Tourism

Chelmsford to most people is a mecca of high street retail brand names, slightly chavy youths and a lot of concrete and A roads, or so it can seem. It's always good to try and get beneath the surface and this charge which, if we're honest, could be levied at most British towns these days to varying degrees. Chelmsford museum is a stark reminder of the history of Essex and the significance it played , particularly to technology in the world.
It is of course most famous for the birth place of the modern communications when and Italian immigrant called Guglielmo Marconi developed (but did NOT invent) the modern radio wave communications, a mechanism that at a stroke shrunk the world to a global village for anyone with a radio.
The building and grounds are beckoning enough as is the contents of this museum. Its pleasantly broad carefully charting the very earliest trace of the area's habitation and development, and even moving towards modern history in terms of popular culture and the many world famous musical acts that passed through the famous Corn Exchange venue on their way to achieving immortality (like Jimi Hendricks). There's a devoted section to the military connection Chelmsford has and the contribution the area's regiments made to the UK's various campaigns throughout the years, or though sadly no tribute made to the many men who gave their lives in these conflicts, and finally a section outlining the huge variety of bird-life found in the area, again richly surprising.
If there is one criticism it's that there is no café area that encourages you to linger and admire, and given how pleasant the garden area that's surrounds this building is they would have really missed an opportunity here to make it a more convivial experience that encouraged you to stay and even come back regularly.

Postcode: CM2 9AQ
Tel: 01245 605700
Email: museums@chelmsford.gov.uk