Pete Carr

National Museums Liverpool at 40

Forty years since the Merseyside Museums and Galleries Order was presented to Queen Elizabeth II (12 February 1986), we’re inviting you to dig, dive and delve into our vast collections, to celebrate four decades of Liverpool’s national museum network.

With seven museums and galleries in our portfolio, and as England’s only national museum group outside of London, we’ll be displaying items from each venue as one exhibition, for the very first time! These include objects from Lady Lever Art Gallery, International Slavery Museum, Maritime Museum, Museum of Liverpool, Sudley House, Walker Art Gallery and World Museum.

Objects included in the exhibition include rare artefacts from the Titanic, clothing that tells the story of one of Liverpool’s many cultural landmarks, masterpieces by world-famous artists and seemingly innocuous items that have a significant story to tell from Liverpool’s past.

National Museums Liverpool at 40 runs 3 Apr 2026 – 28 Feb 2027, 10am – 5pm.