Archive: This article describes Buxton Museum in 2018. Its former Terrace Road premises closed in 2023. The museum reopened in a temporary home next to Buxton Library in October 2026; see the museum for current exhibitions and visiting information.

In summer 2018, we shared five reasons for families to visit Buxton Museum and Art Gallery.

1. Activities for children in 2018

Children using a tablet in front of the Buxton Bear

During the 2018 school holidays, the museum advertised free Thursday Make and Take sessions from 10am to noon. The original guide also mentioned a Bear Trail, quiz, microscope and Roman dressing-up.

2. The anniversary exhibition

Artworks displayed in the 2018 anniversary exhibition

In its 125th-anniversary exhibition, Collectors and Curiosities: Buxton and Beyond, the museum displayed rarely seen objects and artworks. Our 2018 guide mentioned works by L.S. Lowry, Henri Matisse and Patrick Heron; the Fringe review also noted Lowry paintings.

3. The Buxton cat

The mummified Buxton cat in a display case

In 2018, the museum displayed a naturally mummified cat found during renovation work at the former post office on The Quadrant. The museum’s account says the cat fell from a ceiling cavity. A former museum volunteer dates its discovery to early 2017; its age is not known precisely.

4. The museum gift shop

Books, toys and gifts in the museum shop

In 2018, the museum shop sold books, fossils, gems and soft toys, with some gifts priced from 50p.

5. Free admission in 2018

Museum gallery and display cases at the former Terrace Road site

Admission was free in 2018. For current exhibitions, activities and visitor details, see the museum’s website.

For more information about Buxton Museum & Art Gallery go to www.derbyshire.gov.uk/leisure/buxton-museum/buxton-museum-and-art-gallery

Former museum address, closed in 2023: Buxton Museum & Art Gallery, Terrace Road, Buxton, SK17 6DA.

Tel: 01629. 533540