Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery

Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery - Bringing the heritage of the area to life There are some amazing objects and interactive displays for all ages.
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Located in one of the city's most historic buildings, Peterborough Museum has a wealth of stories to fascinate and enthral all the family. Set in a historic building, you can learn its story: from private house, to hospital and museum, and see inside the original Victorian Operating Theatre to learn about the grisly history of surgery. The collections comprise over 200,000 items of great national

and international importance, and you can find out about the story of Peterborough from prehistory to the present. See which creatures swam in the seas over 150 million years ago, discover the Bronze Age, Roman and Saxon treasures of the city, learn the story of the first prisoner of war camp in the UK, right up to the changes seen over the 20th century in Peterborough.

Life & Observational Drawing is back!Our popular Life & Observational Drawing classes return this Thursday, led by Lead ...
02/09/2026

Life & Observational Drawing is back!

Our popular Life & Observational Drawing classes return this Thursday, led by Lead by artist, Jim Tovey. Whether you’re developing your skills or simply enjoy drawing from life, come along and work at your own pace.

Looking to take your portrait skills further? Join our special full-day Portrait & Figure Drawing Workshop, where you’ll explore the form and structure of the human head, work towards achieving a good likeness and get to grips with anatomy.

Two great opportunities to sharpen your drawing skills – which will you choose?

Find out more and book your space online: https://peterboroughmuseum.org.uk/events

What does it mean for a painting to be made “en plein air”? For this , let’s look at a painting from our collection: ‘S...
01/09/2026

What does it mean for a painting to be made “en plein air”?

For this , let’s look at a painting from our collection: ‘Southern Town’ by Mark Fisher. Popularised by the impressionist movement, “en plein air”, or “in open air”, simply means to paint outside! With the introduction of tubes of paint and portable watercolour palettes, artists could now paint anywhere from the garden to the seaside, or even a busy street.

Here, Fisher uses quick, loose brushstrokes to capture the breeze through the trees and a crowd of people going about their day. The “en plein air” technique was favoured by many notable artists including Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, and John Singer Sargent.

Have you ever tried painting outside? Why not give it a go?

Great work everyone 👏🏼
29/08/2026

Great work everyone 👏🏼

27/08/2026

The Victorian Operating Theatre and Vaults are currently closed. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

VOLUNTEER WITH USWe’re looking for enthusiastic and confident volunteers to join our team as Exhibition Stewards and hel...
26/08/2026

VOLUNTEER WITH US

We’re looking for enthusiastic and confident volunteers to join our team as Exhibition Stewards and help welcome visitors to our upcoming major exhibition.

If you enjoy meeting people, have an interest in culture and heritage, and would love to play a part in an exciting exhibition, we’d love to hear from you!

Exhibition Steward Volunteers will help create a warm and welcoming experience for our visitors while supporting the exhibition team.

Interested in finding out more? Find our full role profile online:
https://peterboroughmuseum.org.uk/volunteer
Or, contact [email protected]

Come and be part of something exciting at Peterborough Museum! 💜

Jurassic Pliosaur skull on the move!One of the museum's heaviest Jurassic fossils, the mighty skull of a large pliosaur ...
25/08/2026

Jurassic Pliosaur skull on the move!

One of the museum's heaviest Jurassic fossils, the mighty skull of a large pliosaur Simolestis vorax has been removed from display for professional conservation.

This pliosaur skull has been a favourite with visitors old and young alike with its amazing 3D preservation and the size of its skull and teeth. A recent condition check of the specimen showed it had some cracks forming across the rock, which meant it needed professional conservation.

The skull is being conserved by professional palaeontological conservator Nigel Larkin, Natural History Conservation. Nigel visited the museum this week to collect the heavy beast of a specimen, no easy task! The skull was first fully documented, then securely wrapped on its existing mount. Its weight was supported by a purpose-built wooden crate, with a trolley designed to take the weight of the skull and mount as it was being moved. Once out of the case, the skull was boxed in further to make it ready for transport to the conservation studios.

The Simolestis vorax skull was originally discovered by chance at a Peterborough landfill site in 1990, and is one of the largest skulls ever to be found in the Peterborough Jurassic Oxford Clay. At the top of the Jurassic ocean food chain, Simolestis would have used its powerful jaw and teeth to kill plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs.

We look forward to welcoming it back on display in the new year 🙏

Welcome to our new series, , where we ask: how do artists do that?Let’s start with a medium you’ll all be familiar with...
25/08/2026

Welcome to our new series, , where we ask: how do artists do that?

Let’s start with a medium you’ll all be familiar with: pencil!

Drawing in pencil is popular for a reason. Not only are pencils cheap and easy to carry with you wherever you go, they’re also versatile tools for artists at any level. You can create a whole range of different lines and shades by changing the angle of the pencil, varying the pressure applied or shading over the same section multiple times.

In “Old Wharves, Peterborough”, Paul Sandby Munn used pencil combined with grey wash to create layers of depth, shadow, and believable textures. Why not pick up a pencil and have a go yourself?

These are the creative designs of the Fenland Young Archaeology Club! They were tasked with imagining their own Bronze A...
24/08/2026

These are the creative designs of the Fenland Young Archaeology Club!

They were tasked with imagining their own Bronze Age handles and tools, based on the Must Farm collection. Incredibly many handle parts did actually surivive along with their axe, chisel and spear heads. This in turn has allowed full replicas to be made for people to experience first-hand.

If yourself, or a young person you know, is inquisitive and curious about the past, check out the YAC page online to find out more: https://www.yac-uk.org

This activity was part of our ongoing 'My Must Farm' project, engaging audiences in the stories and objects discovered nearly 3000 years ago.
Learn more about My Must Farm: https://peterboroughmuseum.org.uk/mymustfarm

Pop In and Play is now OPEN! 😀Children can enjoy our free play area while you relax with a treat from the café, from tod...
20/08/2026

Pop In and Play is now OPEN! 😀

Children can enjoy our free play area while you relax with a treat from the café, from today until 26 Sep.

Did you know today is ? There are lots of reasons to take photos, like capturing a moment you don’t want to forget or c...
19/08/2026

Did you know today is ?

There are lots of reasons to take photos, like capturing a moment you don’t want to forget or creating a work of art - but they also make fascinating historical documents!

Take this photo from our Peterborough Museum collection. What can you tell from looking at it? Who might these women be? Are they running errands or socialising? What time period do you think this was taken in?

Address

Priestgate
Peterborough
PE11LF

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

+441733864663

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