Panacea Museum

The Panacea Museum exhibits and interprets the history, theology and practices of the Panacea Society, its antecedents, similar contemporary religious groups and other prophetic and millennarian movements for the purpose of the information and education of the public.

The Panacea Museum charts the history and beliefs of a unique religious Society that once existed in Bedford, along with a number of other millenarian sects and movements that were active during the 18th and 19th centuries. 

The Panacea Museum is in a beautiful Victorian house that was part of the community’s headquarters and also incorporates several other buildings, set within the gardens, that formed the original community’s ‘campus’ much of which has remained unchanged since the 1930’s.

The society is an example of women’s ministry in the early 20th century and a platform for exploring themes and concepts of apocalypse including climate change and religious extremism in times of conflict.

Vision, Key Aims and Specific Objectives

The key values of the Panacea Museum are:

•          Excellence

•          Knowledge

•          Collaboration

Our Vision is:

To contribute to society through the pursuit of education, information and enjoyment. To be valuable and inspiring to our users and to be recognised as excellent in all that we do.

We Believe:

We have a duty to preserve the legacy of the Panacea Society and related religious groups in a museum setting for the public benefit.

Our key aims and objectives are:

1.         To preserve the Panacea campus as a unique example of a 19th and 20th century religious culture and to provide visitors with an insight into life inside a religious community.

2.         To provide information about The Panacea Society, a predominantly female religious group, as an example of women’s ministry in the early 20th century.

3.         To promote the campus and the collection as both an important part of Bedford’s Cultural heritage and as specialist museum accessible to the widest possible audience

4.         Provide users with an exceptional learning experience.

5.         To ensure the long-term future of the museum.

SAMM Project

In addition to its other activities, in 2015 the Trustees of the Charity embarked upon the development of a world centre of excellence in the critical study of apocalyptic and millenarian movements.

Vision

Anyone will have access to quality resources to enable education, and understanding about apocalyptic and millenarian movements.

Mission

To develop and maintain a world centre of excellence in the critical study of apocalyptic and millenarian movements and aid the public understanding of the legacies and future possibilities of these crucial, creative and often misunderstood forms of human culture.

Values

Transparency

Excellence

Dedication

Collaboration

Creativity

Service

The SAMM Project

The SAMM project is a free to use multi-sided platform which creates value by facilitating interactions between its User Groups and others who benefit in the production and consumption of ideas, thought, information, and discussion. It exists in both the real world in the form of symposia and interviews, and online in the form of written, digitised and recorded materials. It can also be described as an “Open Business Model” in that it creates and captures value by collaborating with outside partners who build content within the project’s platform.

Value Proposition

• Legitimate and trustworthy sources of understandable and accessible information and resources in one convenient online location—making products and services available to users who previously lacked access to them.
• Content monitored by an advisory group of trusted professionals who are qualified experts in their respective subjects.
• A bank of expertise able to respond to questions and concerns and accessible online.
• Videos / interviews with experts available online on a range of subjects including contemporary concerns such as global terrorism and climate change.
• Workshops and meetings which explore a variety of subjects at suitable locations (The Panacea Trust campus in Bedford to remain the hub and preferred location) and recorded to be made available to a broad audience online.
• Matching mentors with researchers and educators.

A free to use service for the benefit of our User Groups.