The project is approaching the question through the medium of oral history; seeking to understand how weather weaves into the stories we tell ourselves about past and present experience, and what it means to live in England and within a changing climate.
This talk will explore the project’s preliminary findings, current academic thinking on weather and ‘weathering’ and representations of Fenland weather in poetry, prose and academic writings.
We will also discuss how you yourself can contribute to this project, and what we are doing with the stories we collect.
George Adamson in a Senior Lecturer in Geography at King’s College London. His work understands how weather and climate, and their associated risks, are ‘made’ through the interaction of personal experience, scientific knowledge, culture and institutions. His previous work has explored the construction of landslide and drought risk in India and it’s relationship to colonial and postcolonial politics, the representation of global climate modes such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation in science and media, and more recently the relationship between weather, memory and place in England. This work is underpinned by scientific research on long-term climate variability, often using qualitative sources to generate indices of climatic variabilities over the past three centuries.
Weathering Identity: Weather and Memory in England’ is a King’s College London project to look at the relationship between weather, memory and sense of place and identity in the east of England. We are interested in what does, and what does not, get remembered about English weather, and the meaning that people attach to those memories. Memories are being collected through oral histories and through the website weathermemories.org, and will be used to inform an artistic response by project artist Inés Cámara Leret. Weathering Identity is supported by the King’s Together fund and is a collaboration between the Department of Geography, Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries, and the Department of Neuroscience at King’s College London.
All proceeds from this event will go towards the Museum of Cambridge’s fundraising appeal #YourMuseumNeedsYou, which aims to help us overcome the huge financial blow dealt by the Covid-19 pandemic.
We want to say a huge thank you to all our supporters who have helped us over the last few weeks and months. So, we have made this event ‘donate what you like’ – you can choose how much to donate in exchange for your ticket.
Please support us to survive the next few months by buying a ticket to this event, and/or donating directly to our fundraising appeal: bit.ly/MOCDonate
How to attend this talk:
This talk will be held on Zoom. There is no need to download any software- you can access the talk via your usual internet browser from the comfort of your own home. Cup of tea/glass of mulled wine is optional!
Once you have purchased your ticket on Eventbrite you are officially signed up to the event and you will receive an automatic confirmation email from Eventbrite. See the Eventbrite link below.
1 day prior to the event, we will send you a ‘Zoom Invite’ with joining instructions which explains how to attend the talk. Do make sure you check your Junk Mail and Deleted Items, as this email can get lost.
If you have any concerns or questions about attending this event, please email Annie on annie.davis@museumofcambridge or enquiries@museumofcambridge.org.uk. Do not telephone the Museum, as staff are currently working from home.

Cambridge Talks: Historic Cambridgeshire Fires
2021-05-05 19:00 - 20:15 | Zoom
Join us for Cambridge Talks, a series of events raising funds for the Museum of Cambridge’s fundraising appeal #YourMuseumNeedsYou.
Throughout history, domestic fire has always been greatly feared, particularly by those living in the thatched cottages of the villages surrounding Cambridge.
In this latest in our Cambridge Talks , Roger Lilley will take us on an exploration of contemporary accounts of major fires in Cambridgeshire villages including Cottenham, Melbourn and Swavesey, as well as Cambridge itself.
Roger is a Trustee of the Museum of Cambridge, as well as coordinator of the Capturing Cambridge website. Currently a governor of Homerton Children’s Centre and treasurer of St John the Evangelist Hills Road, he was previously a teacher at Milton Road Primary School, a national campaigner for Friends of the Earth and an underwriter at Lloyd’s of London.
All proceeds from this event will go towards the Museum of Cambridge’s fundraising appeal #YourMuseumNeedsYou, which aims to help us overcome the huge financial blow dealt by the Covid-19 pandemic.
We want to say a huge thank you to all our supporters who have helped us over the last few weeks and months. So, we have made this event ‘donate what you like’ – you can choose how much to donate in exchange for your ticket.
Please support us to survive the next few months by buying a ticket to this event.
How to attend this talk:
This talk will be held on Zoom. There is no need to download any software- you can access the talk via your usual internet browser from the comfort of your own home. Cup of tea/glass of mulled wine is optional!
Once you have purchased your ticket on Eventbrite you are officially signed up to the event and you will receive an automatic confirmation email from Eventbrite. See the Eventbrite link below.
1 day prior to the event, we will send you a ‘Zoom Invite’ with joining instructions which explains how to attend the talk. Do make sure you check your Junk Mail and Deleted Items, as this email can get lost.
If you have any concerns or questions about attending this event, please email Annie on annie.davis@museumofcambridge or enquiries@museumofcambridge.org.uk. Do not telephone the Museum, as staff are currently working from home.

