A museum built by local people
Mersea Museum opened in 1976 in a purpose-built red-brick building in West Mersea High Street, beside the parish church. Local builder Stanley Hills and a small group of helpers provided the original building for the community. The museum is managed by an independent trust and maintained by volunteers.
From oyster fishing to archaeology
Its collections span the island's archaeological finds, oystering, fishing, wildfowling, boatbuilding, farming, families, costume and changes to the coast. Photographs and objects record trades that once shaped both Mersea parishes. The exhibition in the main hall is renewed periodically, so the objects on display change while the underlying collection remains a resource for the island's history.
The first building and later extensions
The original museum was subsequently extended, including a further wing in 1992. In July 2010 a £150,000 Heritage Resource Centre extension was opened, adding approximately 80 square metres for collections storage, access to digital records and educational use. The development received a £45,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant alongside support from the Hervey Benham Trust and other donors.
Photographs, documents and recorded voices
The Resource Centre gives access to an extensive archive containing over 50,000 images and digitised material. Its collections include parish and census records, photographs, oral-history interviews and moving film. Such material preserves not just the best-known landmarks but the names and working lives of fishermen, farmworkers, shopkeepers and island families.
The separate article on Stanley Hills follows the builder who helped create the museum. For examples of the historical research undertaken across the island, see the History subject index.
The museum at 12 High Street
The museum occupies a site close to St Peter and St Paul's church. Its history here concerns the collection and the building; seasonal opening information is maintained separately by the museum.
Archive access
Mersea Museum's collections and archive · 2010 Resource Centre extension announcement.