[4] The museum's collection was originally based upon the collection of the Warrington Natural History Society but it has since grown and now includes a wide range of subjects such as ethnology, egyptology, geology, Roman Britain, pottery/ceramics, botany, fish, amphibians, reptiles, the Civil War, local industries, birds and mammals, and glass.

[5] The building also houses a collection of around 1,000 paintings, (oils, watercolours and prints) from the 19th and early 20th centuries, many of which are on display in the mezzanine Art Gallery on the 2nd floor.

On the first floor there are two temporary galleries, one large and one small, which frequently display travelling exhibitions and the work of local artists and events relating to the community.

[6] One exhibit which has received some public attention is the Warrington seal, which was shot in Paddington Lock in 1908, then given to the Museum.

In 1999 James Dickinson repaired the mount, giving it new whiskers "rescued from an old tiger".