Book handout: Songs and Verses from North Cambridge
2021-06-01 14:00 - 16:00 | Cambridgeshire
The Museum of Cambridge will be handing out copies of Songs and Verses from North Cambridge, by Emily Peasgood, on Tuesdays 1st and 8th of June from 2pm to 4pm. A member of staff will meet you at the museum courtyard to give you a copy. If there is bad weather, please ring the bell on the glass door on the left-hand side of the courtyard.

May Half Term Storytelling Sessions
2021-06-02 08:00 - 2021-06-05 17:00 | The Museum of Cambridge, 2-3 Castle Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB3 0AQ, United Kingdom
Cambridge is full of fascinating stories. Are you ready to hear some of them?
We are really excited to be able to hold these Storytelling sessions in person, with professional storyteller and folklorist Chip Colquhoun, in the museum courtyard! But we’re also offering a few online sessions for those who cannot come into the museum. This is a FREE event for children.
How do I sign up?
It is very easy: you need to go to this eventbrite link and choose a slot on the date and time you want to attend. Spaces are limited so we suggest you book in advance to avoid disappointment.
Who can attend?
This is an event for children +5 years old (although kids of any age might enjoy it), who must be accompanied by an adult during the whole duration of the session. We recommend that, whenever possible, only one adult attends per group of up to 4 children. This is to keep everyone Covid-19 safe, and make sure that there is enough space in our courtyard for everyone to be comfortable.
We are only able to accommodate 4 families in our courtyard. If you have accessibility requirements, please let us know on the email below so we can do our best to meet your needs.
What happens if it rains?
Because our courtyard is not covered, we will be forced to cancel this event if the weather is bad. You will be told in advance if we have to cancel, and be offered the option to join us for an online, free, storytelling session instead.
What do I need?
On the day of the event, you only need to show up 5 minutes before the start of the session so that we can show you to your place, and make sure you know the name of the person who made the reservation (we will ask you this at the entrance). Unfortunately, we cannot accept late comers as this can be disruptive for the audience and the performer.
If you are attending the online sessions, you should book 1 ticket per device you are going to use (i.e. if there are three kids but all of them will watch on the same single device, you need to book 1 ticket only)
To attend, you must have a broadband connection and Zoom installed on your computer, phone, or other device.
Installing Zoom is free, and you can access it via a phone, laptop, or tablet.
You can download Zoom here: https://zoom.us/
A link to join will be sent to all attendees 20min before the start of the sessions, so please keep an eye on your emails on the day.
Children attending this event must be supervised by an adult at all times.
Any questions, please email us on eventbrite@museumofcambridge.org.uk
We look forward to seeing you soon!
This free event is made possible thanks to a grant by Cambridge City Council.

Reimagining Museum Labels
2021-06-10 08:00 - 2021-08-08 17:00 | The Museum of Cambridge, 2-3 Castle Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB3 0AQ, United Kingdom
Our new exhibition Reimagining Museum Labels has launched. The exhibition explores new ways of interpreting museum objects through creative labelling, including abstract readings of objects and personal interpretations from the Collections Team. These approaches provoke questions about how museum objects are displayed and about how labelling can help museums to tell more complex stories through their collections.
The exhibition will be running from June 10th – August 8th, 2021

Cows About Cambridge
2021-06-28 - 2021-09-04 | The Museum of Cambridge, 2-3 Castle Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB3 0AQ, United Kingdom
Cows about Cambridge is a public art trail in Cambridge.
Ninety cow sculptures will be found across the city this summer, including a Mini Moo right here at the Museum of Cambridge.
Each Cow is a work of art and has been individually decorated.
Pop on over to the official Cows About Cambridge website for more details and make sure you grab a trail map or download the app so you don’t miss a single one!

