What are the opening hours?

Tuesday 10:30am - 4:30pm Wednesday 10:30am - 4:30pm Thursday 10:30am - 4:30pm Friday 10:30am - 4:30pm Saturday 10:30am - 4:30pm Sunday 11am - 3pm

North Hertfordshire Museum

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North Hertfordshire Museum

The award-winning North Hertfordshire Museum is open to the public six days a week (Tuesday to Sunday)

18/06/2026

🦕Free quiet museum opening - Dinosaurium: Re‑Imagined Creatures exhibition

Join us for a calm and welcoming early opening of Dinosaurium: Re‑Imagined Creatures, along with access to the museum galleries before we open to the public.

This special session is designed for visitors who prefer a quieter, more relaxed museum experience. It is particularly suitable for autistic adults and children, and for anyone who finds busy public spaces overwhelming.

Visitor numbers will be limited, with low noise and gentle lighting throughout. Quiet breakout spaces will be available if you need time away from the exhibition gallery, and there will be no pressure to move at a set pace.

10am to 11am, Sunday 21 June, before the museum opens to the public.

Booking is essential. All visitors, including parents and carers, must book a free ticket in advance.

👇Click the link to find out more and book 👇

https://www.ticketsource.com/northhertsmuseum/dinosaurium-re-imagined-creatures-quiet-museum-opening/p-ebonrl

18/06/2026

🐅Our Toddler Music and Craft Session – The Tiger Who Came to Tea has almost sold out! 🐅

10.45am session – SOLD OUT
11.45am session – SOLD OUT
12.45pm session – only a few tickets remaining

Tiny people of North Herts, would you like some sugar in your tea?

Bring your little ones along for a lovely session of storytelling, singing, crafting and face painting. We will be reading the much-loved The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr.

Children are welcome to bring their favourite teddy to join in the fun and dressing up is very much encouraged.

Aimed at ages 6 months to 3 years
Children under 6 months go free

📅 This Saturday, 20 June
⏰ Final session available: 12.45pm

If you were hoping to come along, now is the time to book before the last places go.

👇Click the link to find out more and book 👇

https://www.ticketsource.com/northhertsmuseum/toddler-music-and-craft-session-the-tiger-who-came-to-tea/p-ebonrl

17/06/2026

A once fashionable little find with strong local connections.

This week’s object is a bowler hat from our collections, discovered during the demolition of 20 and 21 Bridge Street, Hitchin in 1959, buildings we recently featured in our Photo Friday series.

Carefully retrieved before the buildings were lost, the hat holds clues to its past. Inside are the markings of local outfitter Ernest Leete, who sold it from his Hitchin shop, alongside the initials W.W.G.

These initials likely belonged to William Woods Goldsmith, a local veterinary surgeon who worked in one of the demolished buildings and, it seems, may well have been the hat’s owner.

Both men were familiar names in Hitchin for decades. Ernest Leete operated from the 1880s through to the 1930s, while William Woods Goldsmith practised locally from the 1890s into the 1930s.

This simple bowler hat not only reflects everyday fashion from the era of Leete and Goldsmith, but also connects us to the working lives and identities of Hitchin residents over a century ago.

16/06/2026

It’s that time of year again. Our new What’s On leaflet is now available to pick up from the museum.

Covering July to December 2026, it showcases all our upcoming events and exhibitions at both the museum and the Town Hall.

Can’t wait for the leaflet? Visit our tickets page to explore the latest events now on sale. From children’s sessions and skills courses to club nights and museum talks, there’s something for everyone.

👇Click the link to find out more 👇

https://www.ticketsource.com/northhertsmuseum

12/06/2026

We’ve got another trio of local houses for you to put your detective skills to the test. Last time, many of you did a fantastic job identifying our mystery house, so let’s see how you get on this week.

Here’s what we know about the three this week:

📍 The Homestead, Graveley
The Homestead is a handsome double-fronted house built from Arlesey grey brick, likely dating from between 1900 and 1910. This photograph was taken sometime after 1960.

📍 Delamere House, Little Wymondley
A front view of the rather lovely Delamere House in Little Wymondley, captured in 1978.

❓ Our Mystery House
This intriguing old property is somewhere in Hinxworth, and that is about all we can say for certain. The photograph shows a person pointing towards it, but its exact location remains a bit of a puzzle. You might need some specialist local knowledge to crack this one.

Can you identify the mystery house? Hinxworth locals are especially welcome to share suggestions. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

11/06/2026

Rag Rugs – Adult Taster Session

Looking for a relaxed, creative evening?

Come and try rag rug making in this beginner-friendly taster session.

Learn the basics and create your own cushioned pot stand, perfect for protecting worktops and tables from hot dishes. This simple project can be completed in one session and is ideal if you are new to rag rug techniques.

