Warrington Museum and Art Gallery
One of Britain's oldest civic museums, in a Victorian building with galleries of art, natural history, world cultures and local history.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Warrington opened one of the earliest local authority museums in the country in 1848, together with the first public library in Britain, in temporary premises at Friars Green. William Beamont, the borough's first mayor, laid the foundation stone of the present building in 1855, and it opened in 1857. The Grade II listed building has housed the collections ever since and still contains the town's central library on its ground floor.
The museum grew through gifts from Victorian collectors, and its galleries keep much of their original character, with objects shown in wall cabinets from floor to eye level. Its roughly 200,000 objects cover archaeology, art, ethnology, natural history, photography and social history. Most relate to Warrington and the surrounding area, but some are of national importance, and the art galleries include works by artists who studied at Warrington School of Art.
Today the museum shows the story of the town from prehistory to the present in its Warrington Stories galleries, alongside art, geology, botany, fish and reptiles, world cultures and a cabinet of curiosities. A changing programme of exhibitions and events runs in two temporary galleries. In 2022 the museum's operator, Culture Warrington, opened a Community Sky Garden on the top floor of the nearby Golden Square car park.
Highlights
- Warrington Stories galleries on local history from prehistory onwards
- Botany Gallery, a rare surviving economic botany display
- Cabinet of Curiosities recreating a 16th-century wonder room
- Ethnology Gallery with objects from Ancient Egypt and other cultures
- Large Art Gallery with works by artists linked to Warrington School of Art
- Time Tunnel Gallery on post-war social history
Permanent exhibitions
- Warrington Stories galleries – Two galleries tell the history of Warrington and the surrounding area from prehistory to the everyday domestic and working lives of its people.
- Botany Gallery – A rare surviving economic botany gallery that shows plants and plant products of traditional use.
- Cabinet of Curiosities – A gallery that recreates the wonder rooms of the sixteenth century with key objects from the museum's collection.
- Founded
- 1848
- Operated by
- Culture Warrington
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
Admission to the museum and its exhibitions is free.
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 museum describes itself as fully accessible. The main door is automatic and a lift just inside serves the first and second floors; one gallery between the floors is reached by a stair lift. Staff are always on the first-floor landing to help. An adapted toilet with a baby change table is on the first floor, and the lift has audio announcements. Accessible parking bays are on Museum Street. A full access guide is available from AccessAble, and a free digital guide with transcripts works with screen readers.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
- Family tours & workshops
- Baby changing facilities
Free drop-in craft activities for children run every Saturday afternoon (1pm to 3pm) and on selected days in school holidays. Creativity Cove on the first floor has seating and tables for family picnics.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Garvin Place and Legh Street bus stops · 5-min walk
Warrington Bus Interchange is a 10-minute walk; the stops at Garvin Place and Legh Street are a 5-minute walk. Warrington Bank Quay station is a 7-minute walk and Warrington Central station a 12-minute walk.
By car
Parking available
Short-stay street parking, including accessible bays, is on Museum Street. Several pay-and-display car parks are within walking distance, including the multi-storey car park at Golden Square shopping centre, less than five minutes' walk away. The car park at Pyramid Arts Centre is temporarily closed.
- Accessible parking
Drive to the town centre and follow the brown signs to the Cultural Quarter. The museum can be entered from Bold Street or through the Central Library entrance on Museum Street, where cycle racks stand.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Café: not available
- Museum shop
There is no cafe. Visitors may bring their own food and drink to eat in Creativity Cove on the first floor, and cold drinks can be bought in the shop there; food and drink must stay sealed elsewhere in the museum. The shop sells local history books, prints, postcards, souvenirs and gifts, and is unstaffed, so visitors ring the bell by the office to buy something.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Audio guide | yes |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | A free digital guide on the Bloomberg Connects app has audio commentaries and themed tours, can be read in 40 languages through Google Translate and is reached by QR codes in the galleries. The museum offers a varied schools programme. |
