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Walthamstow’s one of those east London spots that has a bit of everything: wetlands, a bustling street market, a criminally underrated library. But if you’re partial to an exhibition you might’ve noticed that, for a few years now, the town has been without one of its greatest museums: Vestry House.
Luckily that won’t be the case for too much longer. After shutting its doors years ago for a revamp, the museum celebrating all things ‘Stow will reopen later this year. The Grade II-listed Walthamstow Village museum will begin welcoming visitors again in autumn 2026.
The museum, which displays Walthamstow’s colourful cultural history – not to mention Britain's first ever petrol-fuelled car – closed for renovation in December 2023. The refurb has been funded by £4.5 million’s worth of government investment.
Soon the facelift will be complete – and the revamped house has various new bells and whistles. Of these are five new exhibition rooms, which will host various never-before-seen displays on anything from the borough’s contributions to theatre, music, cinema, and sport, to its connections to the transatlantic slave trade. There’s also a space for temporary exhibitions in a room designed by award-winning architects Pringle Richards Sharratt.
And if you’re not too museum-fatigued after seeing all that, visitors can peer at the house’s very own police cell from when it was a 19th century jail, now open to the public. Brand new amenities are also on offer, including a swanky cafe and creative workspaces.
The building has a rich, crazy history. After starting as a parish workhouse in 1730, it then became an armoury, someone’s house, and a police station, before opening as a museum in 1931 where it’s since displayed 100,000 local history artefacts. Once things are up and running, Vestry House hopes to give back, with plans to host up to 60 school-visits, and to train and employ up to 60 local young people annually.
The 25 best museums in London.
Plus: inside the 124-year-old London foot tunnel set for a massive restoration.
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