April 2022: Kent Police Museum
If you’d like to know what a Beat Measuring Wheel is, when women first joined the force or how forensic techniques help solve cases – then the new Kent Police Museum has the answers.
It was officially launched at Faversham Police Station on 8 October, where Chief Constable Alan Pughsley was joined by Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott, Mayor of Faversham Councillor Alison Reynolds and Members of the National Association of Retired Police Officers.
The site at Faversham Police Station in Church Road, which was originally built in 1904, will give the public access to its atmospheric original cells.
Interactive displays and exhibitions chart the history of the county force, with more than 150 years covered in the museum’s collection of artefacts, memorabilia, photographs and documents.
The museum is open to the public three days a week (Thursday to Saturday 10-4pm). Entry is free but booking is preferable and can be made via our website Kent Police Museum | Kent Police. Large group bookings are also welcome Monday to Wednesday. Contact curator Paul Upton to book a visit on museum@kent.police.uk or by telephoning 01795 433028.
Curator, Paul Upton ‘After so much hard work over a number of years it is very gratifying to be able to offer visitors of all ages an opportunity to discover what the museum has to offer. Our displays offer a contemporary and exciting visitor experience, which has an interactive element while making maximum use of the historic building.’
‘I’m delighted we have been able to find a new home for the museum. It’s important the public are able to see the difference between the early days of policing and our operations now. And yet, over 160 years later, those foundations still align with many of our foundations today. We continue to embrace the concept of policing by consent and our vision, that Kent is a safe place for people to live, work and visit is as important in 2021 as it was then.’
Chief Constable Alan Pughsley
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