356,000 Visits, £21.5 Million Impact: The Box Plymouth Reveals a Landmark Year

29th September 2026

The Box Plymouth, home to one of the largest and most varied collections in the country, today launches its 2025/26 Annual Review, revealing the significant economic and wellbeing impact the museum, art gallery and archive delivers for Plymouth, alongside a year of national recognition, major acquisitions and groundbreaking research.

The Box welcomed 356,000 visits between April 2025 and March 2026, with over half of visitors 56% travelling from a Plymouth (PL) postcode, underlining the deep connection it has with its home city. The Box has also continued to broaden its audience, with 13% of visitors entirely new to museums and galleries, and almost a third, 32%, experiencing The Box for the very first time.

This scale of visitor engagement translates directly into economic value for the city. Spending

 associated with The Box generated a total economic footprint of £21.5 million, with visitors to The Box contributing £17.8 million to the Plymouth economy directly. The Box's own expenditure across 2025/26 added a further £16.3 million in spending, reflecting the museum's role not only as a cultural destination but as a significant driver of local economic activity.

The Box's impact extends well beyond economics into the health and wellbeing of Plymouth's residents. Engagement is estimated to have delivered £60.6 million in benefit through improved general health among adults aged 30–49, alongside a further £58 million in estimated benefit through reduced incidence of depression and dementia among adults aged 50 and over figures that speak to the venue's role as a genuine contributor to the city's public health, not simply its cultural life.

Alongside this local impact, The Box's national profile grew significantly. The Box was Museum in Residence at Downing Street for 2026, with nine paintings from its acclaimed art collection loaned to the Government Art Collection and displayed at the heart of British government. Works by artists including Alfred Wallis, Stanley Spencer and Charles Ginner told the story of Plymouth's innovation, resilience and creativity, representing the city on the national stage.

Learning and engagement continued at pace. The Box has now engaged 92% of all Plymouth schools since opening, up 3% from last year; welcoming 9,407 student visits this year, with 84% of schools returning for repeat visits. Alongside 27,508 family visitors and a growing community programme, The Box's 17,000 hours of volunteering kept the doors open, the welcome warm, and the city's culture free for everyone.

The Box's story also travelled far beyond the city, generating 1,308 pieces of media coverage with a total reach of over 1.7 billion people and an equivalent advertising value of £7.2 million putting the city's cultural story on a international stage making The Box truly locally loved, and nationally known.

A significant piece of scientific research in the natural history collections centred on the Kitley Cave Collection, comprising over 4,000 specimens from sites near Yealmpton. Researchers from the University of Plymouth used radiocarbon dating techniques on the collection for the first time, determining that a woolly rhinoceros tooth within it is 44,344 years old.

From Downing Street to Kitley Cave, and from hundreds of thousands of visits to tens of millions of pounds in economic and health value, the newly launched Annual Review shows The Box delivering for Plymouth on every level as a guardian of collections, an engine of civic pride, and a genuine contributor to the city's economy and the wellbeing of its people.

Victoria Pomery, CEO at The Box Plymouth, said: "2025/26 was an extraordinary year for The Box. Welcoming 356,000 visits and generating over £21.5 million in economic impact for our city is a remarkable achievement for a museum that only opened its doors five years ago – and that was all before we were named the 2026 Art Fund Museum of the Year in June!

“But the numbers only tell part of the story, from taking nine paintings to the heart of British government at 10 Downing Street, to reaching almost all Plymouth's schools, to the thousands of hours our volunteers give so generously, this has been a year defined by connection, ambition and pride in our city. As we look ahead to an even bolder programme including our part in ‘Bayeux Around Britain’ and a major new season exploring home and belonging in Plymouth I couldn't be more excited about what comes next.”

Councillor Jemima Laing, Deputy Leader, said: "Huge congratulations to everyone at The Box on an outstanding year. This new annual review gives me an enormous sense of pride and shows exactly what this incredible institution means for Plymouth. The Box is a major asset for this city, and Plymouth City Council is proud to continue supporting and funding its ambitious vision."

Read The Box Plymouth’s 2025/26 Annual Review.

Find out more about The Box Plymouth at www.theboxplymouth.com.