Date issued: 2 April 2020
Colchester Museums, like everyone else, is living through unprecedented times and closing all our Museums doors is something we took with a heavy heart.
Colchester Castle has a rich and varied past and has been an icon to Colchester residents since 1860. Even during the Second World War, the Castle remained open to showcase a series of exhibitions designed to lift public morale. And, from our records, they look like they were extremely well attended!
We had near misses, with a German bomb narrowly missing the north side of the Castle, during the war. However, it was swiftly defused and the Castle remained open. Even Suffragettes attempting to attack the museum collections, around 1910, didn’t close our doors.
As history tells us, our doors are meant to be open. However, as we cannot do this right now, we want to ensure that what’s behind our closed doors can come to you, at home, through our new Museum From Home project.
Our curators and members of the Museum team have been working hard to come up with fun and engaging things for you to do at home.
We’re thrilled to welcome everyone to visit our new home (for now) at www.cimuseums.org.uk/museumfromhome. Here, we invite you to access our growing library of activities designed to educate and entertain. Inspired by our collections across all three Museums (Natural History Museum, Hollytrees Museum and Colchester Castle), from art to nature, archaeology to social history, the team is brimming with ideas to bring Colchester Museums directly to you!
We invite you to follow us on social media for all the latest ideas and to share your experiences and results using the hashtag #MuseumFromHome. We’d love to see them all.
Councillor Julie Young, Portfolio Holder for Culture and Performance and Deputy Leader of the Council, said: “At the moment, closing our museums doors is the right thing to do – not only for Colchester, but for the nation.
“As custodians of nationally important artefacts, we want to ensure the public can access these, even when our doors are shut. I’d urge you to have a look at our new home, which hopes to inspire children and adults alike during this difficult period.”
Page last reviewed: 2 April 2020