Hidden Cambridge Walking Tour
2021-07-04 10:30 - 12:00 | Round Church, Round Church, Bridge Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
Journey through the streets of Hidden Cambridge
This Hidden Cambridge tour is for all those who have always meant to explore the side streets and alleyways of this historic city but never quite had the time, as well as for visitors who want to discover more of Cambridge beyond King’s Parade.
Discover the heart of the ancient city, some of the hidden nooks and crannies you’ve never noticed before around the river crossing and quayside area – traces of the Roman settlement, the Norman castle, the Saxon and Viking trading centre and the medieval town. Hear stories of beer, brothels and boatmen!
The tour is subject to COVID-19 regulations in place at the time, and the groups will be small and conducted in a safe way. For booking click here.
The tours meet the first Sunday of the month, at 10.30am outside the Round Church on Bridge Street. Each tour lasts about 90 minutes and the cost of £15 a head includes a free one-time admission to the Museum of Cambridge. All proceeds go towards supporting the Museum.
This small, independent museum, located in the former White Horse Inn, has a big story to share. Suffused with the history of the local people of Cambridge, it contains an eclectic collection of everyday objects used in day-to-day life, from vacuum cleaners and washing machines to false teeth and mantraps!
Opening times are limited currently, check the web site for up to date hours. This tour is organised and run by Hidden Cambridge, for further details contact Hidden.Cambridge@gmail.com Featured photo by Bob Wheatley The Round ChurchPortugal PlaceThrough the Door of St Peter’sThe Hawks’ Club

Cambridge Talks: Cambridge 1888-1990, A Chronicle of an English University City
2021-07-28 19:00 - 20:15 | Zoom
Join us for Cambridge Talks, a series of events raising funds for the Museum of Cambridge.
Join us as eminent local historian, Mike Petty takes us on a tour of his chronicle of Cambridge, 1888-1990, as reported in local newspapers.
To compile this chronicle, Mike read more than 100 years of Cambridge newspapers and noted ‘significant’ articles. These are summarised under 100 headings including museums, shops, pubs, military conflict, customs, street changes, theatre, music and religion.
As well as summaries of stories the Chronicle has links to photographs of the thousands of the actual articles as published in the newspapers.
It is a source from which people interested in any aspect of the city’s history can find information not accessible elsewhere . In this talk, Mike will explore the story behind the creation of this chronicle, and some notable highlights from his research.
You can find the full chronicle here.
Mike Petty, MBE is an eminent local historian of the city of Cambridge and the surrounding area. Founder of the Cambridgeshire Collection, Mike has became the most widely acknowledged authority on Cambridge and the fenland, building up a unique knowledge of resources which he continues to share through regular lectures to groups and societies.
His wide experience in assisting thousands of enquirers for over 50 years and unrivalled knowledge of published material – books, newspapers, illustrations, maps etc – combine to provide a unique service for those investigating any aspect of the area, past or present. More details are contained on his website.
You can learn more about Cambridge’s history from the comfort of your home by visiting Cambridgeshire History on your Computer: the Library on your Laptop and The Cambridgeshire Scrapbook which summarises thousands of articles on Cambridge’s history. If you’re a Facebook user, you can also join the Fenland History on Facebook group.
All proceeds from this event will go towards supporting the Museum of Cambridge.

How to attend this talk
This talk will be held on Zoom. There is no need to download any software- you can access the talk via your usual internet browser from the comfort of your own home.
Once you have purchased your ticket on Eventbrite you are officially signed up to the event and you will receive an automatic confirmation email from Eventbrite. See the Eventbrite link below.
On the day of the event, we will send you a ‘Zoom Invite’ with joining instructions which explains how to attend the talk. Do make sure you check your Junk Mail and Deleted Items, as this email can get lost.
If you have any concerns or questions about attending this event, or any access requirements that you would like to discuss, please email Annie on annie.davis@museumofcambridge or enquiries@museumofcambridge.org.uk.

Summer with the Museums
2021-07-29 - 2021-08-29 | Cambridgeshire
We are excited that the Museum of Cambridge is part of Summer with the Museums once again. And this year we feel more enthusiasm than ever at the prospect of engaging again with our audiences over the summer holidays, after being closed for most of the summer last year.Because we are so excited to see you again during the (hopefully!) sunny and warm days to come, we have not just one, but three activities for you to have fun with us over the summer! Keep reading to find out more.
Cambridge Spell Bottles
Making spell bottles to repel evil curses has been a practice in Cambridgeshire and the Fenlands for hundreds of years. Join the Museum of Cambridge in making your very own spell bottle and learn about the history of witches and witchcraft in the fens.
This in-person family activity will share the history of magic and superstition in Cambridgeshire from the Museum of Cambridge and participants will leave with their very own spell bottle to ward away evil spirits and curses.
Saturdays 31st July, 7th, 14th, 21st August. 10am – 11 am
Ages 10-15
Book a free place on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cambridge-spell-bottles-tickets-160526995565
Folklore Explorer
Pick up an activity guide and become a Folklore Explorer at the Museum of Cambridge. Search through the old Whitehorse Inn to find answers to riddles, solve puzzles and explore the history of folklore, legends, and the people of Cambridge.
Available all through the summer holidays Folklore Explorer is a free to use activity sheet for ages 6+
Subject to paid entry to the museum, no booking required.

