Kent Police Museum
We are reopening for the 2022 season on Thursday 7 April 2022.
The Kent Police Museum is a free educational and fun experience for the whole family, which looks at the history and development of one of the UK’s largest police forces.
You can:
- try on real police uniform
- see the evidence that brought Kent criminals to justice in our crime room
- step into our Edwardian cell block and hear about some true 19th century Faversham crimes
- enjoy our interactive displays and handling collection
We collect and care for a large number of donated artefacts reflecting the rich history of Kent Police from 1857 until the present day, and aim to share this very important historical resource with the widest possible audience.
The collections include uniforms and equipment from both the past and present; crime related artefacts; historic documents and official records, and a large photographic collection.
Like most museums, many items are poorly recorded, and work continues to document and catalogue our growing collection in line with UK museum professional standards.
An estimate of our current holdings includes:
- 10,000 photographs
- 3,000 artefacts
- 5,000 documents and newspaper articles)
- 1,500 books/journals
- 3,000 films
- 2 motorbikes
The Kent Police Museum collection has grown from items used in the force’s centenary exhibition in 1957, held at the former Kent Police headquarters in Sutton Road, Maidstone.
Many artefacts have since been donated from force departments, retired officers, staff and their families.
By 1973 the collection occupied several offices at Sutton Road, Maidstone and seems to have been mainly used for training. As the collection continued to grow more space was required and new accommodation was subsequently found at Chatham Historic Dockyard in 1994, where the first museum open to the public was opened.
For the next 20 years the collection was only accessible for visitors to the dockyard before plans were drafted to move the museum to a dedicated police building.
In 2016, Faversham Police Station became the new home of the Kent Police Museum, although it also continues to house operational staff.
This charming 1904 building is formed of two former police houses and retains the original cell block, which features as part of the museum experience.
We are currently developing a learning offer for schools which will link directly to the National Curriculum. Available from Easter 2022, this will be supported by a programme of talks and fun learning activities for all ages.
