Henfield Museum
  • Home
    • Our Vision
    • The History of Henfield Museum
  • Collections
    • The Marjorie Baker Photo Collection >
      • Those Who Served
    • Costume
    • Our Art Collection
    • Wade Family Watercolours
    • Historic Photograph Collection
    • Audio Library
    • Maps & Aerial Photos
  • Exhibitions
  • Henfieldians Past
  • Blog
  • Heritage Projects
    • Henfield's Natural History >
      • Arborea
      • The William Borrer Transcription Project
    • Oral Histories
    • A Favourite Object
    • Henfield Heritage Trails
    • Local History Research
  • Friends of Henfield Museum
    • Join Form: The Friends of Henfield Museum
    • Friends: Acquisitions
    • Friends: Past Events
  • Henfield History Group
  • Key Resources
  • Education & Outreach
  • Gift Shop
  • Contact Us and Opening Times

Home

Welcome to our website!


Read on below, or explore our site via the menu above.
Contact Us & Opening Times
Visit the Museum Gift Shop
View our Temporary Exhibitions

Or explore below...


About Us

Our collections are full of items of interest and tales aplenty, all with a local connection to the picturesque Sussex village of Henfield...
​The collection ranges from prehistoric flint artefacts telling of the earliest human activity in the area to objects from the 20th century. It includes a noted costume collection, the Marjorie Baker and other photographic archives, a wide ranging art collection and oral history collection. Find a medley of vintage farm implements sitting alongside a one of a kind early Victorian novelty change bell set, with items from Henfield's famous lavender nurseries brightening their corner... But we are not only a cabinet of curiosities - each item tells a story of its one time owner, while some have left their mark in other ways. Some of their tales are related in Henfieldians Past and in our blogs.
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Our documentary archives include copies of the Henfield, Shermanbury and Woodmancote census records, churchyard memorial inscriptions and the Shermanbury archives. All of these can be viewed without prior appointment. We also have a collection of local historic maps, all of which can be viewed on request.
Temporary, themed exhibitions are staged three or four times a year, both within and outside the museum via the roving display case.  For details of current and forthcoming exhibitions, see the 'Exhibitions' page. Details are also posted on the Museum noticeboard in the High Street bus shelter, in the Library and on the museum's Facebook page.
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Heritage projects are run by the museum and Friends, with current projects including Arborea, A Favourite Object, the William Borrer Transcription Project and Those Who Served.

​Owned and run by Henfield Parish Council, the museum is supported by volunteers and the Friends of Henfield Museum. The collection began in a small way in the 1930s, moving from a few cases in the old Assembly Rooms to its first permanent site in the new village hall in 1974. The present building was opened in 1994.
Read more about...
The History of Henfield Museum

Object in Focus

Medieval Steelyard Weight (bronze and lead) by henfieldmuseum on Sketchfab


Would you like to get involved?

Become a Volunteer

Do you have time to volunteer in the museum for a two hour opening timeslot or would you like to get involved in another way? Please contact the Curator if you can dedicate some time.

Join a Local Heritage Organisation

The Friends of Henfield Museum
Established in 2014 to directly support the museum and advance heritage projects and engagement with history in the local area. Membership £10 p/a.
Friends of Henfield Museum Logo
The Henfield History Group 
Offering a regular schedule of talks on varied local and broader topics throughout the year with a wide selection of guest speakers. Entry to talks can also be purchased on the door. Membership 
£9 per person or £18 per couple, per year. 

Local Community Heritage Websites

Henfield Then And Now is well known Henfieldian Mike Ainscough's long running website featuring numerous past and present views of Henfield, sourced from his own large photo collection, the museum archives and numerous other places. 
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Hidden Henfield is run by the community partnership and provides a flavour of the village and a view of some of the highlights for a visit! Includes information on shopping and cafés as well as route maps for Henfield's local heritage trails - perfect for enjoying the history and countryside the parish is so lucky to have.

Henfield Parish Council have primary responsibility for funding and running Henfield Museum - find news on local services and activities and in-depth museum committee documents here.

Visit other local museums

Amberley Museum
​​Take a journey and travel back in time to explore the South’s working past, right in the heart of the South Downs. From trains, to radios to brooms & blacksmiths, there is something for everyone at Amberley Museum.
Horsham Museum
​Horsham Museum & Art Gallery has been collecting objects relating to Horsham and the wider District since 1893. Key collections include costume, photography, artworks, posters and documentary archives.
Storrington Museum
​Opened in April 2000 to mark the Millennium, the museum houses local archaeology, articles from local churches, domestic history, details of local people, their memorabilia, artefacts and articles from the two world wars.
Steyning Museum
As well as a wealth of displays and artefacts on the history of Steyning and its surrounding area, find out more about their outreach to local schools, and very active research and oral history service.

Cuckfield Museum


​​Cuckfield Museum opened in 1981 as an independent museum, aiming to provide an insight into community, culture and the historic past stretching back to pre-history when dinosaurs roamed the area and where, millions of years later, the settlement of Cuckfield was established.

Burgess Hill Heritage & History Association

Founded in 1979 and conducting local history research into this Mid Sussex town - with a regular schedule of talks, visits and a collection focused around the terracotta and ceramic industries of the town. 'To know our history is to safeguard our heritage.'

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Henfield Museum Exterior
Henfield Museum Interior

We stand with Ukraine. If you can, please help support the cause.
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Support the Ukrainian Army
Support local charities on the ground
​Support the British Red Cross Ukraine Appeal
​Website funded by the Friends of Henfield Museum, built & maintained by R. S. Gordon. Credit to Mike Ainscough for moving the website idea from discussion to reality.
© Henfield Museum. All rights reserved except where stated otherwise.
  • Home
    • Our Vision
    • The History of Henfield Museum
  • Collections
    • The Marjorie Baker Photo Collection >
      • Those Who Served
    • Costume
    • Our Art Collection
    • Wade Family Watercolours
    • Historic Photograph Collection
    • Audio Library
    • Maps & Aerial Photos
  • Exhibitions
  • Henfieldians Past
  • Blog
  • Heritage Projects
    • Henfield's Natural History >
      • Arborea
      • The William Borrer Transcription Project
    • Oral Histories
    • A Favourite Object
    • Henfield Heritage Trails
    • Local History Research
  • Friends of Henfield Museum
    • Join Form: The Friends of Henfield Museum
    • Friends: Acquisitions
    • Friends: Past Events
  • Henfield History Group
  • Key Resources
  • Education & Outreach
  • Gift Shop
  • Contact Us and Opening Times