Learning Programme
Welcoming schools & young people to the Cowper & Newton Museum – a treasure trove of fascinating personal belongings and stories, set in a historic Georgian building and gardens on the Market Place in Olney.
Arts Award Supporter
- Free entry for young people under 16 during normal opening times
- Poetry trail linked to the Museum where the poems were written
- Art, literature, gardening, mental health, hymns, Amazing Grace
- Monthly art exhibitions.

Educational Visits
SCHOOL GROUP BOOKING FEE STRUCTURE:
Educational Visits – Includes a Guided Activity Session of 1 / 1.5 hours but you are free to stay throughout Museum opening hours.
- 10 children and over = £3 per child 5-16 years
- Under 10 children = Minimum fee is £30
- Adults free up to a ratio of 1:6. One (free) adult to every 6 children.
- Additional adult £6.50 per person (from 17 years)
We are able to support your National and Creative Curriculum:
- Group visits to absorb the Georgian atmosphere here in this wonderful 18th century building
- We can visit your school, bringing our artefacts & stories to share with you
PLEASE NOTE: Visits to St Peter & St Paul should be booked directly with the church.
For small groups age 4-8 (less then 20), we also have items of costume for all children which can be worn throughout the visit to the Museum. £5.00 additional charge for the group.
The Museum is closed to the General Public on Mondays but is available for School Visits.
Larger groups will be split into smaller groups of no more than 15 children. These groups can be run concurrently in different rooms within the Museum or one after the other by using the Gardens, Gazebo and/or Viper Barn.
All visits to the Cowper & Newton Museum are tailor-made for you but here are some ideas
Welcome to the Museum & the 18th Century
A general visit could include: dressing up in 18th century costume a boy and a girl, introduction to Mrs Unwin, Mr Cowper & Mr Newton, local trades, letter writing, gardening, life before electricity, the Great Fires of Olney (18th /19th century) …
Art in the Museum & Garden
The Museum rooms are ideal for personal sketching with their wide range of materials and artefacts.
The Garden is an excellent venue for personal photography and art projects.
From May to the end of October there is also a Gazebo in the Courtyard which can be booked for activities.
There are exhibitions in The Three Hares Gallery all year.
We work with a wide range of artists who are also happy to include a 30 min demonstration as part of your visit.
The British Slave Trade and Abolition Campaign
William Cowper and John Newton’s involvement in the Abolition Movement
Download our History Detective Investigation based on CMS resource pack.
PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU ARE VISITING FOR THIS THEME AS WE PUT OUT EXTRA RESOURCES FOR SCHOOL VISITS IF YOU REQUEST THIS
Online Resources
The Life of John Newton / Amazing Grace
The Life of John Newton – an outline of his life
KS3 & 4 Resource pack ‘John Newton & Amazing Grace’ (includes: information, a film by Rick Wakeman from BBC Manchester & Jerusalem Productions, Powerpoints) from RE:ONLINE
A link to a short American film about the life of John Newton and Amazing Grace. Suitable for worship or lessons.
A short film made by Junior Filmmakers MK, part of their ‘Because of Them, We Can’ series. Amazing Grace
The Atlantic Slave Trade / The Campaign to Abolish Slavery
Slavery & Abolition at the Cowper & Newton Museum – An overview: William Cowper – Abolition poet / John Newton – slave trader & Abolitionist
Why did it take so long to abolish slavery in the British Empire? In this video from the Citizens800 project shows students from Turing House School examine the factors which delayed the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire.
Short film which Introduces the roles Cowper & Newton played in the Abolition Campaign. Part of the Citizens800 project
‘The Lust of Gain’ vs ‘Christian Duty’ / The Transatlantic Slave Trade: a short film made as part of the Citizens Project
Additional Resource pack to accompany 3 new films currently in production by Royal Holloway: What was the transatlantic slave trade?
Who profited from the slave trade? Who were the Abolitionists?
Show Racism the Red Card is the UK’s leading anti-racism educational charity. Find education materials and information about school based visits.
Anti-Slavery International Information and learning resources. Founded in 1839, they are the oldest international human rights organisation in the world
A wide range of resources from Professor Brycchan Carey: Slavery, British Abolitionists, Olaudah Equiano, Ignatius Sancho, Quobna Ottobah Cugoano,
A Chronology of Slavery, Abolition, and Emancipation – Prof Brycchan Carey
Syllabus and resources from the West African Senior School Certificate Examination; ‘West Africa and the Wider World from Earliest Times to 2000’
Actor performed readings from the Amazing Grace Festival: Olaudah Equiano William Cowper Hannah Moore
Direct link to William Cowper’s anti-slavery poetry
Also see information and hear Rev Martin Luther King jr at Glenville High, Cleveland in 1967, referencing William Cowper
Resource Pack from CMS and the Citizenship Foundation, incl links to video clips from the film ‘Amazing Grace’
Learning Activities from The Abolition Project
Learning Activities about the The Campaign for Abolition from The British Library
USI Understanding Slavery Initiative: Supporting those teaching and learning about Transatlantic Slavery
Slave Voyages website: Explore the dispersal of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic World The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database
Legacies of British slave ownership database University College London
The Lewis Walpole Library online exhibition Prospects of Empire: Slavery and Ecology in Eighteenth-Century Atlantic Britain
The Impact of the Slave Trade on Africa: National Museums Liverpool, Open University resources
Black Lives – Heritage & Culture
Black Singers and Folk Ballads Learning Resources – The English Folk Dance and Song Society
Black Sailors and Sea Shanties Learning Resources – The English Folk Dance and Song Society
Amazing Grace: The American Spiritual -exploring diversity, equity, equality, and inclusion through America’s music
Black History Month www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk
Resource List weblinks: Black Abolitionists & 18th Century World
Pages from ‘Golden Legacy Illustrated History Magazine, 1966, ‘The saga of Toussaint L’Ouverture and the birth of Haiti’, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Resource List weblinks: Rich & Diverse Culture of Africa
Black British History – resources from Institute of Commonwealth Studies.
Ghosts of Amistad: In the Footsteps of the Rebels – Education resources
Ashlee McIntosh presents on two free films for schools from the Citizens Project. She shares why she supports the Royal Holloway, University of London made materials , explains what her experience was as the only black student in her class and gives her suggestion for how they are used in the classroom.
Facilities at the museum include:
- Gazebo in the courtyard (from late spring throughout the summer)
- 2 gardens, one with William Cowper’s summerhouse (which he called his ‘word manufactory’!)
- Shop
- Toilet
PLEASE NOTE: The house has 6 flights of stairs, and old (uneven!) floorboards. Contact the Museum for our House and Garden Risk Assessment.