Museum

The Museum is at 49 High Street, towards North Entrance, just by the railway bridge.

Welcome to the Saxmundham Museum on the Saxmundham Town Council website.

Opening Times

From Monday, 7th April until Saturday, 27th September. Monday to Saturday including Bank Holidays but excluding Sundays and Good Friday, from 10:00am until 1:00pm. In addition the Museum will be open each day of the Arts Festival Week in October, including Sundays.

Admission Charges

There is no charge for admission but donations are very welcome. All donations go towards the upkeep of the Museum, buying artefacts and making improvements to the Museum.

Museum contents

From the outside the Museum looks small but we do have five rooms.  The first is the Reception and Shop where small sourvenirs can be purchased.  Then comes the Green Room where there are story boards about the lives and happenings of well know local people, also the Long Family Silver Ink Stand which was given to the Long Family by the people of the town.  There is also a 'touch scrren' and you can see photos of Saxmundham and surrounding villages, as they were years ago.

Following through, you come to the Cinema where continuous films are shown and you can easily pass an hour watching bye-gone days, sitting in the tip up seats.  The Courtyard contains replica of local shops, and also the Cell where the Beadle and the prisoner talk over his crime!  Lastly, there is an Exhibition Room.  The displays are changed every year or two and this year we have a room showing a family at home during the 40's.

One of the many photographs in the Saxmundham Museum - this one shows pigs
being driven through town along South Entrance. The shop on the right was a wine seller (the sign says "H Waller & Sons - Est 1835"): it is an off-license today and looks very much the same.

Friends of the Museum

Are you a Friend of the Museum? Would you like to become one? The annual subscription is £15.00, and you will be invited to at least three Open Evenings for Friends. Further details and an application form can be obtained from the Museum.

Stewarding

Elizbeth Masterton Smith would be delighted if you phone her on 01728 604402 and say you can spare a few hours a week or month to help steward the Museum. It's not arduous and you will make a lot of friends and meet a lot of interesting visitors.

Please come and visit the Museum, it is well worth a visit and we look forward to welcoming you and answering as many questions as we can.

The Museum is grant aided by the Local Heritage Initiative which is a partnership between the Heritage Lottery Fund, Nationwide Building Society and the Countryside Agency.

Clubs and Societies

Although the Museum is only open during the mornings, arrangements can be made to open the Museum at a time convenient to you by phoning Richard Crisp on 01728 663583.

We look forward to meeting you.

Saxmundham Museum

At the end of September we closed the doors once again for the winter having had a very successful summer with visitor numbers well up on previous years. Visitors actually come from all over the world, and are really impressed with what looks like a very small museum from the outside but once inside are surprised with the number of rooms we actually have and the contents. The 40s Room has been a great success and will be there for another year.

The good news is that the Museum will be open throughout the Arts Festival Week from Saturday, 25th October until Sunday 2nd November, from 10 am until 1 pm each day, including the two Sundays. If you haven't visited the Museum this year why not take the chance while the children are being entertained in the Market Hall or bring the children along, there is plenty to keep them amused right from the trains in the window to the talking Beadle in the Courtyard.



If you are not a Friend of the Museum and would like to join, membership forms are available from the Museum. Membership is £15.00 and for further details please contact Richard Crisp on 01728 663583. Volunteers to steward are always welcome. Please contact Elizabeth Masterton-Smith on 01728 604402 who will be delighted to add your name to her list.