Photo: Matt Brown from London, England · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Museum of Watford

Local museum of Watford, closed while its collections move to the town hall, with fine art, local history and the Cassiobury collection.

Temporarily closed

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Museum of WatfordTemporarily closed

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Temporarily closed (expected until 2027). The museum building is closed while the collection moves to Watford Town Hall. The new museum is planned to open there in 2027. Events, workshops and self-guided trails continue elsewhere.

About the museum

The museum opened as Watford Museum in 1982 in a Georgian town house at 194 High Street in Watford. The building was a mansion of about 1775 for the Dyson family that later became part of the Benskins brewery, and it was opened by the Watford-born actor Terry Scott. The museum was run by Watford Borough Council and covered the history of the town and its people.

The collection includes fine art, local heritage, industry and sport. It holds a special group of works linked to the Cassiobury estate, among them paintings from the collection of the Earls of Essex, and displays about the development of Watford Junction railway station and the history of Watford Football Club.

In December 2021 the council approved a plan to move the museum into a refurbished Watford Town Hall, and the old building closed in October 2023. The museum has since been renamed Museum of Watford. While the move is under way, it offers outreach events, workshops and self-guided trails, and plans to open the new galleries in the town hall in 2027.