About Marlow Museum

We are a modest museum affiliated to the Association of Independent Museums but an independent registered charity. The museum is staffed and run entirely by volunteers.

Although the town had been talking about having a museum for at least twenty years, we only opened our doors in 2009. We still have a long way to go to fully represent the long history and variety of life in Marlow town and surrounding villages of Little Marlow, Bisham, Medmenham, Greater Marlow and Marlow Bottom.

Our ambition is a bigger museum to display a larger collection of objects, photographs, documents and text relating to our district. There’s an old fire engine that we’d love to show you if only we had the room.

Meanwhile we have a permanent collection of smaller objects (the local stocks, General Higginson’s drum captured from the Russians in the Crimean War), pictures, maps and reference books. And at any one time we also have on show one of a series of temporary exhibitions on key topics relating to the district, such as Brewing, Lacemaking, Natural History, Famous People. This means that it’s always worth coming back for another look round – there’s often something new.

We’re not run by the council. We have to raise all our own funds every year for things like rent, insurance, publicity, equipment and exhibition costs. You can donate online or when you visit us. See you soon.

Our History

The Museum has been open in Court Garden since 2009. But a group of enthusiasts from the local history group of The Marlow Society had been planning a museum for about fifteen years before that. John Evans, the first chair, and Mike Hyde, the present chair, were the driving forces for the creation of the museum.

• In 1995 The Marlow Society, Wycombe District Council and Marlow Town Council, supported by Buckinghamshire County Museum and Wycombe Museum, commissioned Richard Harrison, an independent museum professional to produce a “Feasibility Study”. This recommended the establishment of a “Marlow Centre” containing museum galleries, educational facilities and more.
• Eventually a group of interested local people got together to form a Steering Committee, with verbal support from Marlow Town Council and other local Parish Councils and working very closely with the Wycombe District Museum Service and the Bucks County Museum. The group gave presentations to local organisations and held some public exhibitions in various venues in Marlow.
• In 2001 a public meeting was held to see how much support there was from local people and organisations towards the Project. Nearly one hundred local people and dignitaries attended the meeting.
• Finally on 8th July 2003 the First General Meeting led to the creation of the ‘Marlow Museum Centre Project’. Since then regular Annual General Meetings have been held.
• In 2009 Wycombe District Council offered us a lease on the Peacock Room at Court Garden in Pound Lane. Marlow Museum became Registered Charity No.1129346 and opened for the first time.

Our Aims

• To provide a museum that illustrates the history of Marlow Town, Little Marlow, Greater Marlow, Marlow Bottom, Bisham and Medmenham.
• To help people of all ages learn about and enjoy the history of Marlow and district.
• To act as a focal point for research and information and preservation of the heritage of Marlow and district.
• To become an Accredited Museum.
• To gather sufficient volunteers, supporters and resources to move the museum to bigger premises, with longer opening hours, where we can display larger objects.

Get Involved!

Why not find out more about volunteering for Marlow Museum?  Visit our Volunteering page, send us your details and we’ll be in touch.  No obligation.

Visit our Donations page for information about becoming a Friend of the Museum.