Wisbech & Fenland Museum

Initially a member-based organisation the museum is now a charity (311307). The trustee since 1 April 2015 is Wisbech and Fenland Museum Trustee Company Limited.

The W&F collection includes agricultural implements, drainage tools and pipes, shooting and fishing equipment and as such reflect the culture and economy of the Fens up until modern mechanisation deleoped in the 20th century. In addition, the history of Borough and port is represented by collections which include a shipping industry display - the port authority is now the Fenland District Council, the town was a major port for grain and wood, slates, coal and stone was imported to serve the area's needs. Crime and punishment items used locally are on display. The town once had a gaol, pillory, stocks and gibbet. A mantrap once belonging to the Peckover House and Garden is on display in the museum. 19th- and early-20th-century life is illustrated through the collection of domestic objects and others relating to local trades. The museum exhibits include bill posters for the town's Georgian Angles Theatre, one of the country's oldest purpose-built theatres. A model of a woad mill at Parson Drove and associated items are on display. Woad growing industry was mostly confined to the Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire Fens.[13] A display of items linked to the Cambridgeshire Regiment is found in the uppermost gallery.

W&F has a vast collection of local, British and international geology (rocks & minerals), paleontology (fossils), conchology (shells), 19th-century bird, mammal and fish mounts, lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), coleoptera (beetles) and a herbarium (botanical specimens). Among the fossils to be seen are ichthyosaurs, belemnites, sea urchins and sharks teeth.[14][15][16]

The extensive archaeology collection of the W&F enables visitors to understand the development of Fenland life from the pre-historic through medieval times to the recent past. W&F's Romano- British collection features fine examples of pottery as well as a skeleton of c.1700-year-old woman from Coldham. The jewel of the Museum's Celtic material is a highly decorated Iron Age Wisbech Scabbard (c.300 BC), found locally by Samuel Smith. Pottery and other artefacts recovered in the soils of the Welle Stream (an extinct Fenland river) give an insight into the life in the Iron Age, Roman and Medieval Periods. W&F acquires finds from digs in the area, it recently received some of the collection of the 2009 Dig in the Wisbech Castle. W&F also worked with the Wisbech High Street project and Fenland Archaeological Society to carry out a community dig on the museum's grounds and loaned items for a temporary exhibition and open day at Wisbech castle in 2019.[17][18]

W&F houses a Victorian collection of artefacts which illustrate much about the Egyptian lives and beliefs. A dismembered mummified hand is mounted on a red velvet cushion. Other items include a mummified cat, idolets of Osiris, Isis and Horus and canopic jars and several stelae (gravestones). W&F has an Egyptian handling collection which is very popular with school parties and groups of other visitors.[19]

The W&F collection includes 19th-century photographs of Wisbech and surrounding area by Samuel Smith; topographical images of East Anglia taken by Herbert Coates in the 1920s, Wisbech building and street scenes photographed by Geoff Hastings in the 1950s and 1960s and photographs in the 1970s by George Annis. It also has some of the earliest examples of photographs of Madagascar taken in the 1850s by William Ellis (1794-1872), a prominent member of the London Missionary Society.[20][21]

Admission is free to the W&F for all visitors. The museum is open 10am - 4pm Tuesday to Saturday. It is sometimes open on some Bank Holidays but usually closed on Sundays. The W&F is an important venue for widening interest in Wisbech and Fenland and regularly participates in Fenland-wide events and Twilight at the Museums. It puts on activities for families and individuals as well as temporary exhibitions, workshops and other events. During January and early February the museum is only open on Saturdays.[22]

The museum was upgraded to include a lift to access different levels and a rear access for wheelchair users and those visitors unable to enter by the main entrance on Museum Square. The rear access is via Wilderness Walk (off Market Street). The communication system enables reception to allow access.

The W&F has a reference library of c.12,000 volumes. Non-fiction works of History, Biography, Medicine, Travel and Exploration comprise the bulk of the collection with less Fiction and Drama, and Theological and Political works are uncommon.[23]

The Friends of Wisbech and Fenland Museum raise funds for the museum and publish books on local history.

The Trade of a Farmer: John Peck of Parson Drove by Dian Blawer was published in 2000. An East Anglian Odyssey: the story of the DaSilva puppet company (2006) by Chris Abbott. In 2019 a series of books of photos by Geoff Hastings were published; the first print run of 100 copies of Photos of Wisbech no.1 sold out in a week and was reprinted the same month. Photos of Wisbech no.2 followed in December.[24] Images of Wisbech no.3 was launched in February 2020 to coincide with an illustrated talk by writer William P.Smith.[25] Images of Wisbech no.4 followed in November the same year.[26]

The museum operates a free admission policy and relies to a large degree on volunteer support with income from a combination of sponsorship, donations, museum shop sales and grants. Since Fenland District Council withdrew grant support, the Wisbech Town Council grant and a recent 'Re-founders' scheme (£1k pa for five years) and grants from the 'Friends' and other organisations have been important sources of funds. More recently a 'Supporters Circle' scheme using monthly Direct Debits of £5 Clarkson, £10 Peckover or £20 Townsend has been launched by the museum. A planned coffee shop, may if approved become another income stream.[27]

The museum produced annual reports until c2013.[28] Annual returns are now made to the Charity Commission website.[29]

The Fenland Five leaflet.{https://chatterismuseum.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/fenland-five-museums-6ppdlprint.pdf}

• Official website
• Wisbech and Fenland Museum information from The National Archives, UK
• W&F Facebook
• Friends of Wisbech & Fenland Museum Facebook