The Cromwell Museum in

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

, England, is a

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 thes ...

containing collections exploring the life of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

and to a lesser extent his son

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. On his father's deat ...

. Oliver Cromwell was born in Huntingdon in 1599 and lived there for more than half his life. The museum is located in the former

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

building in which Cromwell received his early education. Founded in 1962, the museum contains significant artefacts, paintings and printed material relating to

The Protectorate The Protectorate, officially the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, refers to the period from 16 December 1653 to 25 May 1659 during which England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and associated territories were joined together in the Co ...

.Collections
, Cromwell Museum website, accessed 5 May 2013 The museum is currently run as part of a trust dedicated to Oliver Cromwell's legacy and previously by the Cambridgeshire Libraries, Archives and Information Service, part of

Cambridgeshire County Council Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council of Cambridgeshire, England. The council consists of 61 councillors, representing 59 electoral divisions. The council is based at New Shire Hall at Alconbury Weald, near Huntingdon. It is a me ...

Building

The Cromwell Museum is located in the old

building attended by Cromwell and the diarist Samuel Pepys.Cromwell Museum
British Listed Buildings, accessed 5 May 2013 The building retains fragments of the medieval infirmary hall of the Hospital of St John the Baptist (circa 1170–90). The hospital was an almshouse for the poor and was founded by David Earl of Huntingdon. Keeping to 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 ...

rule, the masters of the hospital were appointed by the mayor and burgesses of the town until the suppression of chantries and hospitals in 1547. Vested in the corporation of the town, the hospital building became Huntingdon Grammar School which remained in the building until moving to a new location in 1896, eventually moving to

Hinchingbrooke House Hinchingbrooke House is an English stately home in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, now part of Hinchingbrooke School. The house was built around an 11th-century Benedictine nunnery. After the Reformation it passed into the hands of the Cromwell fa ...

on the outskirts of the town. The building was extensively modified and shortened during its time as a school. It was remodelled and partially rebuilt in 1863, and then heavily restored in 1878 under the direction of architect Robert Hutchinson at a cost of £900. The work was paid for by the dramatist

Dion Boucicault Dionysius Lardner "Dion" Boucicault (né Boursiquot; 26 December 1820 – 18 September 1890) was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the ...

in memory of his son, killed in the

Abbots Ripton rail accident The Abbots Ripton rail disaster occurred on 21 January 1876 at Abbots Ripton, then in the county of Huntingdonshire, England, on the Great Northern Railway main line, previously thought to be exemplary for railway safety. In the accident, the ' ...

of 1876. The building had been encased in brick and when this was removed a blocked Romanesque doorway was discovered.
Kelly's Directory of Huntingdonshire
' (London: Kelly's Directories Limited, 1903), pp.28-30. Other features of the exterior include a bellcote, five decorative arches on its west front and two bays of the hall's nave and aisles. The building was a

scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

, but was de-scheduled in 2003 following a review by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. It is a grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. Following a temporary exhibition held in Huntingdon in 1958 to mark the anniversary of Cromwell's death, Huntingdonshire County Council developed a collection to celebrate the town's most famous resident and it was decided that the vacant grammar school would be a suitable location for a museum dedicated to Cromwell. The Museum opened in 1962 after major internal re-decoration. Initially managed by Huntingdonshire County Council, from 1974 the Museum became the responsibility of the Cambridgeshire County Council library service. The Museum was completely re-displayed in 1988 and refurbished between November 2003 and late May 2004 when major building work was undertaken and temperature control systems installed.Cromwell Museum: Forward Plan January 2010 – December 2013
, Cambridgeshire County Council 2009

Collections

The Museum collection is the best collection of "Cromwelliana" in the UK, comprising approximately 610 individual items as of 2009. The museum owns approximately 70% of the items in its collection, with loan collections from the Bush family (descendants of

Henry Cromwell Henry Cromwell (20 January 1628 – 23 March 1674) was the fourth son of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Bourchier, and an important figure in the Parliamentarian regime in Ireland. Biography Early life Henry Cromwell – the fourth son of Oli ...

, the fourth son of Oliver Cromwell), the

Royal Armouries The Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's national collection of arms and armour. Originally an important part of England's military organization, it became the United Kingdom's oldest museum, originally housed in the Tower of London from ...

(who have loaned items of 17th-century military equipment) and objects from the

Museum of London The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall Museum (fou ...

including the Tangye Collection. The museum has a number of portraits of Cromwell and his family, including two by Robert Walker (d.1658), a copy of the famous "warts, and everything" portrait by Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680), a significant late portrait of Cromwell by Edward Mascall, and several miniatures in the style of Samuel Cooper. The museum has a number of coins from the era plus several portrait medals, including a copy of the Lord Protector medal also by Thomas Simon. The Museum displays a unique group of objects and portraits passed down by the descendants of Henry Cromwell including the hat Cromwell is thought to have worn at the dissolution of the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...

in 1653 and his personal

powder flask A powder flask is a small container for gunpowder, which was an essential part of shooting equipment with muzzle-loading guns, before pre-made paper cartridges became standard in the 19th century. They range from very elaborately decorated works o ...

for carrying

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...

. The Museum also has on display an apothecary's cabinet owned by Cromwell, and a Florentine Cabinet presented to him by the Duke of Tuscany. The majority of public documents relating to Cromwell's public life are held by

The National Archives National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...

in Kew, but the museum holds a large collection of printed pamphlets and copies of key texts of the period, such as ''The Humble Petition & Advice'' of 1657, which clarified the organisation of Parliament and the duties of the office of Lord Protector. The Cromwell Collection is located in the nearby Huntingdon Library and Archive building and provides one of the most comprehensive collections of material on Oliver Cromwell and his times outside academic circles. The Collection is freely available and was created in 2002 with the help of a grant from the Wolfson British History Programme.

Closure proposal

The museum was proposed for closure in the County Council's budget planning proposals for 2015–2016, with cited savings of £20,000 a year. On 1 April 2016 management of the museum passed from Cambridgeshire County Council to a charitable trust.

References

External links

Official Cromwell Museum website

Cromwell Association
{{coord, 52.33071, N, 0.18439, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Museums in Cambridgeshire Buildings and structures in Huntingdonshire Biographical museums in Cambridgeshire

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 thes ...