Media release: 15 July 2025
- The Worcestershire Soldier Gallery at Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum will close on 31 August 2025.
- This is your last chance to visit the current exhibition ahead of the creation of a brand-new exhibition planned for The Commandery.
- Don’t miss out, the exhibition is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am – 4pm. Sundays, 10am – 3pm. [Closed Mondays and bank holidays].
- Find out more about the Worcestershire Soldier Gallery here.
Visitors have until 31 August 2025 to visit the current The Worcestershire Soldier Gallery at Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum. Bringing together the collections of the Mercian Regiment Museum (Worcestershire) and the Worcestershire Yeomanry Museum, the free to visit Worcestershire Soldier Gallery tells the stories of soldiers who have served in local regiments from 1694 to the present day.
Helen Hunter, Collections Manager, The Mercian Regiment Museum said: “The current exhibition, opened by Princess Royal in September 2003, brought highlights of the Regimental collections, formerly held at Norton Barracks, into the heart of the city for the public to enjoy. Now is the time to re-visit your favourites in the exhibition ahead of our planned closure and move to The Commandery.”
Stamford Cartwright, Curator of the Worcestershire Yeomanry museum added: “Whether your favourites are the Yeomanry propellor and pear blossom OR the medal of Black Drummer John Freeman, the detailed Sikh jacket or the Victoria Crosses of the Regiment, this is your last chance to see them in their current home.”
The Worcestershire Soldier at the Commandery will see the creation of a brand-new exhibition of Worcester’s regimental displays. This exhibition will secure the future of the gallery as well as bring the Worcestershire Soldier’s story into the heart of Worcester’s heritage quarter. In doing so this provides an opportunity to redevelop the current displays, which have been in place for over twenty years. It is anticipated that the new galleries will open in early 2028.
The Worcestershire Soldier at The Commandery, funded through The National Lottery Heritage Fund will create an engaging and educational space that celebrates the rich military history of Worcestershire, with a focus on the experience of its soldiers. The project has also received generous support from the UK Government’s Townsfund.
For more information about The Worcestershire Soldier at The Commandery and to find out how you can engage with the collections during the closure visit https://www.worcestershireandmercianregimentmuseum.org/the-worcestershire-soldier-at-the-commandery/ and follow:
https://www.facebook.com/WorcestershireRegimentMuseum
https://www.facebook.com/WorcesterYeomanry
https://www.instagram.com/worcestershireregiments
ENDS
For further information contact Helen Annetts, PR on behalf of The Worcestershire Soldier at The Commandery via 07779 026720 or email: HelenLAnnetts@hotmail.co.uk
Notes to Editors
About The Worcestershire Soldier at The Commandery
The Worcestershire Soldier Gallery is undergoing an exciting project to create a brand-new gallery within The Commandery, Worcester. Funded through The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the UK Government’s Townsfund, The Mercian Regiment Museum (Worcestershire), Museums Worcestershire and the Worcestershire Yeomanry Museum are working in partnership to develop the new gallery.
https://www.worcestershireandmercianregimentmuseum.org/the-worcestershire-soldier-at-the-commandery
About The Mercian Regiment Museum (Worcestershire)
The Mercian Regiment Museum (Worcestershire) (MRMW) is an independent accredited museum and registered charity which was founded in 1922 to collect and preserve the history, traditions and achievements of the Regiment from 1694 to the present day.
www.worcestershireandmercianregimentmuseum.org
About Museums Worcestershire
Museums Worcestershire is the joint museum service of Worcester City and Worcestershire County Councils. It comprises three fantastic venues– Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum, The Commandery in Worcester and The County Museum at Hartlebury Castle.
The collections and exhibitions at our sites are many and varied, covering centuries of the county’s history right up to the present day. Thousands of objects, including the historic buildings themselves, are brought to life through innovative exhibitions and events throughout the year.
www.museumsworcestershire.org.uk
About Worcestershire Yeomanry Museum
The museum, founded in January 1980, exists to hold together the traditions of the Regiment, formed entirely from volunteers throughout its peacetime existence, and to perpetuate its deeds and is primarily concerned with the preservation of items and historical records relating to The Queen’s Own Worcestershire Hussars (Worcestershire Yeomanry) for educational purposes.
www.facebook.com/WorcesterYeomanry
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Grant applications over £250,000 are assessed in two rounds. Worcestershire Soldier at The Commandery has initially been granted round one development funding of £243,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, allowing it to progress with its plans. Detailed proposals are then considered by the Heritage Fund at second round, where a final decision is made on the full funding award of £648,807.
Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage we are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.
Over the next 10 years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.
Follow @HeritageFundUK on X/Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLottery #HeritageFund