Your Museum on a Shelf
Museums display objects together to tell a story about a time, place, person, or event. At the Museum of Cambridge, we want to see what objects tell your story in your own home.
Make a museum on a shelf by following some instructions and creating a museum label. Then share pictures of your #MuseumonaShelf with the Museum of Cambridge.
Download a PDF instruction sheet and get started telling your story.

If you have any questions, please email us on enquiries@museumofcambridge.org.uk

Hidden Cambridge Walking Tour
2021-08-01 10:30 - 12:00 | Round Church, Round Church, Bridge Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
Journey through the streets of Hidden Cambridge
This Hidden Cambridge tour is for all those who have always meant to explore the side streets and alleyways of this historic city but never quite had the time, as well as for visitors who want to discover more of Cambridge beyond King’s Parade.
Discover the heart of the ancient city, some of the hidden nooks and crannies you’ve never noticed before around the river crossing and quayside area – traces of the Roman settlement, the Norman castle, the Saxon and Viking trading centre and the medieval town. Hear stories of beer, brothels and boatmen!
Qualified Blue Badge Guides will share their extensive knowledge of the local area – you won’t find these stories in the guidebooks!
The tour is subject to COVID-19 regulations in place at the time, and the groups will be small and conducted in a safe way. For booking click here.
The tours meet the first Sunday of the month, at 10.30am outside the Round Church on Bridge Street. Each tour lasts about 90 minutes and the cost of £15 a head includes a free one-time admission to the Museum of Cambridge. All proceeds go towards supporting the Museum.
This small, independent museum, located in the former White Horse Inn, has a big story to share. Suffused with the history of the local people of Cambridge, it contains an eclectic collection of everyday objects used in day-to-day life, from vacuum cleaners and washing machines to false teeth and mantraps!
This tour is organised and run by Hidden Cambridge, for further details contact Hidden.Cambridge@gmail.com.
The Museum of Cambridge is hugely thankful to the generous support of the Blue Badge Guides who give up their time to offer these tours.
Opening times are limited currently, check the web site for up to date hours. This tour is organised and run by Hidden Cambridge, for further details contact Hidden.Cambridge@gmail.com Featured photo by Bob Wheatley The Round ChurchPortugal PlaceThrough the Door of St Peter’sThe Hawks’ Club

Places and Spaces: Exploring Cambridge through Town and Gown
2021-08-27 10:00 - 2021-11-07 16:30 | The Museum of Cambridge, 2-3 Castle Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB3 0AQ, United Kingdom
Are you Town or are you Gown? Can you be both, or neither? Does that affect the way you use spaces in Cambridge?
A team of 5 Community Curators working with the Museum of Cambridge wanted to find out how the people of Cambridge use spaces in the city, and if this differed from person to person depending on whether they considered themselves to be Town or Gown.
Where do you feel comfortable in the city? What spaces do you use the most, and how?
In July 2021, Community Curators asked the public to fill in a survey which examined questions of space, feelings of comfort and discomfort, and whether people felt spaces in Cambridge were defined by a relationship to the University. There is a historic tension between Town and Gown, but is this tension real or made-up? Does it influence the way people interact with spaces like parks, pubs, and buildings?

‘Places and Spaces: Exploring Cambridge through Town and Gown’, the museum’s new community-led exhibition, examines the themes of the use of space in the city, Town & Gown, belonging, and what it means to feel at home for the people of Cambridge.
Through this exhibition, which you can enjoy onsite at the museum and online on our Capturing Cambridge site, you will see how objects and stories from our past compare to the thoughts and feelings of the people of Cambridge today.

