List of museums in Dorset

Last updated

This list of museums in Dorset, England contains museums which are defined for this context as institutions (including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing. Also included are non-profit art galleries and university art galleries. Museums that exist only in cyberspace (i.e., virtual museums) are not included.

Contents

To use the sortable table, click on the icons at the top of each column to sort that column in alphabetical order; click again for reverse alphabetical order.

NameImageTown/CityTypeSummary
Anvil Point Lighthouse Anvil point lighthouse durlston dorset.jpg Swanage MaritimeLighthouse open for tours, located within Durlston Country Park
Athelhampton AthelhamptonHouse.jpg Dorchester Historic house15th-century manor house and gardens
Beaminster Museum Beaminster Local website, local history, archaeology, agriculture
Bennetts Water Gardens Chickerell Multiple8-acre (32,000 m2) garden, collection of water lilies, local history museum
Blandford Fashion Museum Blandford Fashion website, costumes and accessories from the 1730s to the 1970s
Blandford Town Museum Blandford Local website, local history, trades, archaeology, military, railway
Bridport Museum Bridport Local website, local history, textiles, fossils, art
Bournemouth Aviation Museum Aircraft outside the Bournemouth Air Museum, Hurn. - geograph.org.uk - 348820.jpg Hurn AviationAirplanes, engines, cockpits, a double-decker bus
Bournemouth Natural Science Society Bournemouth Natural history website, open for events and open house days, includes preserved plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, eggs and shells, fossils, rocks and minerals, archaeological artifacts and an Egyptology collection
Bournemouth University Atrium Gallery Bournemouth Art website, works by both university students and contributing artists
Castletown D-Day Centre Isle of Portland MilitaryHistory of Portland Harbour's role in the Normandy landings [1]
Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre.jpg Charmouth Natural historyFossils and rocks of the Jurassic Coast
Chettle House Chettle Historic house information, 18th century Queen Anne house and gardens
Clouds Hill Clouds Hill - geograph.org.uk - 13321.jpg Wareham Historic houseOperated by the National Trust, former home of T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia")
Corfe Castle Town Museum Corfe Castle Local website, local history, geology, marble industry
Dinosaur Museum Dinosaur Museum - geograph.org.uk - 53366.jpg Dorchester Natural historyDinosaurs, full size models, fossils of the Jurassic Coast
Dinosaurland Fossil Museum Segnosaurus nest 2.jpg Lyme Regis Natural historyLocal Jurassic marine fossils, dinosaurs, geology of the Jurassic Coast, shells, evolution
Dorset Museum Dorset County Museum - geograph.org.uk - 32713.jpg Dorchester MultipleLocal history, natural history, art, archaeology, agriculture, author Thomas Hardy, fossil and dinosaurs
Dorset Teddy Bear Museum Dorchester Toy Teddy bears
The Etches Collection The Etches Collection building, Kimmeridge, Dorset.jpg Kimmeridge Natural historyFossils
Fiddleford Manor Fiddlefordmanor.jpg Sturminster Newton Historic houseOperated by English Heritage, medieval small stone manor house
Forde Abbey Chard Historic houseFormer Cistercian monastery, house and gardens
TheGallery at Arts University Bournemouth Bournemouth Art website, contemporary art gallery
Gillingham Museum Gillingham Local website, local history, trades, geology, industry
Gold Hill Museum Shaftesbury Local website, local history, culture, industry
Grove Prison Museum Isle of Portland PrisonHistory of HM Prison Portland [2]
Highcliffe Castle Highcliffe Castle 2.jpg Highcliffe Historic house19th century Romantic and Picturesque style castle, grounds laid out by Capability Brown
Keep Military Museum The Keep Military Museum, Dorchester, Dorset-16Sept2009.jpg Dorchester MilitaryHistory of the regiments of Dorset and Devon
Kingston Lacy Kingston Lacy House (South).jpg Wimborne Minster Historic houseOperated by the National Trust, 17th-century house with fine art, Egyptian artifacts, lavish interiors, gardens
Langton Matravers Museum Langton Matravers Local website, local history, geology, limestone industry
Lulworth Castle Lulworth Castle 01.jpg East Lulworth Historic house17th century mock castle manor house
Lyme Regis Marine Aquarium Lyme Regis Natural history website, local fish and marine life of the Jurassic coast, history of The Cobb harbour wall
Lyme Regis Museum Lyme Regis Museum 01.JPG Lyme Regis MultipleFossils, geology, Jane Austen, local history, maritime heritage, writers and artists, formerly known as the Philpot Museum
Mangerton Mill Bridport Mill information, 3 story watermill
Mapperton House Beaminster Historic houseElizabethan manor house and gardens
Max Gate Max Gate Dorchester.jpg Dorchester Historic houseOperated by the National Trust, home of author Thomas Hardy
Museum of Design in Plastics BournemouthArt website, collection of the library of the Arts University Bournemouth, international, historical and contemporary design examples of plastic items and uses
