People’s History Museum is the national museum of democracy. Visit the museum’s main galleries and explore the development of democracy in Britain: past, present and future. From the Peterloo Massacre of 1819 to the present day, meet the revolutionaries, reformers, workers, voters, and citizens who believed in and continue to inspire ideas worth fighting for; ideas such as equality, social justice, co-operation, and a fair world for all.
New digital experiences for 2020
A gaming interactiveexploring the harsh working conditions at the Bryant & May match factory in 1888is available in Main Gallery One. Come and play the projection reality button game.
New digital experiences for 2020
An augmented reality (AR) experience is available in Main Gallery Two. Get up close to objects from PHM’s collection and hear the voices of those who were involved in strikes during the 1970s and 1980s.
Collections
Befitting the national museum of democracy, objects related to the fight for the vote make up a core of the collection. The objects are hugely varied. The PHM collection of trade union and political banners is the largest and most important of its type in the world. The museum also houses an internationally significant political archive and includes the complete holdings of the Labour Party and Communist Party of Great Britain. PHM also holds over 95,000 photographic images covering labour history, the Labour Party and more general political history.