Visiting the exhibition onsite is subject to paid entry to the museum. You will be able to enjoy seeing and learning about the objects in our collection that tell the stories of people and spaces in Cambridge, a display specially dedicated to our Community Curators and community work in the museum, and much more.
To visit the exhibition online for free, you only need a device (such as a phone or laptop) with internet connection and a browser installed. At Capturing Cambridge the content of this part of the exhibition is different from that found at the museum: it is an interactive map of the spaces that people who took the survey nominated as their favourites in Cambridge. You can learn about these places as you interact with the map and walk around. This will launch at the same time as the physical display in the museum.
Come take a look at the spaces we use in Cambridge from 27th August.
For enquiries please email enquiries@museumofcambridge.org.uk

A Great Unrecorded History: Cambridge’s Queer Past
2021-09-01 19:00 - 20:15 | Zoom
Join us for the next in our series of ‘Cambridge Talks’.
The writer E.M. Forster once referred to the history of homosexuality in his time as ‘a great unrecorded history’. This was especially true of Forster’s adopted home of Cambridge, whose vibrant queer past has often gone unrecorded.
Diarmuid Hester’s popular queer audio trail of the city aims to set the record straight (as it were). In this talk, he discusses his work on the audio trail, and reveals how LGBTQ+ people have shaped the history of the city and been shaped by it in turn.
Dr Diarmuid Hester is a radical cultural historian, and an authority on sexually dissident literature, art, film, and performance. He is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 3, and last year was named a BBC New Generation Thinker. Diarmuid’s new book on sexuality, culture, and place will be published by Allen Lane/Penguin in 2023. He teaches at the Faculty of English, University of Cambridge, and is a research associate of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
All proceeds from this event will go towards supporting the Museum of Cambridge.
How to attend this talk:
This talk will be held on Zoom. There is no need to download any software- you can access the talk via your usual internet browser from the comfort of your own home. Cup of tea/glass of mulled wine is optional!
Once you have purchased your ticket on Eventbrite, you are officially signed up to the event and you will receive an automatic confirmation email from Eventbrite.
On the day of the event, we will send you a ‘Zoom Invite’ with joining instructions which explains how to attend the talk.
If you have any concerns or questions about attending this event, please email Annie on annie.davis@museumofcambridge.org.uk.

Hidden Cambridge Walking Tour
2021-09-05 10:30 - 12:00, 2021-10-03 10:30 - 12:00, 2021-11-07 10:30 - 12:00, 2021-12-05 10:30 - 12:00 | Round Church, Round Church, Bridge Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
Journey through the streets of Hidden Cambridge
This Hidden Cambridge tour is for all those who have always meant to explore the side streets and alleyways of this historic city but never quite had the time, as well as for visitors who want to discover more of Cambridge beyond King’s Parade.
Discover the heart of the ancient city, some of the hidden nooks and crannies you’ve never noticed before around the river crossing and quayside area – traces of the Roman settlement, the Norman castle, the Saxon and Viking trading centre and the medieval town. Hear stories of beer, brothels and boatmen!
Qualified Blue Badge Guides will share their extensive knowledge of the local area – you won’t find these stories in the guidebooks!
The tour is subject to COVID-19 regulations in place at the time, and the groups will be small and conducted in a safe way. For booking click here.
The tours meet the first Sunday of the month, at 10.30am outside the Round Church on Bridge Street. Each tour lasts about 90 minutes and the cost of £15 a head includes a free one-time admission to the Museum of Cambridge. All proceeds go towards supporting the Museum.
This small, independent museum, located in the former White Horse Inn, has a big story to share. Suffused with the history of the local people of Cambridge, it contains an eclectic collection of everyday objects used in day-to-day life, from vacuum cleaners and washing machines to false teeth and mantraps!
Opening times are limited currently, check the web site for up to date hours. This tour is organised and run by Hidden Cambridge, for further details contact Hidden.Cambridge@gmail.com.
The Museum of Cambridge is hugely thankful to the generous support of the Blue Badge Guides who give up their time to offer these tours.
Featured photo by Bob Wheatley The Round ChurchPortugal PlaceThrough the Door of St Peter’sThe Hawks’ Club

Food and Drink in Cambridge Guided Tour
2021-09-10 08:00 - 2021-09-17 17:00 | The Museum of Cambridge, 2-3 Castle Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB3 0AQ, United Kingdom
This after-hours guided tour of the Museum of Cambridge will take you through some of the culinary tastes and customs of the inhabitants of the city and surrounding area since the 17th century until today.
Delivered by our knowledgeable and entertaining volunteers, you’ll discover some of the most unusual cooking artefacts and odd recipes Cantabrigians have used to delight their palates over the years.
The tour runs on September 10th, 11th, 16th, 17th, and 18th, from 6pm until 7.30pm (approximately).
Part of Open Cambridge, this event is free and open to everyone.
Book your place here: https://bit.ly/3CUxSpL
Any questions, please email us on eventbrite@museumofcambridge.org.uk
We look forward to seeing you soon!
This free event is made possible thanks Cambridge City Council and the National Heritage Lottery Fund.

