Hackney Museum is currently closed for refurbishment.
It will reopen in 2027.
Thanks to a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Hackney Museum is going through a significant redesign of its permanent galleries and spaces. This redevelopment project will use Hackney Museum’s unique historical collections to highlight how the local area has been shaped by 300,000 years of migration and settlement.
March 2026
This month, we finished decanting Hackney Museum of all the objects that have been on permanent display since 2002. This process started in December, with a team of four museum staff condition checking, photographing and rehousing over 400 objects. This was a great opportunity to explore some of our established stories – check out our reel on the Sulzbacher coin, which will be rested in storage before going back on permanent display in 2027.
Since September, local Hackney residents have been supporting the development of an interactive World War 2 bombsite map of Hackney. Three of these volunteers have been at Hackney Archives transcribing the 20 diaries of Thomas E. Browne, an ARP warden during the war who lived in Clapton. As well as appearing in the interactive, Browne’s diaries will be made available to read online.
Past updates
November 2025
We are planning for the closure of Hackney Museum at the end of this month and developing a plan for all the items currently on display. Staff have been auditing the permanent exhibition galleries in preparation for the deinstallation. Most of the objects have been on display since 2002 so need to be rested.
We have also been meeting with lots of community partners across the borough and planning projects and workshops with them. Some of these projects will create new things to display in the new museum.
We have also been finding out more about our 1000 year old Anglo Saxon log boat, discovered in Springfield Park, Clapton. Watch this short video to find out more about it.
December 2025
This month, we hit a major milestone in our redevelopment journey: Hackney Museum closed after 23 years. We will reopen in early 2027 after the refurbishment of our permanent galleries and community spaces.
Despite the museum being closed, museum staff are busy leading engagement and outreach activities across the borough. We have begun working with a brilliant artist and seven different community groups from all over Hackney to begin planning the design of an exciting new artwork that’s going to go into the new museum!
Thanks to funding from the Pilgrim Trust, we have our portrait of 18th century nurseryman and gardener, George Loddiges, for conservation. He will be back with us in 6 months time with a new lining and touched up details, ready to go on permanent display in the new museum.
With the festive season upon us, our team will be taking a well earned break at the end of the month. We will be ready and rested for many exciting projects kicking off in 2026. We did a festive send off to 2025 by exploring a Christmas card from the Matchbox Toy Factory – watch here!
February 2026
The team is back from the festive break, refreshed and ready for the work ahead this year.
In January, our Learning team launched our new outreach sessions. These sessions are taking place at primary schools across the borough while the museum is closed to the public. Pupils will be exploring a range of local history topics, getting hands-on with Stone Age mammoth fossils and handaxes, and reading quotes from Hackney’s Windrush generation.
Across December and January, our Museum Assistants got to work packing up all the shop stock in the museum, including our most popular ‘I love Hackney’ merch! This was a nostalgic process for our staff and we’re excited to welcome you to the new shop when we reopen!