Royston Museum is celebrating its 40th anniversary, with a fayre to mark the occasion taking place this weekend.
The Royston and District Local History Society was founded in 1965, with the sole purpose of starting a museum in the town.
In 1976, the museum first opened in a small room at the back of Royston Town Hall, before moving to new rooms within the building in 1979.
The museum opened in its current home, the former Congregational Church School Room, on Saturday, April 28, 1984.
There are just under 20,000 objects in the museum's collection telling the stories of people and places around Royston, including photographs, paintings, costumes, social history objects, industrial equipment and archaeology.
An evening reception was held at the museum on Wednesday, April 17, ahead of the anniversary.
Speaking at the event, museum manager Emma Canterbury said: "The sentiment of our mission today echoes that of when the museum was founded: to celebrate Royston's heritage, connecting people and places, past and present.
"And I'm honoured to be part of the team building on all the hard work and successes of the last four decades as we enter a new chapter of the museum's story."
Trustees also spoke from Royston Museum Trust, Royston and District Local History Society and the Friends of Royston Museum.
On Sunday (April 28), the museum is holding a fayre to celebrate the official anniversary.
The museum will be open from 10am to 4pm - with entry free as always - and the whole community is invited to take part in hands-on activities, crafts and pop-up exhibitions.
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Visitors will also have a chance to print their own anniversary tote bag on the printing press which once printed the Royston Crow.
Emma added: "We're incredibly grateful to all of the organisations who support the museum is many different ways, including providing the vital funding which enables us to operate.
"These include NPK Holdings, Royston Town Council, North Herts Council, The Brian Leslie Racher Trust, Royston First Bid, The Listing, Johnson Matthey, Hertfordshire Community Foundation, Museum Development South East, Hertfordshire Association of Museums and the Friends of Royston Museum."
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