Photo: Richard Kelly · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Bushey Museum and Art Gallery

Museum in an Edwardian council building in Bushey, with Hertfordshire’s largest art collection, Herkomer and Lucy Kemp-Welch galleries and local history.

Opening hoursFree admission Wheelchair accessible

Website Directions

About the museum

Bushey Museum and Art Gallery tells the story of Bushey in Hertfordshire and the unusual artistic history of the village. The Museum Trust was founded in 1983 to collect and protect the artistic heritage of Bushey, and the museum has been in its present building for more than thirty years. The building in Rudolph Road was put up in 1909 as the offices of Bushey Urban District Council, and it stands in the Bushey village conservation area.

The art collection is the largest in Hertfordshire and comes mainly from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It includes many works and objects connected with Sir Hubert von Herkomer and the art school he founded in Bushey, and the collection of the Lucy Kemp-Welch Memorial Trust, with many of the paintings of horses by the artist who illustrated Black Beauty. Works by the Monro Circle of artists are also shown, and archives on Bushey’s art schools are kept in the Local Studies Centre.

The ground floor has local history galleries with archaeology, historic maps, documents and Bushey Heath pottery, while the first floor holds the art galleries and the shop. The museum is Fully Accredited by Arts Council England, an Art UK founder partner and a VisitEngland “Hidden Gem”, and temporary exhibitions change through the year.

Highlights

Herkomer Gallery with works and memorabilia of Sir Hubert von Herkomer
Lucy Kemp-Welch Gallery with her horse paintings
Largest public art collection in Hertfordshire
Local history galleries with archaeology, maps and Bushey Heath pottery
Edwardian former council offices built in 1909

Permanent exhibitions

Herkomer Gallery – Paintings, memorabilia and the story of Sir Hubert von Herkomer and his Bushey art school.
Lucy Kemp-Welch Gallery – A large collection of paintings by Lucy Kemp-Welch, the foremost painter of horses of her time.
Local history galleries – Bushey’s history from earliest times, with archaeology, artefacts, documents, maps and Bushey Heath pottery.

Founded: 1993
Operated by: Bushey Museum Trust

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Entry is free and donations are welcome.

Accessibility

Wheelchair accessible
Elevator
Accessible restroom
Accessible parking
Service dogs welcome: no information
Tactile models & exhibits: no information
Sign language tours: no information
Easy-to-read materials: no information
Audio description: no information

The main entrance on Rudolph Road is reached by three steps or a gently inclined ramp with handrails (gradient 1 in 20). Inside there are no steps on the ground floor, and the galleries have enough room to move a wheelchair. The first floor, with the Herkomer Room, art galleries and shop, is served by an eight-person lift; there are two steps within the first floor, which the lift avoids. Accessible toilets are on both floors. One Blue Badge parking space is in the small car park behind the museum, on a first come, first served basis.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

By public transit

Bushey station

Bushey station is about 1 mile away, Watford Junction about 3 miles and Stanmore Underground station about 4 miles; buses run to Bushey from all three.

By car

Parking available

One Blue Badge space in the small car park behind the museum, reached from Rudolph Road, which is one-way (approach via Herkomer Road). Kemp Place car park is off the High Street, opposite Rudolph Road.