Nothe Fort Nothe Fort entrance.jpg Weymouth Military19th-century fort with important role in World War II, memorabilia, vehicles
Place Mill Christchurch Mill website, restored Anglo-Saxon watermill, art gallery
Poole Museum Poole Museum Entrance.jpg Poole LocalLocal history, ceramics and Poole Pottery, archaeology, maritime and social history, local trades and industries, costume and textiles; formerly known as the Waterfront Museum
Poole Old Lifeboat Museum and Shop PooleMaritimeFormer lifeboat station and historic lifeboat
Portland Bill Lighthouse Portland Bill Lighthouse - geograph.org.uk - 24037.jpg Isle of Portland MaritimeLighthouse open for tours
Portland Castle Portland castle closeup.jpg WeymouthMilitaryOperated by English Heritage, 16th century armed castle fort
Portland Museum Ammonite.600pix.jpg Isle of PortlandLocalLocal history, geology, maritime heritage, archaeology
Priest's House Museum Wimborne Minster Historic houseRooms furnished in different periods, local history, archaeology
Purbeck Mineral and Mining Museum Corfe Castle MiningLocated at the Norden railway station, history and equipment for ball clay mining
Red House Museum, Dorset Red House Museum Christchurch Dorset.JPG ChristchurchLocal information, information, local and social history, natural history, geology, archaeology, costumes
Royal Signals Museum Typex-blandford-processed.jpg Blandford Forum MilitaryNational museum of army communications
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum RussellCotesExterior1.jpg BournemouthArtFine art and Japanese art in a Victorian mansion
Scaplens Court Museum Poole History website, medieval building used for education programs, special domestic life demonstrations in August
Shaftesbury Abbey Museum Shaftesbury Abbey 3.jpg Shaftesbury ReligiousArtifacts from the ruins of a 15th-century Benedictine nunnery
Sherborne Castle Sherborne Castle 03.jpg Sherborne Historic houseOperated by English Heritage, 16th-century Tudor mansion and gardens
Sherborne House Arts Bridport Art website, art gallery of the Bridport Arts Centre
Sherborne Museum Sherborne Museum.jpg SherborneLocalLocal history, trades, industry, household items
Sherborne Steam & Waterwheel Centre SherborneTechnology website, restored 19th century waterwheel used to deliver town's water, formerly known as the Castleton Waterwheel Museum
Shire Hall Dorset DorchesterPrison website, also known as Old Crown Court and Cells, courtroom, cells and stocks restored to appear as during the trial of the Tolpuddle Martyrs in 1834
Stock Gaylard Sturminster Newton Historic house website, small Georgian country house, gardens and estate
Sturminster Newton Mill Sturminster NewtonMill website, working watermill
Sturminster Newton Museum Sturminster NewtonLocal website, local history, culture
Sutton Poyntz Water Supply Museum Weymouth History website, history of water supplying, natural history of watersheds, operated by Wessex Water Services
Swanage Museum Swanage Local website, local history, geology and history of the Jurassic Coast, stone industry, local development of early radar in the UK during World War II
Swanage Railway Corfe Castle railway station 2.JPG Corfe Castle RailwayHeritage railway and museum located in the converted Goods Shed in Corfe Castle railway station
The Tank Museum Bovingtonpano.jpg Wool MilitaryTanks and armoured vehicles
Terracotta Warriors Museum Dorchester History website, replicas of warriors of the Terracotta Army found in China in 1974
Thomas Hardy's Cottage Thomas Hardy's cottage (in 2005).jpg Higher Bockhampton Historic houseOperated by the National Trust, birthplace of author Thomas Hardy
Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum Tolpuddle martyrs museum.jpg Tolpuddle HistoryTrade union history of 19th-century English agricultural labourers who were convicted of swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers
Town Mill, Lyme Regis Lyme Regis Mill website, restored working watermill, complex also houses art galleries, a café/restaurant, craft studios and workshops, a bakery, a mill shop and the Miller's garden
Tudor House WeymouthHistoric houseEarly 17th century period merchant's house, operated by the Weymouth Civic Society
Tutankhamun Exhibition DorchesterHistoryRe-creation of the tomb of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun
Wareham Town Museum Wareham museum ext.jpg Wareham LocalLocal history, T. E. Lawrence, archeology, local pottery
West Bay Discovery Centre The Methodist Chapel, West Bay - geograph.org.uk - 1086489.jpg West Bay LocalVisitor centre covering the history of West Bay, housed in a former Methodist chapel [3]
Weymouth Museum Brewers Quay Weymouth.jpg WeymouthLocalPart of Brewers Quay, local history, culture, maritime history
White Mill, Sturminster Marshall Sturminster Marshall Mill website, operated by the National Trust, part of the Kingston Lacy estate, restored watermill
Wolfeton House Charminster Historic houseEarly Tudor and Elizabethan manor house

