National Civil War Centre - Newark Museum — Attraction in Newark and Sherwood

FYSA I am an American and historian:

Time required: ~2 hours

Good: - get a good amount of exhibits for £8 (£4 for English Heritage) quest for democracy exhibit was done very well

Bad: - not a good museum on the English Civil War

For being The National Civil War Centre it is severely lacking in explaining the English Civil War. Does ok leading up to Charles I raising his banner at Nottingham, but extremely poor in explaining the events during the Civil War and it's impacts on history. I left with significantly more questions than answers. It's very clear that the theme of the museum is more about the impact on the people of Newark during the sieges on Newark, than how the Sieges effected the overall outcome of the Civil War. I truly wonder if the main exhibit was designed by a historian or an anthropologist.

On the other hand the other non civil war exhibits add value to the overall cost of entry. The medicine during the Civil War exhibit while gruesome for some, was very well put together and had some fascinating exhibits. The Newark museum was typical for any city museum, with the Roman sarcophagus being a highlight. The quest for democracy did a very good job bringing the impact of the English Civil War into the modern day. The quest for true democracy for all is a thread excellently strung throughout the exhibit. It leaves you with a great understanding of how we've gotten to where voting rights are currently and asks the question if voting should be extended to other groups (Convicts &...

A brilliant museum that I'm glad is local. The pricing is fair at £8 per adult. The annual passes are not much more expensive which is so worth it for any local history lover! I visited recently with my two children. My oldest who is 4 was intrigued by the artifacts and was full of questions. There was a lot to keep him interested and happy. There were parts of the museum that my 2 year old enjoyed but I wouldn't recommend the museum to people with such small children as although the artifacts are very interesting, they're not enough to keep tiny ones occupied! There are a few artifacts that could potentially be touched but have signs that asks visitors not to, this is something else a very small child may not understand.

That said, I wasn't expecting a child's play area for my toddler. There are plenty of things for us to look at and the building is packed with interesting artifacts with clear descriptions as to what they are. The building is light and airy and well set out, easy enough for wheelchair users and pushchairs to get around. There is a lift so it's easy to get to each floor.

There are sometimes historic events held at the museum but unfortunately haven't managed to attend one of these yet. The staff are all friendly and knowledgeable, they're also brilliant with children. There's a cafe on site, situated in the theatre building with lift access if needed. The staff at the cafe are also very friendly and serve some...

Not been here since I was a kid, walking into town with my kid and father to see what's going on with book festival, I thought there was something on at the museum, we walked in to be greeted by 2 desks far apart, one with a lady one with a man, no indication of which one we should approach, my father approached the gentleman and I started to follow only for the lady to exclaim " er excuse me can I help you" I turn to see the lady looking at us like we were something stuck to the bottom of her shoe, I explained we were here to look around, she still looking at us with a disgusted expression tells me the museum is closed, and only open for book festival stuff, I said great it's the book festival stuff we wanna see, again rudely and in a voice that suggests I'm wasting her time she tells me it's not here..... (That makes sense, they're open for stuff that isn't there) she offered no more information, I told her she was a very rude woman and left, I have no intention of ever returning, I don't know why people who are so rude work in customer...