Secrets from the Store

Step inside a recreated museum store with a brand-new exhibition of rarely displayed artefacts, including objects from the archives which have never before been put on show. 

Secrets from the Stores invites visitors to step into a recreated museum storage facility complete with crates, racking and drawers full of treasures. The show highlights hundreds of items that are of unique historical or cultural significance. Take the fibreglass horse's head made as a film prop for the Goldcrest film 'Revolution' in 1985. Or the rarely displayed Alfred Munnings' painting The Old Grey. Or the dozens of ornate Victorian silk fans which form part of the extensive Costume and Textile Collection.

All the objects will be displayed as if recently unboxed from storage, giving visitors of all ages an opportunity to act as curator in a behind-the-scenes recreation of the museum's collections. 

Visitors can vote for an artefact to be displayed as star object for a month, and younger visitors will enjoy spending time in the exhibition resources area which is set up as a conservation bench offering hands-on experiences with replica objects. Have a go at packing and cleaning replica objects and get a better understanding of what our conservators do to protect the items in our care. 

Secrets from the Stores is situated alongside the museum's permanent displays which illustrate the town's maritime history, industrial heritage and medieval wealth. Medieval Lynn was a strategic port, well-positioned at a point where a major river system met the Wash. Lynn was a partner of the Hanseatic League and attracted merchants and craftsmen from Europe and beyond. The museum has a large permanent gallery of medieval objects including tiles, metal work, and stone carving. A wide range of cooking pots, jugs and bowls from a pottery at Pott Row, west of the town, exemplify items exported to Belgium and France. Visitors can also see a fine collection of pilgrim badges, purchased by those on pilgrimages to Rome, the Holy Land and beyond. 

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This exhibition is included in general admission.

Exhibition will run between 13 June 2026 to 27 June 2027.

Book tickets for Lynn Museum.