Natural History Museum Redevelopment | Colchester Museums
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Wild About Essex:

The redevelopment of Colchester’s Natural History Museum

Colchester’s Natural History Museum is set to undergo a major redevelopment.

Thanks to the support of National Lottery players and Colchester City Council, we have an incredible opportunity to make the Museum a more relevant, exciting, and welcoming place to visit and to restore the grade II-listed medieval church building and surrounding outdoor space.

This project is made possible with the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The logo of the Heritage Fund, featuring a stylised black and white hand with crossed fingers and a smiling face. Above the hand, the phrase

We want to create a community-focused museum that encourages exploration of Northeast Essex’s habitats and promotes their protection for future generations.

Alongside partners and stakeholders, we’ll be redesigning the space and reinterpreting the Museum’s impressive natural history collections for the first time in forty years!

A museum exhibition showcasing a collection of fossils, bones, and prehistoric artefacts displayed in glass cabinets. The cabinets are labelled with geological time periods, including "Pleistocene - Interglacial," "Pliocene," and "Eocene." The specimens include large fossilised teeth, tusks, bones, and ammonites, with descriptive plaques providing information about each item. The space features high, arched ceilings with exposed wooden beams, and mounted animal skulls and antlers decorate the walls. In the background, an interactive learning area with brightly coloured chairs and displays is visible, adding an educational element to the exhibit.
A museum diorama display of a garden. Next to a brick wall are artificial plants in ceramic pots and a pretend pond with plants and fish.

Our redevelopment is not just about buildings, but about creating meaningful connections between people, nature, and local heritage. If you are inspired by the Natural History Museum and want to take part in something hands on, Give it a Grow is a great place to start.

This community focused project encourages people of all ages to explore gardening, biodiversity, and sustainable growing in their own spaces. Whether you have a garden, balcony, or windowsill, it offers simple ways to connect with nature and support local wildlife. It is a practical way to bring the ideas behind the museum to life at home.

Following a first phase of consultation, design works, and more funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Museum is set to close for refurbishment in 2027 and will reopen in 2029.

Whilst the Museum is closed, we’ll still be running popular events at Colchester Castle and Hollytrees Museum. To find out what’s on or to view our exciting collections online, visit the Colchester + Ipswich Museums website.

A peaceful garden pathway at the Natural History Museum, bordered by plants, trees, and a low brick wall in the background. To the right, an informational sign welcomes visitors to the "Wildlife Garden," explaining that it is maintained by volunteers with support from museum staff and park rangers. The sign describes the garden’s role in supporting urban wildlife, particularly insects like butterflies and bees, as well as birds. It includes images of volunteers working in the garden, wildlife, and museum activities. The setting is natural and inviting, with sunlight filtering through the trees, casting shadows on the path.
A peaceful garden pathway at the Natural History Museum, bordered by plants, trees, and a low brick wall in the background. To the right, an informational sign welcomes visitors to the "Wildlife Garden," explaining that it is maintained by volunteers with support from museum staff and park rangers. The sign describes the garden’s role in supporting urban wildlife, particularly insects like butterflies and bees, as well as birds. It includes images of volunteers working in the garden, wildlife, and museum activities. The setting is natural and inviting, with sunlight filtering through the trees, casting shadows on the path.

Following a first phase of consultation, design works, and more funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Museum is set to close for refurbishment in 2027 and will reopen in 2029.

Whilst the Museum is closed, we’ll still be running popular events at Colchester Castle and Hollytrees Museum. To find out what’s on or to view our exciting collections online, visit the Colchester + Ipswich Museums website.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder for the UK’s heritage. Using money raised by National Lottery players we support projects that connect people and communities to heritage. Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. From historic buildings, our industrial legacy and the natural environment, to collections, traditions, stories and more. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.

 

 

The logo of the Heritage Fund, featuring a stylised black and white hand with crossed fingers and a smiling face. Above the hand, the phrase

Where will your adventure start?