About Us

Museum founders, the Andrews brothers, began collecting in the late 19th century and opened the museum in 1903 at their offices in Fore Street. The diversity of the collection illustrates their success in attracting donations from well travelled Hertfordians and local collectors.

In 1913 they bought the Bull Plain site which opened to the public as a museum on 26th February 1914. The Grade II listed building which dates from 1610, went under considerable re-development in 2008, following an extraordinary amount of local fundraising as well as a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The Andrews brothers left the Museum as a gift to the Town of Hertford and it became a Charitable Trust in 1948. The Museum obtains its income through charitable activities and donations from local organizations and members of the public . In addition, the Museum receives a grant from Hertford Town Council, covering approximately half of it’s annual expenditure.

The Museum  is registered charity number 312142. As a registered charity, the museum publishes annual accounts on the Charities Commission website.

The Museum also publishes an annual report, a detailed review of the highlights of the period, including information on past events, exhibitions, visitor information and much more. You can download the Annual Report following the link.