Project history

The Soham Museum Project began life in June 1998 at a public meeting concerning the regeneration of Soham. As part of the fenland regeneration project, Soham is a key location for visual improvement.

It was felt that a community based museum, would draw people into the area and support economic growth in the area. Creating a tourist attraction in close proximity to the main shopping area would also benefit trade in Soham - the idea being well received by retail businesses who are, on the whole, struggling to survive. A well researched scheme could serve the community in many positive ways and the museum could be marketed as a centre of communication and education within the community as well as a major tourist attraction within the area.

Soham, wrongly, resides in the shadow of Ely Cathedral and has been overlooked for centuries. Research and documentary evidence show that Soham has a unique and undeniably intriguing history all of it’s own dating back to the Bronze Age. Many ancient features, including four commons and a medieval field system are still in existence. In this, a museum would have a tool with which to attract visitors specifically to Soham.

Meetings and discussions with representatives of the various organisations which would be involved in developing the museum project in Soham continued throughout Autumn and Winter 1998. This resulted in the setting up of a formal committee in January 1999 in order to progress the project as rapidly as possible in order to provide support for the town regeneration scheme for which the museum is now recognised as the ‘leader’ project.

The museum committee consists of a small working group, plus representatives of the tourism office, the town council, and the schools.