📅 Thursday 2 July
🕖 7–9pm

Book your place and enjoy a creative evening while giving old fabrics a new life.

👇Click the link to find out more and book 👇

https://www.ticketsource.com/northhertsmuseum/rag-rugs-adult-taster-session/p-ebonrl

11/06/2026

We’ve shared so many posts over the years, we thought we’d take a look back at some of our favourites in case you missed them.

First posted: 6 May 2021

Here are some photos of Russell’s Tannery. They were taken around the turn of the century and show the workers ‘fleshing horses’ and using the machinery to process the skins and make leather.

The tannery was located where Sainsbury’s and its car park is now. The map is from 1827 and shows where the river flowed through Hitchin and passed alongside Russell’s as having access to large amounts of water was important. The purple highlight is the footprint of Sainsbury’s and the land the tannery occupied.

Leather-making is a complex process that involves soaking hides to remove traces of blood before curing them in lime pits and washing again. The fat can then be scraped off and tanning started. This was done by soaking the hides in tanks of water containing tannins, the solution in each bath becoming increasingly stronger.

After six weeks, the tanned hides were ready to dry naturally. A final scraping stage by a currier removed any residue from the tannins and, after it was ‘stuffed’ with fat, the leather was ready.

In the two group photos, some of the workers appear to be very young. As the school leaving age was raised from 10 to 12 in 1898 and 14 in 1900, the photos either must date from before then or show that the tannery employed children who ought to have been at school.

In the smaller group photo, the dirtiness of their clothes reflects the squalid working conditions, with white staining from the lime pits. Some of the older men did the skilled work and were photographed with their tools.

The modern view of Sainsbury’s car park would have been where the tannery was, looking over at the river.

10/06/2026

What’s your favourite Hitchin pub, past or present?

Here’s one you can’t visit anymore, unless you’ve got a time machine.

Step back around 140 years and you’d find The Boot public house, once standing proudly at 27 Bridge Street. This week’s object is a surviving piece of its story, a pub sign that would have once welcomed locals through its doors.

The Boot had its fair share of landlords throughout the 1800s, but one name keeps appearing: George Gascoigne. He is recorded at the pub in trade directories from 1839, 1853 and 1862, suggesting he was a familiar face behind the bar for decades.

And here’s a detail that might surprise us today. George wasn’t just a publican. At the same time, he was also working as a butcher on Bridge Street. A true multitasker of his era.

The pub even earned a place in art history, appearing in an 1889 etching by renowned local artist F.L. Griggs, which you can see here too.

So next time you’re walking down Bridge Street, imagine the buzz of The Boot in its heyday.

Would you have tried The Boot on for size? And which Hitchin pub is your favourite today?

09/06/2026

Toddler Music and Craft Session: The Tiger Who Came to Tea 🐯☕

Join us in North Herts for a playful and engaging session designed especially for little ones. Settle in for a gentle storytime featuring The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr, brought to life with songs, simple crafts and a touch of face painting fun.

There’s plenty to spark imagination, and you’re very welcome to bring a favourite teddy along or come dressed up to add to the magic.

Perfect for children aged 6 months to 3 years (babies under 6 months go free), this relaxed session offers a lovely way to explore stories, music and creativity together.

Saturday 20 June
Sessions at 10.45am, 11.45am and 12.45pm
£9 per child or £16 for two children

👇Click the link to find out more and book 👇

https://www.ticketsource.com/northhertsmuseum/toddler-music-and-craft-session-the-tiger-who-came-to-tea/p-ebonrl

05/06/2026

This 1958 photo, taken by HUDC Surveyors, shows Nos. 20–21 Bridge Street just before demolition. The numbering has since changed, but this spot is what many knew as Bull Corner or “the Triangle”, where Bridge Street meets Queen Street.

The building was much older than it looked. Beneath later alterations was a fifteenth-century hall house that had been split into smaller dwellings over time. By the 1950s it was home to the Hill View Hotel and Restaurant.

The original building extended further out on the right, at a time when Queen Street was narrower. After demolition, the road was widened. The white section marks the footprint of the modern building, while the darker section shows the part of the property that was lost when the street was extended.

Its end came in 1958 after a lorry suffered brake failure and crashed into the right-hand side of the building, causing significant damage and leading to its demolition.
The building is long gone, replaced by the modern block on the site today, but for centuries this corner looked very different.

Address

Brand Street
Hitchin
SG51JE

Opening Hours

Tuesday	10:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	10:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday	10:30am - 4:30pm
Friday	10:30am - 4:30pm
Saturday	10:30am - 4:30pm
Sunday	11am - 3pm

Telephone

+441462474554

Website

http://www.northhertsmuseum.org/

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