This role is vital to the smooth running of the museum. Volunteering is so rewarding. Our museum exists for the community to enjoy and to feel proud of. We have […]
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Saturday volunteers needed!
Museum
The Cowper and Newton Museum and gardens celebrate two great men who lived in Olney, the home of ‘Amazing Grace’. Our Georgian gentlemen are the leading 18th Century poet and letter writer William Cowper and his friend, John Newton who wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace”, later to help William Wilberforce to abolish the slave trade. Together Cowper and Newton wrote the ‘Olney Hymns’ many of which are still sung today. This Georgian museum is housed in Orchard Side where William Cowper lived and worked 300 years ago. It has beautiful, well- tended gardens, a lovely 18th Century Summer House and a collection of local history artefacts. Cowper wrote ‘Variety’s the very spice of life’ – come and see our fascinating variety of treasures here!
‘I was overwhelmed by the amount of collection care that is taking place in the museum with such a small number of staff and the quality of the collection of early rare pieces, it really was very impressive.’ ~Extract taken from: 2014 Collections Care Health Check, Museum Development Service, Oxford.
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Events
Did you know?
This year is the 250th Anniversary of John Newton preaching his first sermon at The St Peter and St Paul Church, Olney on Sunday, 27th May 1764.
Our visitors love coming back!
‘Such a fascinating museum!’ ‘Thank you for keeping our treasures safe for all to enjoy’. ‘We had no idea this amazing museum with gorgeous gardens were here and we’ve lived here 30 years! We’ll be back!’ ‘So many interesting things to look at and stories to read about – thank you!’
WW1
Olney WW1 Roll of Honour
Your museum needs you!
To remember our brave heroes and to commemorate the Great War 1914 -1918 we would like to tell the local story of those years. Do you have any information relating to your family during WW1? Do you have any artefacts we can temporarily display in the Olney History Room in the museum? We would be delighted to hear from you. Contact Paula Noble (House Manager) with your stories 01234 711516 or email house-manager@cowperandnewtonmuseum.org.uk or just pop in to see us.
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