The Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon has won a top tourist industry award – a highly sought-after TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence.

This is despite the museum currently being in a transition stage between Cambridgeshire County Council funding and charitable trust status after the authority initially voted to withdraw funding as of April 2015. It was only after a petition organised by the Friends of the Cromwell Museum, which attracted more than 4,000 signatures, that the council voted to grant the museum a reprieve with a view to it being run as a trust.

Despite the museum’s uncertain future, Cambridgeshire County Council’s head of community and cultural services Christine May said: “We’re very proud to see the museum recognised by our visitors as one of the very best in the business and we’d like to thank all the visitors who have taken the time to complete a review on TripAdvisor.”

The online travel site, TripAdvisor, allows visitors to rate attractions, such as museums and galleries, as well as hotels and restaurants. And based on those ratings and comments, the Cromwell Museum has been recognised as a top preforming attraction.

Ms May added: “For anyone who hasn’t yet visited us – we hope this encourages them to come along for themselves. With the school holidays fast approaching why not bring the kids along to this town centre attraction, there’s lots to see and do. They can also follow ‘Ollie’ round the museum and see what he got up to in his school days.”

Bob Pugh, from the Friends of Cromwell Museum, said: “Credit where credit’s due. This award relates to visitor figures for 2014 when the museum was still under council governance. But it shows how valuable and important the museum is to the county. Whatever happens in the future needs to be what’s best for the museum.”