The Museum Makers with Rachel Morris
2021-09-10 18:30 - 19:45 | Zoom
In ‘How to Make a Museum Out of your Own Life’, Rachel Morris will be talking about their book The Museum Makers:
“My book, The Museum Makers, began when I opened up the boxes of old family mementos under my bed and saw inside them the entire history of my bohemian family. Despite all the years I had been running a museum-making company (called Metaphor) this was the first time that I realised that just as museums are about making meaningful sense out of the confusion of the world, so – in what we do with our pasts and how we try to make sense of them – we are all museum-makers. My book is part history of museums, part memoir of a wayward and bohemian family, part manual of how to make a museum out of your own life. Threaded through it are the themes that fascinate me most, of time and memory and the stories families tell themselves and others. It includes a chapter on the Museum of Cambridge and the story-finding skills of Enid Porter.”
Don’t miss out on this exclusive event!
You can purchase The Museum Makers online here or here.
About Rachel:
Rachel was one of the founding directors of Metaphor, a company specialising in museum master – planning and exhibition design. As part of the Metaphor team, they worked all over the world, from Chile to the Hebrides, and from Singapore to the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Rachel specialised in museum interpretation – how to bring objects alive by the stories we tell about them. Prior to this they had two novels published – The Fringe Orphan and Ella and the Mothers – both of which were very well reviewed. Rachel has always loved writing. The only thing that could have enticed them away from it for twenty years was their equal love for museums. And one of the things Rachel will say in this talk is that storytelling and museum-making have many things in common.
Follow Rachel on Twitter
Please note that this is an exclusive event for the Friends of the Museum of Cambridge. Become a Friend today to gain access to this unmissable talk.
Already a Friend? Book your tickets here

Football and Camp Ball in Cambridge and East Anglia Since the 14th Century
2021-09-22 19:00 - 20:15 | Zoom
Join us for the next in our series of ‘Cambridge Talks’ as we talk all things football with Nigel Fenner
Whilst most famous for being the birthplace of the modern-day laws of football in the middle of the 19th Century, Cambridge and East Anglia also boast a long and illustrious association with the game, including the folk-version, called Camp Ball across East Anglia – going back to at least the 14th Century. This Zoom presentation follows an imaginary tour though Cambridge starting at St John’s College and finishing on Parker’s Piece, with reference also to the 200+ Camp Ball sites across East Anglia.
Nigel Fenner won his Football Blue for Cambridge University, where he trained as a teacher. Related to Frank Fenner, the local tobacconist who founded Fenner’s Ground, Nigel’s other ‘Town links’ include living and working locally since 1981, mostly with disaffected young people. He now runs Cambridge Sports Tours and will be publishing ‘Cambridge Sport: In Fenners’ Hands’ by the end of 2021.
All proceeds from this event will go towards supporting the Museum of Cambridge.
How to attend this talk:
This talk will be held on Zoom. There is no need to download any software- you can access the talk via your usual internet browser from the comfort of your own home. Cup of tea/glass of wine is optional!
Once you have purchased your ticket on Eventbrite, you are officially signed up to the event and you will receive an automatic confirmation email from Eventbrite.
On the day of the event, we will send you a ‘Zoom Invite’ with joining instructions which explains how to attend the talk.
If you have any concerns or questions about attending this event, please email Annie on annie.davis@museumofcambridge.org.uk.

ReStorying OUR Museum: Exploring the Museum of Cambridge's Colonial Legacy
2021-10-20 19:00 - 20:15 | Zoom
ReStorying OUR Museum was a pilot project that the Museum of Cambridge ran earlier this year to explore the colonial legacy of its collection. The museum worked closely with volunteers and other members of the local community to examine the Tobacconist Sign: a conflictive object that was not appropriately interpreted to tell the full story behind it.
In this talk Florencia Nannetti, Community and Visitor Engagement Officer at the museum, and Kirsten Huffer, one of the volunteers who is a recent MPhil in Heritage Studies graduate from the Cambridge University Department of Archaeology, will share their experience of carrying out a project like this, what the challenges and the results were, and what it means in a local and global context. This will be followed by a brief Q&A session for attendees to ask their queries.
This talk is suitable for anyone who wants to learn more about community work in their local museum, and colonial legacies of the everyday.
Book your tickets here

