Earls Colne Heritage Museum

The Old Water Tower Reuben Walk Earls Colne Colchester Essex CO6 2TB

Earls Colne heritage Museum

Opening hours:

  • Wednesday 2pm - 4pm
  • Saturday 10am - 4pm,
  • Sunday 2pm - 4pm.
    Bank Holidays 2pm - 4pm
  • Admission will be free

Earls Colne Heritage Museum At the end of March 2007, Earls Colne Heritage Museum celebrates two years since its opening, and is pleased to have welcomed nearly 2,200 visitors.

The history of the village is presented as a permanent display, and various aspects of village life form the subjects of temporary exhibitions. The first commemorated the Hunt family who had built up a successful iron founding and engineering works in Earls Colne, and had contributed much to the village in the way of employee housing, public buildings and a public water supply. The second, "Earls Colne in Wartime", commemorated the 50th anniversary of VJ day. Following that was "Schooldays Past and Present", which included the Grammar School, Private Schools and the Primary School.

A new exhibition, "New-Fangled Ways - How Earls Colne Moved with the Times since 1860", will be staged from Saturday 7 April. This provides an opportunity to pay a special tribute to a much-respected local GP who died in December. Dr Brian Taylor was Chairman of the steering group which set up the Museum and was involved in the plans for the new display, which illustrates how the village has "moved with the times" since the arrival of the Colne Valley Railway in 1860.

Museum Display Dr Taylor had served his patients in Earls Colne and the surrounding area since 1948, just before the introduction of the National Health Service, and in November had recorded his memories of the way he and Dr Mark Cutts, his partner in the practice, developed their medical services.

Among other subjects included in the display are the replacement of horse-drawn vehicles by motor cars and buses, the long-running saga of attempts to provide a mains water supply, the coming of gas street lighting and the telephone exchange, originally designed to cater for 30 subscribers "if they should turn up".

As with previous temporary exhibitions, the new one will be complemented by a slide show, with a sound track of local peoples recorded memories, which will be running continuously during museum opening hours.
From Easter until the end of October the museum will be open: Wednesdays and Sundays from 2 - 4 p.m.; on Saturdays from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., and admission is free.

For further information see the Museums website