Bike Week – Horsham Museum’s collection

It’s Bike Week and Horsham Museum & Art Gallery has some great examples that chart the history of this popular mode of transport!

The Blazing Saddles Gallery has several bicycles from those designed for children to the ever-fascinating Penny Farthing.

Pride of place, though, must go to the pentacycle. Invented by Edward Bairstow, a Horsham architect, the Centre-Cycle was patented in 1881.

An adapted design was submitted to the Post Office to be used for post and parcel delivery, but after completing trials the Post Office announced that the vehicle was not suited for their purpose.

You can adopt the pentacycle and help in its preservation. For full details go to our Adopt and Object page.

You can view all the bikes, along with hundreds of other artefacts, at the Museum Tuesday-Saturday 10am-4pm – FREE admission.

The Museum Friends’ July talk will also be on a bicycle theme. Come and join us on Wednesday 29th July 2026 at 2pm in the London Road Cornerstone Chapel and meet Jeff Thomas, who will relate the story of how he came upon an abandoned tandem and then describe the challenges that he faced to restore the vehicle to full working order.

Known as “Daisy”, the tandem – an F H Grubb of Brixton model – will be on static display during the talk enabling members and guests to see the fruit of Mike’s labours.