Our story
Norfolk Museums Service (NMS) was established in 1974 when Norfolk’s County and District councils agreed to delegate their authority for museums to a Joint Museums Committee and create a countywide museums service.
NMS is made up of 10 museum sites across Norfolk:
- Ancient House Museum, Thetford
- Cromer Museum
- Elizabethan House Museum, Great Yarmouth
- Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse
- Lynn Museum, King’s Lynn
- Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell
- Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery
- Strangers’ Hall, Norwich
- Time and Tide Museum of Great Yarmouth Life
- Tolhouse Gaol, Great Yarmouth
The service also operates the Norwich Castle Study Centre, and a collections centre based at Gressenhall.
Mission
- Inspiring pride in Norfolk’s heritage through 10 award-winning museums
Vision
- Engaging and inspiring the widest possible audience, both across Norfolk and beyond
- Enriching people’s lives and creating a sense of place and identity
- Ensuring all Norfolk residents, especially children, experience high-quality learning in the museums we care for and through the collections in our trust
- Contributing significantly to the visitor economy of Norfolk and contributing to the development of sustainable tourism partnerships
- Developing our staff and volunteers to improve services and support wider employment and skills agendas
- Collecting, preserving, and interpreting the material evidence of Norfolk’s past
- Stimulating creativity, inspiration and enjoyment through the museums and collections in our care
Values
- We are committed to caring for Norfolk’s rich heritage, both for future generations and for our communities and visitors today
- We are passionate about learning and fostering skills and knowledge amongst Norfolk’s children
- We provide leadership to other museums across Norfolk and the East of England, along with support to other cultural, educational and heritage organisations
- We value and invest in our staff, trainees and volunteers so that they can deliver an outstanding service to our communities and to our visitors
- We are accountable and credible in the work we do, and we are open to challenge and advice
- We are dedicated to the long-term care of the collections and historic buildings in our trust
- We will work in partnership to achieve our mission and we will ensure that we are a trustworthy and dedicated partner to others
- We will operate in a highly sustainable way, minimising our impact on the environment
- We will encourage innovation and commercial awareness across all parts of our organisation