Hackney Museum awarded £2.2m for major transformation

The National Lottery Heritage Fund granted Grant Council to Hackney to redesign and modernize the museum.

The transformation will include a new permanent exhibition that highlights 300,000 years of migration and liquidation.

Anglo-Saxon Longboat and Ancient Elephant to present in new exhibitions (Image: Hackney Museum) Other changes will include a new reception of visitors, two temporary exhibition areas, a reconstructed community room, an improved store, events and teaching spaces, and improved digital resources.

The mayor of Hackney Caroline Woodley said: “This financing is fantastic news for Hackney Museum, which has Bone Count The Borough Story Stories for almost 40 years.”

CLLR Chris Kennedy, member of the Health Cabinet, Social Attention to Adult, Voluntary and Culture Sector, said: “The new exhibitions will be imaginative, interactive and immersive with opportunities for practical learning and game.”

The transformation of the museum will require that it be closed for a year since the end of 2025, reopening in early 2027.

Redesign to highlight 300,000 years of migration and identity (Image: Hackney Museum)

Duration in this period, the museum will continue its work through community projects throughout the municipality.

A program of events and exhibitions to celebrate the relaunch will be extended through 2027 and 2028.

The museum will continue to be a space where local people can celebrate their heritage, explore their identity and contribute to the history in constant variety of Hackney.