The events programme
Priority booking and reduced or free entry to more than forty member events a year — talks, curator-led tours, cultural evenings — many open to members only. The calendar shows what is coming.
A membership is more than a card. It is a year of access, a programme of events, a journal, guest privileges and a real voice in the society — bundled into one annual subscription that costs less than a handful of separate visits. This page sets out every benefit in full, so you can see exactly what you get before you join. Some benefits depend on your tier; where they do, we say so, and the membership page has the precise comparison.
The heart of membership is simple and generous: your card admits you to every museum in the network, as many times as you like, for a full year.
The single thing members value most is the freedom to stop counting. A non-member weighs every visit against an entry fee and ends up going less, seeing less, returning to a favourite gallery rarely if ever. A member simply goes — on a free afternoon, to see one thing properly, to show a visiting friend, to escape the heat for an hour among the collections. Over a year that freedom transforms how much of the region's heritage you actually experience, and it is why members so often say the membership pays for itself within a few visits and then keeps giving for the rest of the year.
Entry covers the standard permanent collections of every museum in the network. Where a museum runs a separately ticketed special exhibition, members usually receive a reduced rate on it, and we always flag such cases honestly rather than letting you assume. The card works the same way at every network museum: show it, walk in.
Entry is the foundation, but the benefits around it are what turn a card into belonging.
Priority booking and reduced or free entry to more than forty member events a year — talks, curator-led tours, cultural evenings — many open to members only. The calendar shows what is coming.
Four times a year, a members' journal with pieces on the museums, the collections and the region's heritage — substantial reading written for members, not a marketing leaflet.
Bring a guest to network museums at a reduced rate — or, for patrons, one guest free — so you can share the places you love without your companion needing their own membership for the odd visit.
Members elect the committee and vote at the annual meeting. Your subscription buys a genuine say in how the society is run and where its support goes, as set out in the charter.
Family members get access to children's events and family days designed to make heritage a pleasure for younger visitors rather than a chore — see the family membership.
A small team who handle your membership personally, so a question gets a real answer from someone who knows the society, not a ticket in a queue.
The core benefits — unlimited entry, events, journal, a vote — apply to all tiers. Family adds household coverage and children's days; patron adds previews and a free guest. The membership page has the exact comparison.
Standard permanent-collection entry is always included. A separately ticketed special exhibition is usually offered to members at a reduced rate rather than free, and we flag any such case on the network page so there is no surprise.
Immediately. Your card is issued the day you join and every benefit is live at once — you can visit a museum and book an event the same afternoon.
Choose your tier and the benefits begin the same day.
Become a member See the museums