Braintree District Museum

29/08/2026

We have been nominated!

Thank you to all of you that nominated us to go through to the final round of voting for the Essex Mums Awards 2026

We are in the "Best Museum" category.

Please vote for us here https://www.essexmums.com/essex-mums-awards/voting/

Why vote for us?

“Favourite place in town! Great for children.”
“Very interactive both for myself and my 3 year old granddaughter.”
“Excellent and outstanding information for children to experience the past.”

We aim to make the museum and exhibitions a place where everyone can engage and have fun with our displays.
We have interactives all around the museum from smell boxes to weaving activities and our popular immersive classroom and dressing up areas. We also include discussion prompts to help families have meaningful conversations about our exhibits and offer trails for different age ranges through our exhibitions.
There is an ample range of seating throughout the museum.
We have changing facilities and products and welcome breastfeeding.
We don’t have a buggy park but our front of house team can recommend safe locations around the museum.
We can offer a quiet space should it be needed at any point during a visit. Our quietest times are usually between 2pm and 4pm.
We have signed the Kids in Museums Manifesto, a public pledge to provide welcoming, accessible, and engaging experiences for children, young people, and families.

26/08/2026

It's Buddy’s Braintree Football Facts time again

Buddy has found and article dated 1911.
This was a very successful year for the Manor Works men’s team. They won three trophies and had them all on display during their annual dinner at the Boars Head! Buddy particularly liked that fact.

Stay tuned for what Buddy finds next week!

In the meantime why not visit the exhibition Football! A Local History of the Beautiful Game at Braintree Museum. The Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am – 4pm. Admission applies.

24/08/2026

We have two old coffee grinders on display at the Museum as our object of the month

By the 1750s coffee had become a popular drink worldwide. It became fashionable amongst the wealthy to have the beans ground at home. Simply designed, these hand-cranked grinders were often made entirely of wood.

The urn-shaped wooden grinder pictured dates from the late-1700s. Within the structure there are metal burrs that would have been turned by hand to ground the coffee to drop into the bottom compartment.

Pop into the Museum to see the other coffee grinder that dates back to the 1800s.

22/08/2026

To celebrate the upcoming Heritage Open Days in September we are offering a FREE guided Football Town Tour!

This tour will complement the current exhibition: Football! A Local History of the Beautiful Game.

Saturday 19 September
The tour starts at 10.30am and finish at Braintree Museum and will go around Braintree town centre and last about 1 hour.

Tickets can be booked here https://www.ticketsource.com/braintree-museum/braintree-history-town-tours-football/e-evykvaor by calling 01376 328868

18/08/2026

Buddy's Braintree Football Facts: Another one for the girls!

This week Buddy has discovered a newspaper article dated 1918 with pictures!

The pictures show a match between Braintree Manor Works team play the Ipswich Orwell Works. “Braintree were very keen on the ball” and the match resulted in a goalless draw.

Don’t forget to visit the exhibition Football! A Local History of the Beautiful Game at Braintree Museum. The Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am – 4pm. Admission applies.

12/08/2026

Buddy has been helping the Museum find fascinating facts about the history of football in Braintree to share with you.

This week he's spotted something in one of our old football programmes! A wonderful advert for football boots. How different they are to the boots worn today.
The price for the boot would have been 46 shillings and 9 pence. In today's money that would be about £170

We have a large range of football programmes on display in the exhibition Football! A Local History of the Beautiful Game at Braintree Museum. The Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am – 4pm. Admission applies.

06/08/2026

Welcome to Buddy’s Braintree Football Facts!

Buddy the Braintree Boar been helping the Museum find fascinating facts about the history of football in Braintree to share with you.

Every week we will be posting a new fact Buddy has discovered.

This week:
Did you know that the first ever recorded football match that women of Braintree played is in 1917! These ladies sides would have been of the female workers of factories that employed women during the First World War.

Find out more about women's football and so much more in the exhibition Football! A Local History of the Beautiful Game at Braintree Museum. The Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am – 4pm. Admission applies.

28/07/2026

28/07/2026

🌬️Stay cool and out of the hot sun 🌞 at Braintree Museum

TODAY Tuesday 28th July we are launching our Braintree Town Footbal Trail! ⚽

MEET Buddy Braintree Boar

Then pick up a FREE trail from the museum to do when the weather is a bit cooler.
Find all the picture clues in the windows of businesses accross the town centre. 🔍
Collect all 5 unique stickers.
Return the completed trail to be entered into our prize draw. 🏆

👀 Stay and see the NEW exhibition: Football! A Local History of the Beautiful Game
We have lots of fun football games, activities and crafts to try. ⚽