Southend Museums City Day

Join Southend Museums on 1st March with their contribution to Southend’s first ‘City Day’, with lots of free events to enjoy across all of the four sites!

Historic Prittlewell Tour

A free walking tour of Prittlewell, beginning and finishing at Prittlewell Priory, exploring the area through time and its impact on Southend on Sea as part of City Day.

Many now think of Prittlewell as just an area of Southend on Sea, a small offshoot of the wider, seaside city popularised by Victorians pleasure seekers and commuters. However, Prittlewell predates Southend by hundreds of years, as the original settlement in the area. Meet at Prittlewell Priory and take a guided walking tour, passing through two thousand years of local history. There are two tours to choose from, one starting at 11am and the other at 2pm.

Pre-booking is required, suitable for ages 16+ only. Book here

Southchurch Hall

Join Southend Museums at Southchurch Hall for free, interactive ‘become a conservator’ sessions and a new children’s trail around the house as part of our free City Day celebrations.

Southchurch Hall is one of the oldest buildings in Southend. The site has had many lives: Saxon hall, medieval manor, Tudor farm, Victorian home and community library and now a Grade I listed visitor attraction. But, what is the secret to sustaining such long lasting history?
Come and see us at Southchurch Hall from 11am-4pm for a drop in day of free, family friendly activity to celebrate this year’s ‘City Day’, and learn what it takes to care for 1000 years of local history.

Pre-booking is not essential for this event, activities are drop in throughout the day.

‘Nubia’ Tour

Join our Art Curator for a free tour of new exhibition ‘Alan Sorrell: Nubia’ at the Beecroft Art Gallery, as part of City Day.
An artist local to Southend, Alan Sorrell gained international recognition in the mid 20th century for his work documenting, reconstructing and reimagining historic sites. With a keen personal as well as artistic connection to archaeology, the national, post-war surge of interest in the preservation of heritage saw Sorrell’s career take off.

From our own collections, Southend Museums is pleased to present ‘Alan Sorrell: Nubia’, an exhibition showcasing the pieces Sorrell created in 1962 to document the areas flooded for the creation of the Aswan High Dam in Egypt, immortalising the region’s lost landscape in his artwork.

Tickets are free, but pre-booking is essential for the city day tours.

Prittlewell Priory

Pop down to the Priory for free, interactive ‘have a go archaeology’, local storytelling and a new children’s trail around the house as part of our free City Day celebrations. One of the oldest buildings in Southend, Prittlewell Priory has seen over 800 years of local history. Beginning life as a medieval Clunic priory, before becoming a private Tudor house and then Victorian family home, the site is now a Grade I listed visitor attraction and surrounded by one of Southend’s most popular parks.
Join Southend Museums at the priory from 11am-4pm for a drop in day of free family activities to celebrate this year’s ‘City Day’. Pre-booking is not essential for this event, all activities are drop in throughout the day.

Southend Skies

Join our intrepid, intergalactic team in Southend Museum’s Planetarium on a mission to uncover the mysteries of Southend’s skies, as part of our day of free events for City Day.
The show lasts approximately 50 minutes. Pre-booking is essential.
This show is suitable for ages 7+. Children under the age of 7 will not be admitted. Please note that tickets are per person attending the show, not per child. Every attendee will need a ticket. Unaccompanied children cannot be admitted to the Planetarium.

Historic Southchurch Hall Tour

A free tour of Southchurch Hall, taking you through a thousand years of local history as part of City Day.
Explore the history of our fascinating medieval moated manor, Southchurch Hall and find out more about one of Southend’s most interesting hidden gems, as part of this year’s City Day celebrations.

For accessibility information, please contact our team at museums@southend.gov.uk.

The tours as part of City Day are free, but must be pre-booked.

Discover Southend’s Roman history with a free, bespoke exhibition tour as part of Southend Museums’ City Day celebrations.

‘Romans: Settling in Southend’ at Southend Central Museum features a stunning collection of Roman artefacts from across South Essex, most of which are being displayed publicly for the first time. While other notable Roman centres in Essex, such as Colchester and Chelmsford, have received significant attention, ‘Settling in Southend’ aims to spotlight the lesser-known but equally important Roman history of our city.

Visitors will have the opportunity to explore artefacts unearthed from Roman settlements spanning from Prittlewell to Wickford, Shoebury to Rayleigh. Unlike traditional narratives focusing solely on conflict and conquest, this exhibition delves into the underrepresented domestic sphere. Please book the amount of tickets equal to the number of people in your group.

‘Prittlewell Princely Burial’ Tour

This free tour is a great introduction Southend’s most significant archaeological discovery, the Prittlewell Princely burial. Hear the amazing story of how the Anglo Saxon burial was found after being hidden for 1500 years, see the treasures that were uncovered and try to answer the question ‘who actually was the Prittlewell Prince’?
The tours is free but must be pre-booked.

‘The Drag Show’ Tour

Join our Senior Curator for a free tour of ‘The Drag Show’ exhibition at the Beecroft Art Gallery, as part of City Day.

Bringing together garments from household names including Lily Savage, Danny La Rue and beloved RuPaul’s Drag Race UK contestants such as Tia Kofi and River Medway, this exhibition highlights the past and present importance of drag with a particular focus on drag in Southend, South Essex and the East of England.

Featuring costume, film, ephemera and photography, ‘The Drag Show’ offers an interactive, behind-the-scenes insight into the highly skilled and creative work involved in the preparation and delivery of drag.

Tickets are free, but pre-booking is essential.