The Peterborough Times Printing office, built in 1887, is now operated as a working museum and local history rooms by the Peterborough History Group, a small band of dedicated volunteers who are preserving the town’s history.
The print shop is set out as it was when it was operating through the 20th century up until 2001, when it produced a variety of newspaper mastheads and huge amounts of commercial work from across the region. It features a collection of printing presses and equipment; inks and tools, paper stock, plus thousands of items printed on the presses.
The Peterborough History Group, supported by the local council, now has custodianship of the shop and have been busy preserving and cataloging the historical documents and objects. After eight years of hard work, the group reopened the print shop as a museum on 17 October 2015. Three years prior the council had assisted the group by building an interpretive centre onto the print shop as an exhibition space to provide hands-on experience of the craft of letterpress printing.
The Peterborough History Group also operate displays in the YMCA building on Peterborough’s main street.