Petersfield Museum And Art Gallery

Petersfield Museum and Art Gallery was established in 1999 as a volunteer-run organisation, becoming a registered charity and company limited by guarantee in 2005. It is an Award Winning, Arts Council accredited, independent museum and proud to be a member of both the Museums Association and the Association of Independent Museums. In 2001 it reopened after a £4 million redevelopment project and strategic transformation, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which not only created what is in effect a brand new museum and art gallery and cultural space for East Hampshire and West Sussex, and a regional gateway for the South Downs National Park. A rare example of a restored Victorian Justice Heritage site, its permanent collections include social history archives and artefacts relating to Petersfield and the surrounding area, the Flora Twort Collection of art, an extensive Photographic Collection (including the Don Eades archive) and a Fashion and Textile Collection which includes the Bedales Historic Costume Collection. It also hosts the Tim Wilton-Steer Collection of works by and about the poet Edward Thomas in its Edward Thomas Study Centre where visitors can drop in, browse and read a book from a selection of 2,500 books whilst enjoying coffee and cake from the Museum Coffee Shop. It has been highly commended in various award categories and been the winner of the Petersfield Arts & Entertainment Award for both 2022 and 2023 - an award where the nominees are selected by and voted for by the people of Petersfield. In 2024 we will be celebrating our 25th anniversary with an exhibition that will have national and international interest.