Wycombe Museum
Set in beautiful grounds, and with exciting hands-on activities, Wycombe Museum is a great place to discover the fascinating and varied history of the district and the famous collection of Windsor chairs.
Consultation on the new museum begins
The Heritage Lottery fund has given funding to develop plans for the Museum's future and we need your views to help us do this. Enter the Design your Dream Museum competition using the form below.
Please browse through other areas the Museum has to offer by clicking on the links to the left of this page.
Wycombe Wanderers 125
In celebration of Wycombe Wanderers' 125th anniversary, Wycombe Wanderers Football Trust have helped Wycombe Museum produced a special exhibition on our local team. See the exhibition pages for more information.
Wycombe Wanderers 125th anniversary quiz
Come and see the exhibition to help answer our quiz. All correct quiz forms must be authenticated by having the quiz stamped at the museum. This will entitle you to a 25% discount on home match day tickets for the remainder of the season.
Quiz sheets are available to download at the bottom of the page and need to be validated at Wycombe Museum to be entered into the prize draw.
Football trivia trail
Your child could win a chance to lead out the Chairboys at Adams Park! Complete the football trivia trail, available from the Museum for £1.50 with the chance to win the match day mascot package for your child. Includes a pencil and small trail prize for all children.
This prize includes:
- Home or away replica kit
- Play on the pitch prior to kick-off
- Warm up with squad
- Walk out with a member of the team
- Four tickets to the game
- Details in match day programme
- Copies of match day programme
- Car park pass
- Tour of the stadium
- Photo with your favourite player
- Traditional picture taken with referee and captains prior to kick-off
- Photos of your day sent to you after game
Suitable for children up to 11 years old.
Wycombe Museum is an Arts award Supporter
Wycombe Museum Investing in Volunteers
Wycombe Museum on Facebook
Find us on Facebook (link opens in new window) at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wycombe-Museum/344160557160
Wycombe Museum on Twitter
Follow us on Twitter (link opens in new window) at http://twitter.com/wycombemuseum
Usual opening times
Monday to Saturday: 10am to 5pm
Sunday: 2pm to 5pm
Bank holidays: Closed
Admission to the Museum is free.
Location
Museum address: Wycombe Museum, Priory Avenue, High Wycombe, Bucks, HP13 6PX
Wycombe Museum is located on Priory Avenue in High Wycombe and is close to the railway station and town centre. If you are driving to Wycombe Museum and using a satellite navigation system, or are using online mapping, the Museum's postcode is HP13 6PX.
You can view the location of Wycombe Museum on My Wycombe.
Accessibility
The ground floor of the Museum is fully accessible. Access to the first floor is limited. A portable induction loop is available to borrow from reception for visitors with hearing difficulties.
Parking
There is a small car park with limited space available at the Museum, which can be accessed from the corner of The Greenway and Priory Avenue. Pay and display parking is available on The Greenway and Priory Avenue.
There is a drop-off area half way up the drive for disabled visitors.
Shop
The Museum shop stocks a selection of merchandise, including a wide range of books.
Venue hire
The Museum has a room for meetings and parties.
- Learning room full day Monday to Friday £96
- Learning room half day Monday to Friday £66
- Learning room full day Saturday £66
- Learning room half day Saturday £54
- Learning room half day Sunday £54
All prices are inclusive of VAT
All prices include free use of equipment which can be made available. This includes:
Projector, DVD, flip chart, laptop, carousel slide projector, OHP, flat screen TV, projection screen.
Hire of Museum grounds cost by arrangement.
You can hire the museum for birthday parties for your children, we have two options available. For further information on this please see our birthday parties web page.
Refreshments - cost per person per session
Tea, coffee and biscuits £1.60
Lunch - sandwiches, fruit, crisps and juice £10
Lunch including all tea, coffee and biscuits for day £14
If you would like to provide your own catering, please read the attached information on food safety at the foot of this page.
For further information on availability and to book this room, please contact the Museum on 01494 421 895.
To book the Museum for evening hire, please contact the above number to discuss the conditions of hire and your requirements.
Conditions of hire, and applications forms, can be found attached below for downloading.
Heritage Lottery Fund grant award
Update 15 February 2013
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) granted £78,000 development funding in 2012 to prepare the way for the proposed expansion and re-location of the Museum to a site adjacent to the Council offices at Queen Victoria Road. This web page will give frequent updates as the project progresses, and will give details of consultations and other events taking place, so please check it regularly for updates and more details.
Volunteers hard at work
Cheered by the news of its success in getting the Investors in Volunteering Award Wycombe Museum staff are hunting for extra volunteer helpers to prepare the museum for change. As featured in the last update a team has been hard at work twice a week since September 2012 photographing, evaluating and repacking the stored collections to help with the development of story lines for the new museum. By 15 February 2013 objects have been processed and the combined total of hours worked add up to 800 volunteer hours!
New start up volunteers
Volunteers are needed for cleaning and preparing objects for display, for record keeping to keep track of objects wanted for new digital displays and to interview gallery visitors about their preferences. If you can spare half a day a week or more, Museum manager, Richard de Peyer would be delighted to hear from you on 01494 421 895.
Museum appointments
Since 1 February 2013 two new members have joined the staff at the museum to help deliver the Project. Charlotte James has begun work as outreach and learning officer and has already begun to contact groups and partner organisations around the district. If you would like to contribute to her thinking about the services most in demand contact her directly through the museum on 01494 421 895.
Marcus Roberts is now working on research for the new galleries - with a particular interest in the story of Wycombe's new communities from the (Anglo Saxons onwards) and how they replicate patterns of migration and settlement.
As well as the recruitment of project staff, procurement is also underway for the design team to develop the plans for the new museum. It is expected that the design team will be in place by April 2013, and public consultation on preliminary designs will take place later in 2013.
Trustees
Applications for new trustees closed on 15 February 2013 for the new Heritage and Arts Trust which will take over the management of the district's museum when it is re-located to Queen Victoria Road, High Wycombe in the next few years. The new charitable Trust with 11 trustees will take over the reins when the new museum building is complete.
The Council has committed to continued revenue support for the Museum and recognises substantial advantages from a transfer to trust, which will allow the Museum and arts better access to public grants, private donations and other funding sources.
New Museum newsletter
As well as this web page which will give updates on the museum re-location project, there is a museum and arts newsletter published regularly which aims to keep the public up to date with what is happening generally at the museum and in arts activities, as well as with the museum project. You can access it by clicking on the link below, or if you would like to be put on our mailing list to be e-mailed the newsletter in PDF format, then please contact the museum on museum@wycombe.gov.uk.