October Half-Term Spooky Stories
2021-10-28 16:00 - 2021-10-31 19:00 | Cambridgeshire
The Museum of Cambridge is delighted to be hosting a series of free Spooky Storytelling during the October Half-Term, from 28th through to 31st October.
Cambridgeshire is full of fascinating stories, and some of them being captivatingly eerie, deserve to be shared with you all at the spookiest time of the year, and professional storyteller Chip Colquhoun is here to do just that!
How do I book?
Simply head to this link and make a free booking for all attending: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/october-half-term-spooky-stories-tickets-185605911277
Who can attend?
This is an event for children +5 years old (although kids of any age might enjoy it), who must be accompanied by an adult during the whole duration of the session. We recommend that, whenever possible, only one adult attends per group of up to 4 children. This is to keep everyone Covid-19 safe, and make sure that there is enough space in the Enid Porter Room for everyone to be comfortable.
If you have accessibility requirements, please let us know on the email below so we can do our best to meet your needs.
What do I need?
On the day of the event, you only need to show up 5 minutes before the start of the session so that we can show you to your place.
Unfortunately, we cannot accept late comers as this can be disruptive for the audience and the performer.
Any questions, please email us on eventbrite@museumofcambridge.org.uk
We look forward to seeing you soon!
This free event is possible thanks to the support of our funders, Cambridge City Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Illustration of Fearless Mary by the incredible Dave Hingley.

PERIPHERY: Ian Rawlinson speaks with The Museum of Cambridge
2021-11-24 19:00 - 20:15 | Zoom
Event details:
As an artist Ian Rawlinson’s work has taken him around the UK, the world and back to his hometown of Cambridge. His recent artwork and filmmaking have seen him re-engage with his past, shedding new light on transitional places that remained hidden in his psyche for many years. He will talk about the process of making this work and why unearthing places and memories from his childhood have formed a powerful confluence with his present day experiences of working in Cambridge, drawing him back to the city he left as a teenager.
About Ian:
Born in Cambridge, Ian Rawlinson grew up in the city during the 1960s and 1970s. He studied art at Cambridge College of Art & Technology (now Anglia Ruskin University) and left Cambridge in 1982 to further his studies at Winchester School of Art and the Royal College of Art. Since 1985 he has lived and worked in London. He has also travelled and worked in Europe, the USA and Mexico. To date his work has been shown in many group and solo exhibitions, both in the UK and internationally and is held in public and private collections.
In 2011 a revelatory moment caused Rawlinson to reconsider his relationship with the past and he decided to make a short film using images of his childhood home in Arbury and King’s Hedges to explore ideas of place and memory. Whilst researching this project he came across some evocative images of the old Kite (pre-Grafton Centre) and decided to make a film and series of work about the loss of this area. This work formed the exhibition ‘Vessel’, shown at Williams Art in Cambridge in 2014. ‘Trace‘, a second exhibition and film about his past connections with North Barnwell took place at the Leper Chapel in 2015. There followed a series of solo exhibitions at the newly opened Edge Café on Mill Road. ‘No Man’s Land‘, inspired by memories of Mill Road took place in 2017. ‘Frontier‘ included his work about Arbury and King’s Hedges along with his third film, in 2018. Further exhibitions ‘Liminal‘ and ‘Absence‘ took place in 2019 and 2020 respectively. His most recent exhibition, ‘Marginal‘, took place in September 2021 and featured Rawlinson’s work along with text by writer Grahame Davies.
Ian’s work:
Visit Ian’s website for more about his work.
About the event:
This talk is part of the Museum’s ‘Cambridge Talks’ series. All proceeds from this event will go towards supporting the Museum of Cambridge.
How to book:
Tickets are by donation. To book onto this event please visit our Eventbrite page and follow the prompts.

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The Eighty-Fifth Annual General Meetings of the Museum of Cambridge
2021-11-25 19:15 - 20:30 | Zoom
The Museum of Cambridge will be holding our Eighty-Fifth Annual General Meeting via zoom. The evening will consist of members voting on the Annual Accounts and election and re-election of Trustees. In addition, there will be a discussion on the forward planning of the museum. Observers are welcome to attend, please register via the Zoom link.

