Design ideas wanted for museum expansion plan

Designs are needed to transform 7 to 8 Market Hill in Huntingdon, the new home of the town's Cromwell Museum

A tiny museum which tells the story of Oliver Cromwell "warts and all" wants architects to submit design ideas for its move to a bigger building.

The Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon purchased a four-storey Grade II-listed former NHS clinic on the Cambridgeshire town's market square in June.

It will be transformed with a much bigger gallery space, as well as a cafe, loos - including the town's first accessible changing places toilet - and a gift shop.

Curator Stuart Orme said the long-wished for expansion will "turn this building into a museum of the future".

"We began this process two years ago, so it feels both wonderfully and horrifyingly real now we've got building," he said.

"The next step is to work out what's possible in terms of looking after this historic building and find funding - it's likely the eventual cost could be £5.5m."

Oliver Cromwell played a major role in the execution of Charles I and was the first commoner to become head of state in British history

Cromwell (1599 to 1658) grew up in Huntingdon and rose to national prominence when he displayed an unexpected brilliance as a Parliamentarian battle leader.

He later became Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.

The museum's new building, which has been empty since 2019, is next to the pub where he raised his first troop of cavalry in 1642.

It is currently housed in the town's former grammar school, a 12th Century building where Cromwell and 17th Century diarist Samuel Pepys were educated, which is tiny - about 70sqm (229 sq ft).

Curator Stuart Orme says it is the the job of the museum (above) to tell his story "warts and all, some love him, some hate him"

The purchase of 7 to 8 Market Hill was made possible by a Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority grant of a £346,000, as well as the support of Huntingdon Town Council and Huntingdonshire District Council.

"It means we can display more of the museum's collection - we have nearly 1,000 items, including clothes, arms and documents - but it also means we can borrow items from national collections to be displayed here in Huntingdon," said Mr Orme.

The newly-acquired property is just across the road from the current museum and is about five times larger.

The expansion is necessary because of its "record-breaking success" in attracting visitors - 15,000 in 2024 to 2025 - while it saw a 20% increase in visitors in the previous financial year, he added.

Mr Orme said the new museum might open as soon as 2030.