Eynsham Museum and Heritage Centre

The Market Square in Eynsham, showing St Leonard's Church and the Bartholomew Room
The Market Square in Eynsham, showing St Leonard’s Church and the Bartholomew Room.

Uncovering the history of an ancient village

Eynsham Museum and Heritage Centre (EMHC) was established in 2021. Our aims are: to showcase some of the wonderful objects that bring to life Eynsham’s long and distinguished history; nurture pride in the community for its roots; and provide inspiration for future generations.

In March 2023, Eynsham Parish Council granted EMHC a lease on the Bartholomew Room in the Market Square. In autumn 2023, we held our first exhibition, Eynsham’s Lost Railway, which was so popular that it needed an extended run.

Our next exhibition, Rural Eynsham, ran from 13 July to 27 October 2024, and was very well-received by villagers and visitors to Eynsham alike. Alongside this, our popular photographic exhibition, Eynsham Past and Present, gave a fascinating glimpse into the changing face of the village. We reopened both exhibitions on 5 April 2025, and they ran until the end of August 2025.

At the end of September 2025, we opened our permanent exhibition in the upstairs gallery, Eynsham from Prehistory to the 20th Century. This runs alongside our permanent photographic exhibition, Eynsham Past and Present, in the downstairs gallery. Read more about our current and past exhibitions here.

The museum’s opening hours are weekends and bank holidays from 11am to 4pm. Entry is free; donations are very welcome.

The museum is currently closed for winter, but we will open the doors again on 4 April 2026.

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News

FEBRUARY 2026

We are delighted that the museum will be reopening soon! We will open for the season on Saturday 4 April and Monday 6 April – but please note that we will be closed on Easter Sunday, 5 April. Our opening hours are, as usual, weekends and bank holidays from 11am to 4pm. We look forward to welcoming you again and showcasing our wonderful new permanent exhibition, Eynsham from Prehistory to the 20th Century (in the upstairs gallery), and photographic exhibition, Eynsham Past and Present (in the downstairs gallery).

The behind-the-scenes work whilst the museum has been closed is bearing fruit. The Trustees’ Annual Report and audited accounts have been submitted to the Charities Commission. All electrical appliances have been PAT tested for safety, and a Fire Risk Assessment carried out. Three new display cabinets have been ordered, together with a plinth that will display a model of what replaced the railway station in the 1980s.

Thanks to the ongoing kindness of people in the village, the museum’s collection of artefacts continues to grow. Recent donations include a Roman coin, a shot from the Civil War, shards of pottery and an early 14th-century horse harness pendant.

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** For previous news items, please go to the News archive. **

Object of the month

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