[category]
[title]
If you’re busy dismantling a monarchy, dissolving Parliament and generally reshaping a nation, good organisation and strong time-keeping are probably essential skills. In other words, the watch of Oliver Cromwell has almost certainly seen a fair amount of use (as well as witnessed several defining moments in British history).
All of which is why Cambridgeshire’s The Cromwell Museum worked so hard to secure a small but mighty object: what’s believed to be Cromwell’s very own pocket watch.
The museum in Huntington occupies the same building where Cromwell attended school. Today, it’s dedicated to the life and legacy of the English statesman and holds the world’s leading collection of material relating to him.
The museum launched a fundraising appeal in 2024 to acquire the watch. Thanks to donations from the public, alongside grants totalling £95,000 from the Art Fund and The National Lottery Heritage Fund, it’s now proudly been put on display.
Crafted in silver by a London watchmaker – believed to have been Cromwell’s neighbour when he lived in the capital from 1647 – the watch is strikingly simple. Made in a Puritan style, it’s very on brand for a man intent on relieving the country from the glitzy clutches of Catholicism.
It’s thought that Cromwell gave the watch to John Blackwell, his military treasurer (and the husband of one of his cousins), during a campaign in 1650. A descendant of Blackwell later put the watch up for auction in 2019.
The timepiece isn’t the only reason to visit The Cromwell Museum. Alongside it sits the Crom’s remarkably well-preserved 17th-century hat (plus a replica you can try on for size), portraits of the man himself and other personal items including a gunpowder flask.
Better still, you can see it all for free. The museum is a charity and simply asks for donations on entry. Huntingdon is a half-hour drive from Cambridge and reachable by train from London in just over an hour.
Here’s our list of the best things to do in Cambridge.
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.