Visitor numbers soar at 'tiny' Cromwell Museum

The 7m x 10m museum houses about 1,000 items including portraits, clothes, arms and armour and historical documents linked to Oliver Cromwell

A "teeny, tiny" museum dedicated to the life of Oliver Cromwell has extended its opening hours to help it cope with increasing interest from the public.

The Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, this year experienced its busiest May yet, with nearly 1,500 visitors, while average visitor numbers are "50% above the historical average" already this year, according to its curator.

Stuart Orme believes "genuine increasing interest in the 17th Century and Civil War" has helped, with recent books on the period making it onto bestseller lists.

The museum now opens at 10:00 BST instead of 11:00 BST, Tuesday to Sunday.

The museum reopened in 2020 after a £160,000 refurbishment and has long-term plans for further expansion

Mr Orme said: "Visitor numbers to our teeny, tiny but beautifully formed museum continue to grow.

"And when we turn up to open the museum at 11:00, we often find people waiting, asking when we are opening."

The 7m x 10m (about 22ft x 32ft) museum is housed in the town's former grammar school, where the Parliamentarian leader was educated.

It contains about 1,000 items including portraits, clothing, miniatures, arms and armour and historical documents written by, or about, Cromwell.

The museum tells Oliver Cromwell's story from his Huntingdon childhood until his death in 1658

Who was Oliver Cromwell?

• Oliver Cromwell rose to prominence in the Civil Wars and played a major role in the trial and execution of Charles I

• He was vilified for the campaign in Ireland in 1649, but the accusation there were massacres of civilians is unproven

• He was the first commoner to become head of state in British history

• As Lord Protector he permitted religious tolerance - although not for Catholics

• He died peacefully in his bed at Whitehall in 1658

Source: The Cromwell Association

A programme of temporary exhibitions and events has offered visitors a reason to come back, said Mr Orme, and the museum has also expanded its social media coverage to Instagram and TikTok.

"But it really helps that the 17th Century is having its day," he said.

"Books by historians like Jessie Childs and Anna Keay, and Ronald Hutton's biography of Oliver Cromwell, have all hit the bestseller lists."

He added that the extended opening hours would not have been possible without the museum's "wonderful team of 43 volunteers", who range in age from sixth-formers doing their Duke of Edinburgh awards to an 83-year-old.

"It's our job to tell his story, warts and all," said Stuart Orme, referencing a phrase attributed to Cromwell