Museum of Croydon

About the museum

Croydon’s museum service was set up by the London Borough of Croydon in 1989. It inherited the council’s art collection, the Riesco collection of Chinese ceramics and several hundred local objects. A permanent local history display called Lifetimes opened in the Croydon Clocktower in 1995 and drew on oral history interviews recorded between 1989 and 1995. A handling collection for schools and community projects followed in 1994.

After a refurbishment, the museum reopened under its present name in September 2006. Its main display lets visitors follow the story of the borough from earlier times to the present, and people living in Croydon are treated as experts on their own history. The Riesco Gallery shows the ceramics donated by the collector Raymond Riesco together with archaeological finds from the area.

The museum sits in the Croydon Clocktower, a civic building that also contains the central library, the archives, a cinema and a café. It has several exhibition spaces for changing displays, and entry is free. The museum runs school visits, a Young Archivists project for teenagers and community projects, and it keeps a wide local collection that includes art, objects and photographs.

Highlights

• Riesco collection of Chinese ceramics
• Archaeological finds from the Croydon area
• Local history displays that run from the past to today
• Free entry in the Croydon Clocktower

Permanent exhibitions

• Riesco Gallery – Chinese ceramics from the Riesco collection, shown together with archaeological finds from the Croydon area.
• Croydon’s story from then to now – A local history display on the people and places of Croydon, built from the borough’s collections and community memories.

Founded

2006

Operated by

London Borough of Croydon

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Entry to the museum is free.

Accessibility

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

Croydon Council describes the Clocktower as fully wheelchair accessible, with ramps to the entrances and lifts or ramps inside. The main entrance has a ramp or shallow steps with white-edged markings and handrails on both sides. Two wheelchairs can be borrowed in the building, and there are several accessible toilets. Induction loops are fitted at the library enquiry desks. Labels in the Riesco Gallery use high-contrast text. Guide dogs are welcome throughout the building. Blue Badge bays are in the nearby Fairfield and Surrey Street car parks and on Fell Road.

Kids & families

• Baby changing facilities

Baby changing is available in the first-floor accessible toilet and in the ground-floor children’s library. Young people are welcome to visit the exhibitions.

Getting there & parking

Buses 119, 197, 312 and 466 run to East Croydon station; buses 60, 109 and 250 stop outside West Croydon station.

Amenities & dining

• Café

The Clock Tower Café is in the same building and is self-service; staff will bring food to the table on request.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit