Saffron Walden Museum

Opened by Saffron Walden Natural History Society in 1835, this award-winning, family-friendly museum stands in an enclosed meadow beside the ruins of the 12th-century Walden Castle.

Travel the world

The museum’s world cultures collection is of international significance. Explore historic items from different cultures around the world. Highlights include a suit of Japanese Samurai armour, a carved female figure from Tahiti, an early collection of Australian Aboriginal weapons and a collection of over 140 items of clothing from a Chinese family.

Discover Ancient Cultures

The museum houses an impressive Egyptology collection, ranging from pre-dynastic to Ptolemaic and consisting almost entirely of objects from tombs and burials, including a mummy. You will also find examples of pottery from Ancient Greece and Cyprus.

Local history

In the Earth Beneath Our Feet gallery you can see minerals, rocks and fossils from East Anglia and further afield. Bringing things a bit more up to date, the museum’s social and local history collections reflect the way that people have lived in north-west Essex over the past few centuries.

Fun for families

The Discovery Centre is filled with activities to help young ones explore and interact with nature. Activity Trails around the museum will keep children entertained, plus you can also visit the Tudor doll’s house, or the sandpit in the Great Hall which is filled with amazing archaeological treasure to excavate.

Did you know?

Situated in the museum grounds is a glacial erratic boulder weighing around 2 tonnes.