Museum of Watford - The MoW

28/08/2026

🏳️‍🌈 What would you put in a Museum of Me?

Last weekend at Herts Pride, we invited people to turn their memories into museum objects.

Inspired by the work happening behind the scenes at the Museum of Watford, where our team is busy documenting and labelling around 40,000 objects, we asked visitors to create something that captured a memory, person, place or moment that mattered to them - and then give it its very own museum label.
The result was a brilliant little collection of memories: from family stories and childhood moments to rainbows, favourite foods and tiny objects with very big meanings. ❤️

Because collections aren’t really about things. They’re about the people and stories we attach to them.
A huge thank you to everyone who added something to our Museum of Me.

Now the important question: if one of your memories became a museum object, what would it be? 👀

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

27/08/2026

Have a read of what's coming up in September!

🌟 MoW Monthly -

At Herts Pride, visitors were invited to make and model an object for their very own Museum of Me🌈 - capturing a memory, moment, place or piece of joy and pride they would choose to preserve in a museum collection. 💛 These are a few of the brilliant creations made by visitors throughout the da...

26/08/2026

📣 WE’RE HIRING!

Want to be part of the team bringing the new Museum of Watford to life?

We’re recruiting for three Visitor Experience roles:
⭐ 1 × Senior Visitor Experience Assistant
👋 2 × Visitor Experience Assistants

These roles will be right at the heart of the Museum - welcoming visitors, supporting day-to-day operations and helping us create a brilliant experience for everyone who walks through our doors.
Think you should be part of it? 👀

👉 Find out more and apply via the link: https://careers.watford.gov.uk/Watford/Home

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

24/08/2026

24/08/2026

🧵 Chosen by Museum Next Gen: a tiny gown with a much bigger story.

This Victorian child’s christening gown from the Museum of Watford collection is made from white/cream linen and decorated with layers of intricate lace. Gowns like this were popular throughout the Victorian period and into the early 1900s, often becoming treasured family objects passed between children and across generations.

But clothes can tell us much more than what people wore. This little gown opens up questions about childhood, family, faith, tradition and the expectations placed on children from the very beginning of their lives.

As part of Museum Next Gen, Deborah Akowa selected this object from our collection to bring into the spotlight.

What would you want to know about the child who once wore it? 👀



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

21/08/2026

⚽ On this day: 21 August 1999

Watford welcomed Bradford City to Vicarage Road for their first home game of the club’s first-ever Premier League season.

And it was a good day to be a Hornet. 🐝 Tommy Mooney’s goal in the 71st minute secured a 1–0 win for Watford.

This programme from the match survives in our collection - complete with handwritten team selections and match notes from whoever took it along that afternoon. A little piece of Watford FC history, scribbles and all. 💛❤️

Were you at Vicarage Road that day? What do you remember about the match? Tell us in the comments! 👇

📸 From the Museum of Watford collection.

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

19/08/2026

🦺 A rare sighting: the Museum team in hard hats and hi-vis.

Yesterday we swapped collections, spreadsheets and exhibition plans for PPE and measuring tapes and headed onto the Town Hall site to see how things are taking shape.

Once we’d all recovered from seeing each other dressed for a construction site, it was down to business: measuring spaces, testing plans and working through how the new Museum of Watford will actually function when we move in.

We’re much more accustomed to handling museum objects than wearing hard hats, but we think we pulled it off.

What are you most excited for at the new Town Hall space?

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

17/08/2026

🧵 Could you help us tell the story of Watford’s silk heritage?

There’s still time to register your interest in Fabric of Watford, a new exhibition being co-created with local people for the opening of the new Museum of Watford.

We’re looking for residents, creatives, local historians, former mill workers and their families - or simply anyone curious about Watford’s past - to help uncover the people and stories behind the town’s silk industry.

No museum experience needed. Just curiosity, enthusiasm and a willingness to get involved. 💛

📅 Expressions of interest close 31 August 2026.

Find out more and register your interest via the link: https://www.watfordmuseum.org.uk/fabric-of-watford-silk

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

11/08/2026

🪭 Object of the Month: A fan favourite

August’s Object of the Month is bringing a little elegance to the summer heat.

This striking folding fan has black painted guards and a black fabric leaf, decorated with a delicate floral design in reds, whites and greens. Look a little closer and you can see the flowers spreading across the folds - a beautiful contrast against the dark fabric.

Both practical and decorative, fans have long been objects of fashion as well as a very welcome way of keeping cool. And, given the August weather, we’re beginning to think this one deserves to make a comeback… ☀️

What do you think - would you bring back the folding fan? 🪭

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

08/08/2026

🐈 International Cat Day, but make it Watford.

Meet one of the more wonderfully weird residents of our collection: a tiny ceramic cat with an extremely long neck, a tiny tongue sticking out, and the Watford crest proudly displayed on its chest.

Made in England by Florentine China, this little gossware souvenir proves that apparently even cats have been repping Watford for generations. 💛💙

Swipe for all its best angles - because a neck like that deserves to be appreciated in full.

Happy from the Museum of Watford! 🐾

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