Chair of Board of Trustees: Lead an accredited museum into its next chapter
St Neots Museum is seeking an experienced and motivated individual to join us as Chair of Trustees.
This is a senior voluntary leadership role with responsibility for guiding the Museum’s strategic direction, ensuring strong governance, and supporting its long term sustainability.
This role sits at the heart of the St Neots Museum Strategy, with a clear mandate to ensure the Museum is fit for the future: resilient, relevant and ready to serve a growing community.
As St Neots continues to expand rapidly as a town, the Museum has an exciting opportunity to broaden its reach, strengthen its visitor offer and embed itself even more deeply in local life.
About St Neots Museum
St Neots Museum is an independent charitable museum dedicated to public education and community heritage, caring for and sharing the history of St Neots and its surrounding area.
The Museum is:
- A registered charity regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales
- Accredited under the Arts Council England (ACE) Museum Accreditation Scheme, meeting nationally recognised standards in governance, collections management, public engagement and sustainability
- Supported by a small staff team and a significant, highly valued volunteer workforce
- The Museum is ambitious for its future and clear that sustainability, inclusivity and public benefit must sit at the centre of its development.
The role
The Chair leads the Board of Trustees and works closely with the Museum Manager to ensure the Museum is well-governed, financially sound, and compliant with its charitable and statutory responsibilities. The Chair also represents the Museum externally, acting as an ambassador for its vision and purpose.
The Chair is elected at the Museum’s AGM or may be appointed on an interim basis until an AGM is held.
Key responsibilities include:
- Leading the Board of Trustees and ensuring effective governance and decision-making
- Overseeing financial stability, legal compliance, and risk management
- Supporting strategic planning, including convening an annual strategy day
- Ensuring the Board has the right mix of skills and experience
- Working with the Museum Manager to maintain oversight of operations, collections, and accreditation requirements
- Representing the Museum to stakeholders and partners
About you
You will bring strong leadership and communication skills, experience of organisational or people management, and an understanding of the UK charity environment. You will be impartial, collaborative, and confident in guiding discussion and decision-making.
What you’ll be doing
- Chairing Trustee Board meetings and ensuring good governance
- Supporting strategic planning and long-term resilience
- Working closely with the Museum Manager to oversee the Museum’s affairs
- Helping recruit and develop Trustees with the right skills and experience
- Acting as an advocate and ambassador for the Museum
What we’re looking for
- Strong leadership and facilitation skills
- Confidence working with people and managing differing viewpoints
- Understanding of charities, governance, or voluntary organisations
- Commitment to the Museum’s purpose and values
The difference you’ll make
You’ll play a key role in ensuring the Museum remains well-run, financially sustainable, and able to meet national museum accreditation standards, helping it continue to serve its community for years to come.
This is an opportunity to:
- Ensure excellent governance of an ACE-accredited museum at a defining moment
- Help ensure a trusted local institution is sustainable for future generations
- Shape how heritage, learning and community connection are experienced in a rapidly growing town
- Leave a lasting legacy through thoughtful, inclusive and resilient leadership
Time commitment
Time commitment to be agreed flexibly, recognising the senior nature of the role and other commitments. Estimated commitment is 15 hours per month – around 4 half days per month, excluding any time spent promoting the museum at external events.
How to apply
We welcome applications from all sections of the community, and are particularly keen to reach people with leadership, governance, charity, business, public sector or community experience who may be interested in making a lasting contribution to the future of the Museum and the town.
For more information, or to express your interest in this role, contact Chris Jones, Deputy Chair of Trustees, on cjjones@live.co.uk
The deadline for Expressions of Interest is 18 September 2026.
Eligibility
The law places certain restrictions on becoming a charity trustee. For example, you cannot be under the age of 18, have previously been removed from trusteeship of a charity by a Court or the Charity Commission, disqualified under the Company Director’s Disqualification Act 1986, or been convicted of an offence involving deception or dishonesty (unless the conviction is spent).
If you are in any doubt about your eligibility, visit the Charity Commission website at www.charitycommission.gov.uk
Paine’s Brewery
Owned by James Paine (1789-1855), who originally ran the Great Paxton Farm. Around 1831, Paine decided to enter trade, including milling, brewing and merchanting business, as well as brick kilns. After James Paine’s death, the brewery passed to one of his sons, William Paine and then later to John and Alexander McNish in 1882.
Unfortunately, in 1905, the brewery and stone flour mill in the market square were destroyed in a fire, causing the business to be moved into a vacant building at the edge of the square.
The brewery operated until 1987, when the business was shut down. Throughout the years, certain speciality beers were brewed here. For example, multiple Christmas beers were brewed, or one brewed in 1986 celebrating the royal wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Some of the Paine’s bottles can be seen at the museum, as well as the old pump which visitors may have seen from the window when passing by. The old pump was used to transport wort from the ground floor to the top floor of the brewery, where it could be cooled off. The pump was later replaced by an electric one and donated to the museum.
Although it no longer exists, the Paine’s brewery is still remembered by many who grew up and lived in St. Neots and the local area.
Written by Evie whilst on work experience at St Neots Museum.
St Neots: Through the Lens, a Photography exhibition at St Neots Museum
St Neots Museum is celebrating 200 years since the earliest forms of permanent photographs with an exhibition showcasing photos from the museum’s collection.
