Museum of Watford - The MoW

14/10/2026

🧵 The People’s Pattern: Tell Your Story

This Black History Month, our Museum Next Gen cohort is inviting you to help create a growing tapestry of Watford’s history.

Drop into The People’s Pattern for a free day of arts, crafts and creative textiles, exploring the stories, cultures and experiences that make up our town.

Add your own piece to the pattern, get creative and help us celebrate the people behind Watford’s history - past and present.

🎨 Free and open to all
📅 Friday 23 October
⏰ 11am–4pm
📍 Charter Place, Harlequin Watford
🙌 No booking needed - just drop in!

💛 The Museum of Watford is made possible thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery Players.

13/10/2026

🎃 Just a normal day in Collections…

While working through our inventory, the Collections Team opened a box and were greeted by this. A partial taxidermy mount of a Red Kite. Just the head. Naturally.

And if that wasn’t quite spooky enough, historic taxidermy comes with another slightly sinister surprise. 👀

During the 19th and early-to-mid 20th centuries, taxidermists often used substances containing arsenic to protect specimens from insects. Decades later, those hazardous residues can still remain - which means historic taxidermy needs to be handled with particular care.

So behind the scenes, our Collections Team use appropriate protective equipment and careful storage procedures when working with specimens like this.

A severed bird’s head that might also be poisonous? Happy spooky season from the Museum of Watford. 🎃🦅

💛 The Museum of Watford is made possible thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery Players.

10/10/2026

🎨 SEND Art Workshops are back this half term!

We’re teaming up with Cathartic for another day of free, creative workshops for children and young people with SEND on Wednesday 28 October.

Through art and creativity, we’ll be exploring local heritage, celebrating our community and creating something inspired by Watford’s past and present.

There are two sessions:
🎨 Ages 5–11: 10:30am–12:30pm
🎨 Ages 12–19: 2–4pm
📍 Cathartic’s Workshop, Oak Yard, rear of 131–133 Queens Road, Watford, WD17 2QP

The venue is fully accessible, with accessible toilets, a hoist and changing bed.
The workshops are completely free, but places must be booked in advance.

To register your interest, email [email protected] with the name and age of the child or young person attending and a brief summary of their needs. Cathartic will then send you a booking form to confirm your place.

Come along, get creative and discover a little more about Watford along the way! 🖌️

💛 The Museum of Watford is made possible thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery Players.

08/10/2026

🚂 Recognise this Watford landmark?

A look back at Watford High Street Station from our photographic collection.

There’s plenty to spot in this one - from the old British Railways signage and posters to the flower stall outside. And while the station is still very much part of Watford today, its surroundings have changed considerably over the years.

What do you remember about travelling from Watford High Street? Maybe a regular commute, a trip into London, or the start of a day out?

We’d love to hear your memories. 👇

💛 The Museum of Watford is made possible thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery Players.

02/10/2026

🧡 Museum Next Gen: Black History Month

To begin our Museum Next Gen posts for Black History Month, we’re looking at how something we wear can carry a much bigger story.

This dress was made by a woman in Watford and is an example of the kind of vibrant clothing that might be worn to church - bringing together faith, culture, identity, heritage and craftsmanship.

For Watford resident Rhoda Elorm Amezado, those connections are deeply personal.

Rhoda moved to Watford in 2008 and, after having her first child, began looking for a community that would make the town feel like home. She found that at Elim Pentecostal Church on St Albans Road, among a congregation bringing together people from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Uganda and beyond.

💬 “We dress glamorously on Sundays and sing happily, dance and pray.”
Rhoda remembers the late Gail Miller, who helped create that sense of belonging, with particular affection. Although from a different cultural background, Rhoda recalls how Gail embraced and understood the cultures of those around her, becoming a mother figure to many in the congregation.

For Rhoda, this is a story about much more than clothing. It’s about community, identity, belonging, and the ways a new place can gradually become home.
Throughout Black History Month, our Museum Next Gen cohort will be sharing more of the people, experiences and stories they’ve been exploring through their project.

💛 The Museum of Watford is made possible thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery Players.

01/10/2026

🎨 From our Fine Art collection: things have escalated.

Painted in the 17th century by Dutch artist Adriaen van Ostade, this work is rather appropriately titled Brawl.

Van Ostade was known for his lively scenes of everyday life, particularly taverns and village interiors - often filled with drinking, dancing, arguing and generally questionable behaviour.

And Brawl certainly delivers.

There’s shouting. There are playing cards on the floor. Someone appears to have reached the “hold me back” stage of the evening. And the man on the barrel looks like he may already be regretting several decisions.

The official title might be Brawl - but we think you can do better.

What would you rename it? 👇

💛 The Museum of Watford is made possible thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery Players.

29/09/2026

🌟 Volunteer Spotlight: Meet Chloe

For the past three years, Chloe has been volunteering with the Museum of Watford - which means she’s probably seen more of the collection than most of us!

As part of our collections inventory project, Chloe has been helping us work through the entire collection, making sure every object has an identification number, a digital record and a safe home before making its journey to the Town Hall.

And when we say every object, we mean every object. From Charlie the Chimp and Watford FC memories to individual letters, photographs and ephemera - it all needs to be accounted for. 📦

For Chloe, it’s those smaller stories that make the work particularly special:
💬 “The collection tells thousands of smaller (but just as important!) stories about the individual, everyday lives of the people who have lived and worked here.”

From eighteenth-century school records to photographs of 1980s work parties and flyers celebrating Watford’s pride and diversity, together they tell the story of a town that Chloe describes as “vibrant, dynamic and diverse - and always has been.”

A huge thank you to Chloe for three years of volunteering, curiosity and care - and for helping us make sure Watford’s stories are ready for their next chapter. 💙

💛 The Museum of Watford is made possible thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery Players.

25/09/2026

🌟 MoW Monthly -

A little piece of Watford, made from memories. ❤️ Created during our Creative Heritage Workshops for people living with dementia and their carers, this brilliant collage brings together familiar images from Watford’s past to create a colourful celebration of the town and its stories.

25/09/2026

📦 What makes the Collections Team happy at work?

Forget fancy lunches and finishing early on a Friday. For our Collections Team, few things bring more joy than the sight of a perfectly packed box of objects. 😍

And, to be fair, look at it.

Our costume collection has a little bit of everything in it, and each piece needs to be carefully packed to keep it safe for the future. This white cotton garment, for example, has been carefully laid into an acid-free box, with layers of acid-free tissue helping to protect the delicate textile from unsuitable materials.

The collection was meticulously cared for and treated by Harwell Restoration, with the careful packing continuing back at the Museum thanks to our Collections Officer and placement students.

Swipe to tuck it in safely - and then admire the final shelves of boxes. 📦✨

This is what happiness looks like when you work in Collections.

💛The Museum of Watford is made possible thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery Players.

23/09/2026

☕ The Museum is back out in the community!

This Friday, Harriet will be joining the Watford Area Reminiscence Group for a friendly afternoon of memories, conversation and local history.

📅 Friday 25 September
⏰ 2–4pm
📍 West Watford Community Association, 15 Harwoods Road
☕ £2 for tea and biscuits

No booking, no fuss - just come along! We’d love to see you there.💛