The new museum features five permanent exhibition spaces alongside a temporary exhibition space and new learning room, as well as a newly-built café and flexible creative workspaces
Vestry House Museum will reopen in Autumn 2026 following a major refurbishment, Waltham Forest Council has confirmed.
The local history museum, which tells the story of Waltham Forest and the people that have made it what it is today, will reopen with a reimagined programme following a sensitive renovation of its eighteenth-century buildings.
The revitalisation project has purposefully revealing layers of the historic fabric whilst also making the building more accessible.
The new museum features five permanent exhibition spaces alongside a temporary exhibition space and new learning room, designed by award-winning 3D exhibition designers GuM Studio and curated by Claire Mead.
Additional areas created as a part of the transformation include a newly-built café, flexible creative workspaces, and displays of community led projects, all set within the Museum’s award-winning gardens.
Vestry House Museum tells the story of Waltham Forest through its collection of more than 100,000 historical objects and themed displays. It gives a fascinating glimpse into how people lived and worked, and how the borough has changed over time.
Situated in Walthamstow Village, the earliest part of the building was constructed in 1730 to house the parish workhouse and was later extended and used as a police station, an armoury, a builders’ merchants and a private home. In 1931 the building opened to the public as a local history museum.
Following its transformation, the new museum will showcase cultural heritage stories and artefacts from the collection, some of which have never been shown before, encouraging a dialogue between past and present and highlighting Waltham Forest’s long history as a hub of design, creativity and innovation.
Displays co-curated with grassroots community groups revealing overlooked histories will be presented alongside much-loved objects such as the Bremer Car, the UK’s first petrol car and a globally significant example of local innovation.
The new exhibition spaces include the Made in Waltham Forest gallery, a celebration of Waltham Forest as London’s workshop; Forest, Farm, Village, City, taking visitors on a journey through the changing landscape of the borough; Hidden Histories, exploring the borough’s links to the transatlantic slave trade, the East India Company and to abolition movements.
The Rest and Play gallery explores the wealth of sport, music, cinema and theatre that working people have enjoyed and created; Health and Healthcare is a place to discover community health pioneers; and Making a New Home for stories of migration. Visitors will also still be able to explore the iconic police cell dating from the nineteenth century when the building was used as a police station.
Sorrel Hershberg, head of cultural sites development at Waltham Forest Council, said: “We are proud that the newly curated museum displays are the work of many hands and voices, acknowledging the expertise of local historians and community partners working with our team to tell previously hidden stories.
“Through the sensitive approach of Studio Weave and GuM Studio, visitors will be able to trace the multi-layered history of the building throughout their visit to the museum, café and garden.
“The museum will show some of the many things that have been made in Waltham Forest – flint tools, cars, toys, film, music, protests and new homes – and new creative workspaces will ensure that making remains at the heart of this story.”
Councillor Rosalind Doré, cabinet member for libraries, culture, sports and leisure at Waltham Forest Council, said: “Vestry House Museum is a treasured part of our borough’s artistic and cultural landscape and the revitalised building will be a welcoming space for everyone to enjoy. It’s reopening this Autumn after an ambitious reimagining of the space and approach to the museum collections, continues our dedication to supporting and investing in culture, and making it inclusive and accessible to everyone.”
The revitalisation of Vestry House Museum was supported by £4.5m from the borough’s funding from UK Government (including £800,000 match funding from Waltham Forest Council) and £150k from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the Heritage in the Making project, a plan to make the museum’s collections and displays more accessible and inclusive.
Once fully operational in autumn 2026, Vestry House Museum will welcome more visitor numbers, up to 80,000 per year, deliver an enhanced learning and training programme for up to 60 school visits annually, and provide 60 training and employment opportunities for local young people.
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