Wisbech & Fenland Museum

These collections comprise agricultural implements, drainage tools, hunting and fishing equipment and as such reflect Fenland culture up until mechanisation in the mid 20th century. In addition, the history of Wisbech as an important market town and port is represented by collections which include examples of the shipping industry, local law and order, municipal weights and measures. Victorian and early 20th century life is illustrated through the Museum's collection of objects relating to domestic life and local trades.

Wisbech is the home town of slavery abolitionist Thomas Clarkson and the Museum holds documents, letters, books and artefacts relating to his work. The most important of these is his chest which contains examples of 18th century African textiles, seeds and leatherwork. These were used to illustrate his case for direct trade with Africa. The chest also contained chains and manacles which give an insight into the appalling treatment of the enslaved Africans.

This substantial collection comprises over 6,000 Greek, Roman, Celtic and British coins. There are several local hoards, the largest of which is the Emneth hoard of c. 1,500 3rd - 4th century coins.
The Museum also has a fine collection of 17th - 18th century tradesmen's tokens from Wisbech and East Anglia. Of particular note are the fruit pickers' tokens, issued by local farmers in the late 19th and 20th century.

This small, but significant collection was gathered in the 19th century. In addition to the West African material gathered by slavery abolitionist Thomas Clarkson, there are also artefacts gathered by William Stanger and William Ellis who took part in expeditions to the South Seas, Madagascar and Africa. For example, Tongan war clubs, Tapa bark cloth and a quiver of poisoned arrows from Natal.

The Museum houses a stunning collecion of Ancient Egyptian artefacts which illustrate as much about the Egyptian lives and beliefs as they do about the Victorians who collected them. One the icons of the Museum's entire collection is the mummy's hand, a dis-membered mummified hand which has been mounted on a red velvet cushion within a gilt frame!
Other gems include a mummified cat, Canopic jars and several stelae (gravestones). Unusually, the Museum also has an Egyptian handling collection which is very popular with schools groups and other visitors.

A substantial part of this collection was donated to the Museum by the Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend in 1868. It includes paintings, European and Eastern ceramics and other objects d'art. Of particular interest are the Staffordshire figures which were donated from the collections of William Smith and JL Kirk. There are many rare pieces which makes the Museum the envy of many museums in the Potteries.

The Museum possesses a significant costume collection which ranges from important ethnological items from 18th and 19th centuries to representative pieces of British costume from the 17th century to the late 20th century. There is an on-going project to develop care of and access to the textile collection. If you would like to get involved with this work, please visit the Volunteering section

This vast collection comprises local and international geology (rocks & minerals), paleontology (fossils), conchology (shells), 19th century bird, mammal and fish mounts, lepidoptera (moths and butterflies), coleoptra (beetles) and a herbarium (botanical specimens). Among the stars of the collection are the nest of kingfishers, the ichthyosaurs and a giant eel caught in the River Nene!

Our comprehensive archaeology collection enables visitors to understand the development of life in the Fens from pre-historic to medieval times. Our Romano- British collection features fine examples of pottery and the skeleton of c.1700 year old woman from Coldham. The jewel of the Museum's Celtic material is the highly decorated Wisbech Scabbard, found locally by Samuel Smith.