New home search for printing museum

A search is under way to find bigger premises for a printing museum which has been based at the Blickling Estate since 2021.

The Norwich Printing Museum is stepping up its search for a venue that can house all of its collections (the second largest in the country), ideally somewhere in Norwich. The museum at Blickling only contains 15 per cent of the available items.

Skilled volunteers give demonstrations and talks, helping to make the iron presses, type and machinery of printing, printmaking and bookbinding comprehensible to visitors.

Classes and courses are also run, along with school visits and study days, and residencies for artists and students.

Paul W Nash, chair of the Trustees, said: “We are immensely grateful to the National Trust for hosting our working museum at Blickling. But this was only ever a temporary solution.

“By October 2025, we want to have found a new home, ideally in Norwich, in which to show off all our collections and expand our programme of teaching and demonstrations.”

The museum was founded in 1982 by Peter Jarrold, then chairman of the Norwich printing company, as the John Jarrold Printing Museum. A huge collection of presses and equipment, type and books was assembled and, by the time the Jarrold Museum closed in 2019, it was the second largest printing collection in the country (after the Science Museum collections, which are all in storage).

At this time the museum became an independent charitable trust and was renamed as The Norwich Printing Museum (with the John Jarrold Heritage Collection).

The museum has been kept alive by its dedicated volunteers, many of whom had worked originally at the Jarrold Museum.

SPECIAL PLACE: Some of the volunteers who help run the museum.

Further details of the museum can be found at www.norwichprintingmuseum. co.uk or by emailing npmtrustees@gmail.com