Title: The Eighty-Fifth Annual General Meetings of the Museum of Cambridge
Date: Thursday 25th November
Time: 7:15pm
Where: Zoom https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIlde6gqz4qGtfu67MjAQsmS6BoPx8GWCtg

Note: You must register to attend this event

Celebrating Together: New Exhibition Launches in December
2021-12-02 09:30 - 2022-01-10 17:00 | Cambridgeshire
CELEBRATING TOGETHER
There’s so much to look forward to this winter season, and something you should definitely start getting excited bout, is our new seasonal exhibition, Celebrating Together, which is launching on December 2nd and stays on until January 10th.
For many of us winter is a time of celebration, whether you do Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year, something completely different or nothing at all! It is generally a time to spend indoors cooking and sharing food, making crafts and playing games, and thinking about the year gone by and the one right ahead while it freezes outside. And this is exactly what we wanted to capture with this exhibition.
What’s especial about this exhibition? I hear you ask. Not to give away too much before you experience it yourself, but there’s so much to look forward to when you visit:

We are exhibiting more than 10 objects not seen in our permanent displays in years, such as vintage toys and seasonal cards, as well as some quirky old decorations.
Within the exhibition there are 4 instances in which you can participate and add your contribution to the current displays by writing, drawing, and taking fun pictures. Oh and did we say there’s a prize to be won?
This exhibition includes some of the voices of people just like you that have shared their stories of celebration for everyone to enjoy.

Come on then, put on some warm clothes and come to the museum to share the festive spirit with us.

We visited Cambridge Central Mosque to record a story of celebration of Eid

We attended a parent group in Arbury, getting creative and festive whilst we listened to how families celebrate.
*Please check opening times on our website before visiting us.

Fruit Farming in the Cam Valley: Jonathan Spain speaks with The Museum of Cambridge
2021-12-16 19:00 - 20:15 | Zoom
About the talk
Jonathan Spain will be speaking with the Museum about his book Fruit Farming in the Cam Valley [2021]. He will be looking at the history of the fruit industry in the Cam Valley, set in the wider regional and national contexts. He’ll exploring the origins and commercial development of the fruits grown locally, in particular the Cambridge Gage, for which the Cam Valley was famous, but also other plums, apples, pears, cherries and soft fruits. He’ll also take a look at the historical sources used in the book and consider the economic factors which brought about the rise and, ultimately, the fall of the industry.
About Jonathan:
After graduating from York University with First Class honours, Jonathan has worked in a wide range of history and archival jobs, including the Historical Manuscripts Commission (now part of the National Archives) and the MSS dept. of Cambridge University Library. He has also worked as a professional historical researcher on various projects and was a major contributor to the Oxford New DNB. He has published numerous articles on historical subjects and recently self-published Fruit Farming in the Cam Valley, an Horticultural, Social and Economic History set in the Wider Regional and National Context. The book includes maps and illustrations.
To order a copy of the book visit Jonathan’s blogsite where he also shares local history articles.
About the event:
This talk is part of the Museum’s ‘Cambridge Talks’ series. All proceeds from this event will go towards supporting the Museum of Cambridge.
How to book:
Tickets are by donation. To book onto this event please visit our Eventbrite page and follow the prompts.

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Festive Storytelling
2021-12-20 11:00 - 2021-12-22 15:00 | Cambridgeshire
Cambridge is full of fascinating stories. Are you ready to hear some of them?
The days might be shorter and colder, but we’re not letting that stop us from having fun this December!
Join us and professional storyteller and folklorist Chip Colquhoun , for a series of FREE online sessions for families with children.
This time around, you’ll be hearing stories that match the wintery season: incredible skating feats and a woman trapped in the snow and saved miraculously are just some of the things you will hear in these storytelling sessions.
The sessions run for approximately 30 to 45 mins each. They will take place on Monday 20th, Tuesday 21st, and Wednesday 22nd of December at 11am and 2pm.
You should book 1 ticket per device you are going to use (i.e. if there are three kids but all of them will watch on the same single device, you need to book 1 ticket only)
You can book your ticket here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/festive-storytelling-tickets-223213827567
This event is family friendly, for kids aged 5 and above (although children of all ages are welcome to join in).
To attend, you must sign up choosing a slot, have a broadband connection and Zoom installed on your computer, mobile phone, or tablet. Installing Zoom is free, and you can access it via any of these devices.
You can download Zoom here: https://zoom.us/
A link to join the session you’re booked on will be sent to all attendees 20min before the start of the sessions, so please keep an eye on your emails on the day.
Children attending this event must be supervised by an adult at all times.
Any questions, please email us on eventbrite@museumofcambridge.org.uk
We look forward to seeing you soon!
This free event is made possible thanks to a grant by Cambridge City Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
