National Emergency Services Museum, Sheffield
SOS! It's an Emergency! National Emergency Services Museum
The fun National Emergency Services Museum in Sheffield is dedicated to the preservation and celebration of the history and heritage of the emergency services in the UK. Housed in a historic Victorian police, fire and ambulance station, the museum offers a comprehensive collection of artifacts, vehicles, toys and exhibits that chronicle the evolution of emergency services from the 18th century to the present day.
Visitors can explore over 30 vintage vehicles, including fire engines, ambulances, police cars and even a lifeboat, alongside a vast array of uniforms, equipment, and interactive displays.
History
The museum began life as the National Videogame Arcade in Nottingham, before moving to Sheffield in 2018.
Exhibits
As well as over 30 emergency vehicles on show, the museum has several different collections including Daring Detectives & Dastardly Deeds housed in the former police cells. On display are original documents, weaponry and objects relating to Jack the Ripper and other 19th century crimes.
The Blood, Bandages and Blue Lights exhibition was created to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the National Health Service in 2018. Vehicles on display include one of the Britain's oldest surviving horse-drawn ambulances, which served in Barnsley in 1885.
The Engine House holds the museum's collection of vintage fire engines including vehicles that served in the Blitz.
The Blitz is remembered with its own exhibition which recreates a wartime fire scene.
The original police stables house the Police Gallery with a varied collection of police vehicles on display.
In cooperation with the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth, Guarding the Coast tells the story of the UK Coastguard and its work saving lifes at sea.
The For King & Country collection shows the role ambulance, fire, lifeboat and police personnel played during World War I.
The Fiery Blaze to Fire Brigades exhibition tells the story of the beginnings of the modern fire service from the Great Fire of London in 1666 to the 1920s.
Hotels
Fairly close to Sheffield Station is the 4-star Novotel Sheffield Centre. The Leonardo Hotel Sheffield is also 4-star and offers a bar, restaurant, and a 24-hour reception. Mercure Sheffield St Paul's Hotel & Spa has a restaurant, champagne bar, sauna and indoor swimming pool.
The 3-star Hampton by Hilton Sheffield is on West Bar Green very close to the museum.
See here for a complete listing of hotel accommodation close to the station in Sheffield.
Access - Getting There
The Old Police/Fire Station, West Bar, Sheffield, S3 8PT
www: visitnesm.org.uk
Tel: 0114 2491 999
Wednesday to Sunday: 10 am to 4 pm
Admission
Adults £ 9.50, children £ 7.50, concessions £ 8.50, family £ 26.50, under 3 years old is free.
The nearest Sheffield Supertram network stop is Cathedral on the Blue and Purple routes. The Shalesmoor stop is a little further away. Buses 57, 81, 82, 86 and 135 all stop outside the museum.
Sheffield Station is about 20 minutes on foot. It has trains to London St Pancras, Liverpool Lime Street, Huddersfield Station, Leeds via Barnsley, Cleethorpes via Doncaster, Wakefield Westgate, Leeds, York Station in York, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow Central & Aberdeen. There are also trains from Sheffield to Piccadilly Station in Manchester and Stockport Station in Stockport.
In addition, there are buses to and from Sheffield to the spa town of Buxton in Derbyshire.
Nearby
Within easy walking distance of the museum is the Sheffield Steelworker mural, Sheffield Cathedral, and both the Crucible and Lyceum theatres. The Millennium Gallery and Graves Gallery are both close to Sheffield Station.
The National Videogame Museum and the excellent Kelham Island Museum are two other fine museums in Sheffield.
Maps of Sheffield
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