About
The Museum of Gloucester stands as the city's principal civic museum and one of the oldest established museums in the South West, tracing its origins to 1860 when the Gloucester Literary and Scientific Society opened a public collection to preserve and interpret the remarkable heritage of this ancient city. Set in a handsome Victorian building on Brunswick Road in the heart of the city centre, the museum serves as the custodian of Gloucester's long and extraordinarily layered history — from its Roman origins as the legionary fortress and colonia of Glevum to its flourishing medieval period as a prosperous wool and cloth trading city.
Gloucester's Roman heritage forms one of the museum's most compelling draws. The city was founded as a legionary fortress around AD 49 and elevated to colonia status — the highest rank of Roman settlement — in around AD 96, making it one of only four Roman coloniae in Roman Britain. The museum holds an impressive collection of Roman artefacts recovered from excavations across the city: tombstones, mosaics, pottery, jewellery, coins, and everyday objects that illuminate life in this important provincial centre. Among the highlights are complete or near-complete mosaic panels, inscribed funerary monuments, and a range of objects that speak to Glevum's cosmopolitan character.
Beyond its Roman treasures, the museum explores Gloucester through the medieval era — when the city was an important centre of wool trading and the site of a royal castle, and where Henry III was crowned in the Cathedral in 1216 — through to the post-medieval and modern periods. The natural history collections, built up over more than a century, encompass local geology, flora and fauna, and form an important educational resource for schools and community groups across Gloucestershire.
The decorative arts holdings include ceramics, silver, textiles, and period furniture reflecting the tastes and material culture of Gloucester's prosperous mercantile classes across the centuries. Temporary exhibition galleries bring fresh perspectives and contemporary themes to the museum's programme, while an active learning and community engagement team ensures the museum remains embedded in the life of the city. The Museum of Gloucester represents a rich, accessible, and continually evolving portrait of one of England's most historically layered provincial cities.
Categories:
Highlights
Roman Gloucester (Glevum) Gallery
The museum's most celebrated collection centres on Gloucester's Roman past as the colonia of Glevum, established around AD 96.
Artefacts recovered from excavations across the city include inscribed funerary tombstones, mosaic floor panels, jewellery, coins, ceramics, and everyday objects. These finds illuminate the scale, sophistication, and cosmopolitan character of this important provincial centre — one of only four Roman coloniae in Roman Britain.
The tombstones are particularly poignant, giving names and origins to people who lived and died in this distant corner of the empire nearly two thousand years ago.
Medieval Gloucester Collection
Gloucester's medieval history was shaped by its royal connections, its wealth from the wool and cloth trades, and the presence of one of England's great cathedral abbeys. The museum's medieval holdings include artefacts from the castle, the city's monastic houses, and domestic contexts recovered through urban excavation.
A highlight is material relating to the coronation of Henry III at Gloucester Cathedral in 1216 — one of the most dramatic moments in English medieval history, conducted in Gloucester because London was in rebel hands during the First Barons' War.
Natural History Collections
The museum's natural history collections have been assembled over more than 160 years and represent the flora, fauna, and geology of Gloucestershire in considerable depth.
Specimens range from local fossils and mineral samples through to mounted birds and mammals, insect collections, and botanical specimens. These collections serve as an important educational resource for schools and families, and as a scientific record of the natural environment of the county across the Victorian era and beyond — invaluable data for understanding long-term environmental change.
Decorative Arts and Social History
Gloucester's prosperity as a trading city through the post-medieval period is reflected in the museum's decorative arts holdings: fine ceramics, English and Continental silver, period furniture, clocks, textiles, and portraits reflecting the material culture of the city's merchant and professional classes.
These objects trace changing tastes and fashions from the 17th century to the early 20th century, providing an intimate portrait of domestic life and civic identity in a prosperous English county town at different stages of its development.
Collections
Roman Glevum
Permanent gallery exploring Gloucester's Roman origins as a legionary fortress and colonia, with artefacts, tombstones, mosaics, and interactive interpretation.
Medieval Gloucester
Gallery covering the city's rich medieval history including its royal connections, monastic heritage, and role in the wool trade.
Natural History of Gloucestershire
Collections representing the geology, flora, and fauna of Gloucestershire assembled over 160 years.
Decorative Arts
Ceramics, silver, furniture, and textiles reflecting the material culture of Gloucester's prosperous citizenry from the 17th century onwards.
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.