Welcome To The Porch Museum Godmanchester

The Museum is housed in the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, a Grade II listed building situated in the heart of the historic town of Godmanchester in Cambridgeshire. We are an independent museum and a part of the Friends of the Queen Elizabeth School a registered charity. The museum is run by a small team of enthusiastic volunteers who work together to record the town’s history and its people. We receive no government funding and rely on funds from various organisations, donations and the generosity of our visitors to fund our projects.

One of the Porch Museum aims is to produce and show short films devoted to the history of the town.  We want to capture, through the memories of some of the oldest members of our community, as clear a perception as we can get of the way life was in this lovely town during the first half of the 20^th century.

Godmanchester is an unusual town because many of the old families who have lived here for hundreds of years and whose ancestors are buried in the churchyard of St. Mary the Virgin, are still here. Markham, Arnold, Thompson and Mortlock are just a few of the many old names still represented here.  In many cases we are recording not only memories of old Godmanchester from the vibrant and amusing senior members of these families, but through them the memories and experiences of their grandparents and great grandparents.

This way there’s every hope that we can bring to the community through snatches of remembered anecdote, at least an echo of how it was to live in Victorian Godmanchester.

Read more: Welcome To The Porch Museum Godmanchester

What's On Spring & Summer 2016

This season the Porch Museum presents the town with a series of sparkling events for your entertainment. Energetic fund raising and the benefit of a £460 Godmanchester Community Association grant kindly raised by citizens of the town will enable the museum’s precious collections to be displayed in well lit new wall cabinets. This is perfect timing as St Ives’ Norris Museum has lent us a selection of their unshown secrets, for display in these cabinets. The artefacts range from a dinosaur bone found in Godmanchester, to the town policemen’s equipment, dating back to the early 19th century, including a whistle and handcuffs.

On April 17th there will be a World War11 wedding exhibition put together by committee member Sandy Ferrelly which will include an extraordinary wedding and bridesmaid’s dress from a local family. There are also precious items from a war bride’s wedding day provided by Godmanchester resident Catherine Short. These delightful old things include a loving letter to the bride from her father. He had sent her ration book which was vital to give the honeymoon hotel who may otherwise have been unable to feed the young couple.

On May 1st and 2nd, we will present a fascinating ‘ Homemade In Godmanchester Exhibition ‘which will touch on the good, solid history of skilled wives, mothers and daughters of this town, who made the families’ clothes and furnishings. Women were judged in past times by their domestic skills.

This has been a wonderful opportunity for the organisers Sandy Ferrelly and David Bowers to collect contemporary examples of sewing, knitting, patchwork, embroidery and other allied crafts.. There will be an opportunity to watch people at work. If you are a passionate patchworker, embroiderer, knitter or practiser of any other magical sewing arts we would be very pleased to see your work.

We are also excited to tell you that on May 29 and 30th St Ives Norris Museum comes to Godmanchester and is hosted here by the Porch Museum. Currently undergoing a redesign, the Museum will bring many curiosities including some of their mammoth and prehistoric collection. (A baby mammoth tusk was found in The Avenue last summer and verified at the Norris Museum.

Read more: What's On Spring & Summer 2016

The Godmanchester Stirling

This aircraft, captained by Squadron Leader Drummond Wilson, was one of 18 Stirling bombers which were part of a raid on the German city of Essen on the night of the 10th/11th April 1942.
Over the city they were 'coned' by searchlights and badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire.

Drummond, and his co-pilot 19yr old Sgt David Southey, coaxed the stricken bomber back to RAF Alconbury. However with wheels down on final approach they were ordered to go 'around' as there was an aircraft on the runway without permission.

As they flew over Godmanchester a damaged oil pipe broke, both starboard engines cut out and the plane came down in an area close to the A14/Cow Lane. 
Drummond and the Mid Upper Gunner, Sgt Edgar Gould, were killed. Of the six that survived, three would not live to see the end of the war. The Navigator, Flying Officer Clifford Reeve, went back into the burning aircraft to rescue two crew members despite being severely injured himself.

For his actions that day he was awarded a military MBE which he received from the King in December 1942 at Buckingham Palace.