Police horses join celebrations as museum marks first anniversary at Lancaster Castle

The museum, housed within the former prison wing at the castle, has gone from strength to strength since its launch in June last year, having been nominated for a Lancaster Visitor Award, welcomed royal visitors and entertained more than 15,000 members of the public.

To celebrate its first year, mounted police joined in a day of special activities alongside Chief Constable Chris Rowley, who brought along a 1950s “murder box”- a forensics case which would have been used by Crime Scene Investigators attending some of the most serious crimes - which has been added to the forensics display and will be available for public viewing from mid-July.

Chief Constable Chris Rowley said: “It’s been a fantastic day celebrating what has been a busy year for the Lancashire Police Musuem.

"We have welcomed visitors from far and wide, which is great to see. This is testament to the hard work of all those involved with the museum. Policing in Lancashire has such a broad history, and it is a privilege to share it with so many different communities.

“I would like to extend a huge thanks to our volunteers who have kept everything running smoothly ever since our opening day. Their passion for the museum and our history is what keeps our visitors coming back.”

Museum co-ordinator Sabine Skae said: “It’s been a very successful 12 months for us and a pleasure to welcome so many visitors, not just from Lancashire but from as far afield as China and Brazil.

“We’ve had thousands of people come from a look around, as well as dozens of talks from police experts and visits from school, college and university students.

“It’s been great to share with them our fabulous history but also talk to people about the challenges of present-day policing as well as current career opportunities, of which there are many.

“We’re looking forward to celebrating but we’re also looking ahead to the next 12 months and planning some exciting new exhibits to add to our displays.”

Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden said: "It's fantastic to see how popular the Police Museum has proven since first opening its doors to the public last year to help people discover more about Lancashire Constabulary's rich and proud history.”

"The museum is an excellent resource for the county and provides the opportunity to educate people on how policing has changed, to learn more about their local police force and the challenges of policing today.

“With more exhibits to be added over the year ahead and the fascinating history of the building itself I'd encourage anyone to come and visit the museum in beautiful Lancaster."

Anyone wishing to visit the museum can find out more by emailing [email protected] or by following the museum on Facebook and Instagram.