Grantham Museum

Grantham Museum is a small but engaging community museum in the centre of the Lincolnshire market town, telling the story of Grantham and the surrounding South Kesteven area. It is housed in a Victorian building on St Peter's Hill, directly opposite the Guildhall and a short walk from the railway station and high street.

The collection covers everything from the town's medieval origins as a wool and coaching centre on the Great North Road to its more recent industrial heritage. Exhibits chart the history of local engineering firms such as Ruston and Hornsby, which produced traction engines, agricultural machinery and the world's first diesel-powered tank during the First World War. Displays of household objects, costume and photographs give a sense of daily life in the town over the past two centuries.

Grantham is best known as the birthplace of two figures of global significance, and both are represented here. Sir Isaac Newton, born at nearby Woolsthorpe Manor and educated at Grantham's King's School, is celebrated in a dedicated section with displays exploring his scientific legacy. The museum also holds an extensive collection relating to Margaret Thatcher, who grew up above her father's grocer's shop on North Parade before becoming Britain's first female Prime Minister. The museum is run largely by volunteers and serves as an important focal point for local history in the town.