On display are photographic portraits of known and unknown people taken over the last two centuries, a range of historic cameras, and a few photographs taken by local studios. An example of an early form of photography, known as a Daguerreotype, said to feature George Bower, a local Victorian industrialist can also be seen in the exhibition.
The museum is excited to have the opportunity to display the Haynes Collection, 6 photo albums containing photographs collected or taken by Arthur Haynes between 1930 and 1980. The photos are an impressive collection which provide a unique view of the town’s expansion and social changes throughout the 20th century. Although Haynes did not have his own professional studio in the town, he did often take photos for people from St Neots out of his own home.
The museum’s staff and volunteers have been busy over the last few months scanning photographs which have been printed by Kodak Express St Neots to create a wonderful display of the people and sights in St Neots.
Collections Officer Holly Adamson said, ‘The exhibition has provided a fantastic opportunity to get some of our photography collection out of storage and showcase some never-before-seen photographs’.
The exhibition ‘St Neots: Through the Lens’ is on at St Neots Museum until the 4th July 2026.
Photographs from the Museum’s Collection:
1995.1.4.42 – Haynes Collection – St Neots Regatta 1950
2000.393.1 – Mrs Emily Adaline Sweeting of Paxton Park, c. 1900.
Museums & Wellbeing
Museums are good for us in ways that go beyond education; they are also spaces for curiosity and connection. During Mental Health Awareness Week, it feels like the perfect moment to recognise the important role museums can play in supporting wellbeing. More and more research suggests that engaging with arts and culture can reduce stress, improve mood, lessen feelings of isolation, and create a stronger sense of connection and meaning.¹ In fact, the World Health Organisation published a report exploring the role of the arts in improving health and wellbeing, highlighting how arts and cultural experiences can have genuine benefits for our mental and physical health.²
At St Neots Museum, we see this every day, even if visitors don’t always realise it themselves. People often come in looking for local history and leave feeling calmer than when they arrived. Museums ask us to pause and take a closer look at things, which is very much what the practice of mindfulness is all about. Museum visits don’t have to be serious or deeply emotional to be good for us.
Museums can also inspire creativity and curiosity, whether you’re an artist or simply someone who enjoys discovering new ideas and perspectives. And for many people, there’s something deeply meaningful about connecting with history and culture.
Bringing mindfulness outside of museum walls
We are also working on ways to bring this mindfulness outside of our museum walls. Our history walks offer an accessible way for people to step out into the town and see its history in place, not just on display. Visitors can discover stories behind familiar streets, buildings and views, often seeing everyday surroundings in a completely new way. There’s also something really special about doing it as part of a group, as this naturally encourages conversation and shared memories. For many people, it’s a chance to feel more rooted in the community while also learning something new, which can be just as rewarding as a visit inside the museum.
A Brief History of Cameras
Here at St Neots Museum, our latest exhibition is all about photography!
The history of cameras begins long before photography itself, with the ancient concept of the camera obscura, a darkened room or box that projects an inverted image of the outside world through a small hole. Thinkers like Aristotle studied this optical effect, laying the groundwork for image capture.
The first real photograph was created in the 1820s by Nicéphore Niépce, using a process that required hours of exposure. Soon after, Louis Daguerre developed the daguerreotype in 1839, producing clearer images on metal plates. Around the same time, William Henry Fox Talbot introduced the calotype, which allowed multiple prints from a single negative—an essential step toward modern photography.
Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, photography became more accessible. Companies like Polaroid and Kodak revolutionized the field with roll film and simple consumer cameras, famously promoting the idea: “You press the button, we do the rest.”
The 20th century saw rapid technological advances, including 35mm film, colour photography, and instant cameras like those from Polaroid. By the late 20th century, digital cameras emerged, replacing film with electronic sensors and allowing instant image review.
Today, cameras are embedded in smartphones and use advanced computers that have more power than all NASA did in 1969! From simple light projections to powerful digital systems, cameras have transformed how we capture and share the world around us, so join us at St Neots museum and explore with us!
Written by James whilst on work experience placement.
Return of Jailbreak | St Neots Escape Room
Jailbreak Escape Room Returns to St Neots Museum with a Brand-New 2026 Scenario
2nd May – 19th July
If you’re searching for a unique escape room experience in Cambridgeshire, Jailbreak is back at St Neots Museum and it’s better than ever.
The unique escape room experience set in a real historic cell block, now in its 7th season, Jailbreak returns to St Neots Museum with a brand new scenario.
This spring, your group arrives at the Museum, purporting to be a team of detectorists with a valuable gem and a story to tell. The curator isn’t convinced. Before you can make your case, you’re secured in the historic cell block – with 60 minutes to solve the clues, recover your find, and get out!
Set entirely within the Museum’s authentic historic spaces, this is an escape room experience unlike any purpose-built venue. The building, the atmosphere and the history are all real.
No specialist knowledge required, just curiosity, teamwork and a cool head under pressure.
Jo Allen, Museum Manager writes: “We are delighted to welcome back the team from Mystery in History for what promises to be another exciting season of Jailbreak, and we hope to see many new and previous players taking part in this highly enjoyable experience.”
Unlike purpose-built escape rooms, Jailbreak takes place entirely within the museum’s original cells. That means the setting, atmosphere, and surroundings are completely real, adding an extra layer of tension and authenticity. Spaces for Jailbreak are limited due to the intimate setting of the historic cells, so early booking is recommended
