A very Victorian summer

Event

FREE
Saturday 25 July – Sunday 30 August 2026, various times

A very Victorian summer

Join us for a very Victorian summer at The National Justice Museum, with a range of family-friendly and exciting creative workshops!

There’ll be different activities every day, all free and open to all ages. All our free activities are included with your museum ticket.

Families planning a Nottingham staycation this summer can enjoy a great-value day out with one under-15 visiting free for every paying adult or over-60s ticket holder at both the National Justice Museum and the City of Caves, between 11 July and 6 September 2026*.

Brierley’s Dark Museum: Monday – Sunday (10am-4:30pm)

Find our Victorian prison warden in the debtor’s cells; he’ll have six items on display that have been handed down from Gaoler Brierley’s dark museum. Pick the items that most interest you, and our warden will tell the tales of each and how they ended up in Brierley’s hands.

Victorian Forensic Science: Monday – Sunday (10am-4:30pm)

Work together to guess who committed the crime with the barrister using the new Victorian idea of forensic evidence. Can you match the blood stains, fingerprints, boot prints and more to the possible suspect?

Narrow Marsh Trail: Monday – Sunday (10am-4:30pm)

Can you find the answers to all the questions on the Narrow Marsh trail this summer?

Explore the Narrow Marsh space this summer and see what life would have been like in the Victorian slums that sat below the cliff our gaol called home.

Work in Prison craft sessions: Tuesdays from 28/07/26 – 25/08/26 (11am-3:30pm)

Come and try your hand at sewing a mini mailbag and learn more about the types of work prisoners were expected to do in the County Gaol from the 1840s.

Find us in the Narrow Marsh space; the entrance is via the exercise yard.

Object Handling: Thursdays from 30/07/26 – 27/08/26 (11am-1pm)

Get hands-on with history at our special object-handling session in the 1800s cell block.

Discover rarely seen items from our fascinating collection, each linked to the Working Through It exhibition, and uncover the powerful stories they hold about the purpose and type of work done in prison throughout history.