Families at The Commandery
There is so much to discover for children and families at The Commandery – we encourage play, laughter and joy throughout the museum!
Through the school holidays, The Commandery also hosts a wide range of activities including family trails and drop-in activities. Find out more on the What’s On page.
“Excellent. We loved all the interactive scenes and activities. They kept our 7-year-old engaged and allowed the adults time to explore as well. We thoroughly recommend this to families!”
Explore outdoors!
Enjoy our walled gardens which are shaded and suitable for all weathers! Explore the nature play area with its very own mud kitchen – why not spark your imagination and make a soup for The Commandery soldiers?
Play Guide
Our brand-new colourable Play Guide is available at The Commandery. Pick one up for free on your next visit, or download here!
What could my child explore?
There is lots to enjoy for all ages at the museum.
- Making their own oriel window
- Dressing up and colouring in (in lots of rooms!)
- Looking at the different animals on the mural in the Royalist Room
- Lift-accessible building for buggy users
- Family-friendly environment
- Playing in the mud kitchen inside our enclosed garden, or just enjoying the deckchairs on the lawn
- Exploring the food table and playing “What’s that whiff” – guessing the smells on the Tudor food table
- Enter Victorian Worcester and try being a laundry maid or a chimney sweep
- Design your own Civil War battle flag
- Try out a real typewriter and a braille writer
- Use the mirrors to look at the Great Hall ceiling
- Discovering the story of the English Civil War and Worcester’s role in it
- Learning about the birth of democracy
- Enjoying the objects throughout the museum – Civil War armour, weaponry, the Royal Oak
- Lift a civil war pike and see how heavy the helmets were
- Reading about the haunted happenings at The Commandery
- Trying out our escape rooms – extra charge for this so not in the museum admission price but onsite and fun
- Local history and archaeology
- Special talks and events
Facilities
The accessible bathroom at The Commandery contains baby change facilities.
There is step-free access throughout most of the museum. A lift is available and pushchairs are welcome throughout The Commandery.
Access information for The Commandery can be found here.
Ticket Offers
Ticket offers at The Commandery make it a great family day out! Children under 5 go FREE. A family day ticket (up to 2 adults and 3 children) is just £25.
Do you live in Worcester? You can buy a family residents’ ticket – pay once and visit as much as you like through the year – for £23! (Bring along proof of paying Worcester City Council Tax. Excludes January when The Commandery is closed.)
Find out more about ticket options here.
Helpful information for your visit
A typical family visit is likely to last about half a day.
This allows time to:
- Explore the museum exhibitions
- Complete our family trail
- Visit the café
- Enjoy a picnic in the gardens and play in our mud kitchen (weather dependent)
- Engage with interactives such as the oriel window display, dressing up, colouring
Quieter times
- Weekdays during term time from 2-4pm
Busier periods are likely to be:
- School holidays
- Family event days
Please phone in advance if you would like to check how busy we expect to be.
A visit can include:
- Access to permanent museum displays
- Interactives such as designing your own oriel window, using the battle table to see where your regiment would have been during the Battle of Worcester, dressing up with lots of different historic costumes, and colouring sheets around the museum
- Family trails – sometimes there will be a small cost for these but we will be having a permanent free one later in the year
- During school holidays and on event weekends you will find additional activities including crafts, games and hands-on activities
The museum displays include:
- The Commandery’s different roles and functions over the centuries
- The English Civil War
- Local history
- Medieval medicine
- Tudor and Georgian life
- Victorian Worcester
The Commandery was originally a Medieval Monastic Hospital. It then became a family home through the Tudor and Georgian periods. During the Battle of Worcester it was a headquarters for Royalist soldiers. It has also been used as a College for blind children, as a busy printworks business and now, as a Museum!
Prams can be used throughout most of the museum thanks to lift access and accessible routes.
If you wish to leave a buggy, please ask in the shop when you arrive – The Commandery doesn’t have a special area for prams so we can’t guarantee somewhere to park prams on busier days.
Families at Little Al’s Kitchen
Children are very welcome at Little Al’s at The Commandery! Jugs of hot water can be used to warm milk, and breast feeding is welcome. High-chairs are available.
Please ask at the café about children’s portions, they are very happy to adapt menu items.
