In this list of museums in Cheshire, England,

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

s are defined as institutions (including

non-profit organisations A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, government entities and private

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

es) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific or historical interest, and that make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing. Also included are non-profit art galleries and university art galleries. Museums that exist only in cyberspace (

virtual museum A virtual museum is a digital entity that draws on the characteristics of a museum, in order to complement, enhance, or augment the museum experience through personalization, interactivity, and richness of content. Virtual museums can perform as t ...

s) are not included. Many

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

museums focus on the area's industrial heritage, including

Quarry Bank Mill Quarry Bank Mill (also known as Styal Mill) in Styal, Cheshire, England, is one of the best preserved textile factories of the Industrial Revolution. Built in 1784, the cotton mill is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a ...

in Styal and

Clarence Mill Clarence Mill is a five-storey former cotton spinning mill in Bollington, Cheshire, in England. It was built between 1834 and 1877 for the Swindells family of Bollington. It was built alongside the Macclesfield Canal, which opened in 1831. ...

Bollington Bollington is a town and civil parish in Cheshire, England, to the east of Prestbury. In the Middle Ages, it was part of the Earl of Chester's manor of Macclesfield and the ancient parish of Prestbury. In 2011, it had a population of 8,310. B ...

(cotton), the

Macclesfield Museums Macclesfield Museums is a collection of four museums focusing on Macclesfield and the Silk Industry. The museums are owned by Cheshire East, the local council, and managed on their behalf by the Macclesfield Silk Heritage Trust. The museums are c ...

(silk), the

Catalyst Science Discovery Centre The Catalyst Science Discovery Centre and Museum is a science and technology science centre, museum in Widnes, Halton, North-West England. The centre has interactive exhibits, reconstructed historical scenes, an observatory, a live-science theat ...

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...

(chemicals), and the

Lion Salt Works The Lion Salt Works is the last remaining open pan salt works in Marston, near Northwich, Cheshire, England. It closed as a work in 1986 and is now preserved as a museum. History John Thompson Junior and his son Henry Ingram Thompson, a membe ...

in Marston and Weaver Hall Museum in

Northwich {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

(salt). The

Anson Engine Museum The Anson Engine Museum is situated on the site of the old Anson colliery in Poynton, Cheshire, England. It is the work of Les Cawley and Geoff Challinor who began collecting and showing stationary engines for a hobby. The museum now has one ...

Poynton Poynton is a town in Cheshire, England, on the easternmost fringe of the Cheshire Plain, south-east of Manchester, north of Macclesfield and south of Stockport. Poynton has formed part of the Cheshire East unitary authority since the ab ...

is on the site of a former colliery. Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, on the site of the observatory in

Lower Withington Lower Withington is a civil parish and village in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. At the 2001 census, it had a total population of 492. It contains a tin tabernacle church and a brick-buil ...

, explores astronomy. There are also several

transport museum A transport museum is a museum that holds collections of transport items, which are often limited to land transport (road and rail)—including old cars, motorcycles, trucks, trains, trams/streetcars, buses, trolleybuses and coaches—but can als ...

s, including the

Crewe Heritage Centre Crewe Heritage Centre is a railway museum located in Crewe, England. Managed by the Crewe Heritage Trust, the museum is located between the railway station and the town centre; the site was the location of the 'Old Works' which was demolished i ...

(railways), the

National Waterways Museum The National Waterways Museum (NWM) is in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England, at the northern end of the Shropshire Union Canal where it meets the Manchester Ship Canal (). The museum's collections and archives focus on the Britain's navigable inl ...

Ellesmere Port Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, north of Chester, south of Birkenhead, southwest of Runcorn and south of ...

and the

Anderton Boat Lift The Anderton Boat Lift is a two caisson lift lock near the village of Anderton, Cheshire, in North West England. It provides a vertical link between two navigable waterways: the River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal. The structure is de ...

(canals). There are water-powered mills at Bunbury,

Nether Alderley Nether Alderley is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England, on the A34 a mile and a half south of Alderley Edge. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Monk's Heath and Soss Moss. At Monk's Heath crossroads, the A34 crosses the A537 ...

and Stretton. The cities of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

and

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

each have a combined museum and art gallery, and the towns of

Congleton Congleton is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The town is by the River Dane, south of Manchester and north of Stoke on Trent. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 26,482. Top ...

and

Nantwich Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture. ...

have

local museum A local museum or local history museum is a type of museum that shows the historical development of a place/region (local history) using exhibits. These museums usually maintain a collection of historic three-dimensional objects which are exh ...

Norton Priory Norton Priory is a historic site in Norton, Runcorn, Cheshire, England, comprising the remains of an abbey complex dating from the 12th to 16th centuries, and an 18th-century country house; it is now a museum. The remains are a scheduled ...

is the remains of an

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

abbey, and

Englesea Brook Chapel and Museum Englesea Brook Chapel and Museum is in the village of Englesea-Brook, Cheshire, England. Built in 1828, the chapel was one of the earliest chapels of the Primitive Methodist movement, and the Sunday school was added in 1914. Since 1986 it ha ...

documents the Primitive Methodist movement.

Historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

s are also represented in the county, including

Little Moreton Hall Little Moreton Hall, also known as Old Moreton Hall, is a moated half-timbered manor house southwest of Congleton in Cheshire, England. The earliest parts of the house were built for the prosperous Cheshire landowner William Moreton in about ...

and

Lyme Park Lyme Park is a large estate south of Disley, Cheshire, England, managed by the National Trust and consisting of a mansion house surrounded by formal gardens and a deer park in the Peak District National Park. The house is the largest in Chesh ...

Cheshire Military Museum The Cheshire Military Museum is a military museum in Chester, Cheshire, England. History The museum has been housed in the former A Block in Chester Castle since 1972. It covers the history of four British Army regiments connected with the Cou ...

Chester Castle Chester Castle is in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It is sited at the southwest extremity of the area bounded by the city walls. The castle stands on an eminence overlooking the River Dee. In the castle complex are the remaining par ...

covers the county's regimental history, and RAF Burtonwood Heritage Centre and

Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker The Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker is a former government-owned nuclear bunker located at Hack Green, Cheshire, England. History The first military use of the area was in World War II, when a Starfish site was established at Hack Gr ...

explore more recent military history. The Museum of Policing in Warrington documents Cheshire's police forces. Unusual specialist museums include

Cuckooland Museum The Cuckooland Museum, previously known as the ''Cuckoo Clock Museum'', is a museum that exhibits mainly cuckoo clocks, located in Tabley, Cheshire, England. The collection comprises 300 years of cuckoo clock-making history, since the very earlie ...

, which exhibits cuckoo clocks.

Museums and galleries

Defunct museums and galleries

* Axis Arts Centre,

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...

(formerly Alsager Arts Centre), included an art gallery, closed in spring 2019 * Chester Toy and Doll Museum,

* Mouldsworth Motor Museum,

Mouldsworth Mouldsworth is a village and civil parish on the outskirts of Chester in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is about 8 miles north east of Chester city centre on the B5393 roa ...

website
closed in 2013 * On The Air: Broadcasting Museum,

, closed in 2000

References

External links

Museums and galleries at the official Cheshire Tourist Board website
{{Cheshire __NOTOC__

Museums A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

Tourist attractions in Cheshire