As one of the first purpose built free museums to open outside of London in 1874, Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery houses a rich and fascinating collection covering fine art, decorative art, Egyptology, coins, manuscripts, natural history, social history and South Asia.

Explore

Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery houses a rich and fascinating collection of paintings, Japanese prints, Christian icons, medieval manuscripts, natural history specimens, Egyptian artefacts and of course the local and social history of its hometown, Blackburn.

What's On

Japanese Woodblock Prints

Thursday 4th June

4th June - Japanese Woodblock Prints

Orthodox Christian Icons

Thursday 18th June

18th June - Orthodox Christian Icons

Early European Printing

Thursday 2nd July

2nd July - Early European Printing

Some Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts

Thursday 16th July

16th July - Some Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts

See & Do

May Half Term Activities

26th - 30th May 2026

Free family friendly activities!

Exhibitions

Izzie Beirne – By The Ruins Often I Pass

30th May - 16th June 2026

A Second Act touring show at Blackburn Museum

Collections

Explore Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery’s collection.

Bloomberg Connects

Explore Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery with our digital guide on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app.

Plan your Visit

Opening Times:

Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri and Sat: 11am – 4:45pm
Closed Sun, Mon and all bank holidays

Learning

Museums and galleries provide a unique learning experience that can inspire and motivate young people in exciting and memorable ways. At Blackburn Museum we offer a range of taught sessions and other resources for schools and college groups.

Art UK Shop

The Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery Art UK Shop has over 330 of our artworks, including oil paintings, Japanese Prints and sculpture available to purchase as high quality art prints and framed prints with a wide choice of frames and mounts. Our Art UK Shop also offers a range of high resolution images to license for commercial use.