Defunct museums

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorset</span> County of England

Dorset is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south-east, the English Channel to the south, and Devon to the west. The largest settlement is Bournemouth, and the county town is Dorchester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christchurch, Dorset</span> Town and civil parish in England

Christchurch is a town and civil parish on the south coast of Dorset, England. The parish had a population of 31,372 in 2021. It adjoins Bournemouth to the west, with the New Forest to the east. Part of the historic county of Hampshire, Christchurch was a borough within the administrative county of Dorset from 1974 until 2019, when it became part of the new Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridport</span> Town in Dorset, England

Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England, 2 miles (3.2 km) inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the Asker. Its origins are Saxon and it has a long history as a rope-making centre. On the coast and within the town's boundary is West Bay, a small fishing harbour also known as Bridport Harbour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland Harbour</span> Port in Dorset, England

Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its 520-hectare (1,300-acre) surface area made it the largest human-made harbour in the world, and it remains one of the largest in the world today. It is naturally sheltered by Portland to the south, Chesil Beach to the west and mainland Dorset to the north. It consists of four breakwaters: two southern and two northern. These have a total length of 4.57 km (2.84 mi) and enclose approximately 1,000 ha of water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nothe Fort</span> Fort in Weymouth, Dorset, England

Nothe Fort is a fort in Weymouth, Dorset, England, situated at the end of the Nothe Peninsula, which juts eastwards from the town of Weymouth, and Weymouth Harbour, into the sea to the north of the ex-military Portland Harbour. The fort is located next to Nothe Gardens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorset Museum</span> Museum in Dorchester, Dorset

The Dorset Museum is located in Dorchester, Dorset, England. It was known as the Dorset County Museum until 2021. Founded in 1846, the museum covers the county of Dorset's history and environment. The current building was built in 1881 on the former site of the George Inn. The building was designed specifically to house the museum's collection and is in the neo-Gothic style.

Mudeford is a harbourside and beachside parish based on a former fishing village in the east of Christchurch, Dorset, England, fronting water on two sides: Christchurch Harbour and the sands of Avon Beach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weymouth, Dorset</span> Town in Dorset, England

Weymouth is a sea-side town and civil parish in the Dorset district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, on the English Channel coast of England. Situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey, 11 km (7 mi) south of the county town of Dorchester, Weymouth had a population of 53,427 in 2021. It is the third-largest settlement in Dorset after Bournemouth and Poole. The greater Weymouth urban area has a population of 72,802.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balaclava Bay</span> Bay in Dorset, England

Balaclava Bay is a bay situated on the edge of Portland Harbour, where the breakwater meets the island, at the northern end of the Isle of Portland, Dorset, in southern England. The bay is overlooked by the Victorian East Weare Battery, built in the 1860s to protect the harbour. The nearest road within the dockyard of Portland Port is named Balaclava Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brewers Quay</span> Historic Victorian landmark in Weymouth, England

Brewers Quay is a converted Victorian brewery on the south side of Hope Square near the Old Harbour in Weymouth, Dorset, southern England. Much of the complex dates from 1903–04, when it was built as the Hope Brewery for John Groves & Sons Ltd. It was later taken over by Devenish Brewery in 1960 and opened in 1990 as an indoor shopping complex with around twenty specialty shops together with heritage and science exhibits, until it closed in 2010. From 2013-17, the building housed an antiques emporium. It currently awaits redevelopment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weymouth Museum</span>

Weymouth Museum is a museum in Weymouth, Dorset, England. Its permanent home is in Brewers Quay on the south side of Hope Square near Weymouth Harbour. It is currently closed while the Brewers Quay building is being redeveloped.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timewalk</span>

The Timewalk was an exhibition and visitor attraction located in Brewers Quay, Weymouth, Dorset. It opened in 1990 and closed in 2010. One of Weymouth's most popular attractions, Timewalk took visitors on a journey covering the town's history and maritime connections from the 14th century onwards. It was told by the brewery cat, Miss Paws, and her eight feline ancestors. The attraction aimed to "recreate the sights, sounds and smells, of six hundred years of maritime history".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devenish Brewery</span>

Devenish Brewery, also known as J. A. Devenish & Co. Ltd, was a brewery in Weymouth, Dorset, England, that was founded in 1821 by William Devenish. It primarily operated from Weymouth's Hope Square, but also had a facility at Redruth, Cornwall. Devenish was sold to Greenalls in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridport Museum</span>

Bridport Museum is a museum in Bridport, Dorset, England. It is housed within an early 16th century building known as the Castle, located on South Street. The building has been Grade II* Listed since 1950.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorset Council (UK)</span> Local authority in England

Dorset Council is a unitary local authority for the Dorset district in England covering most of the ceremonial county of Dorset. It was created on 1 April 2019 to administer most of the area formerly administered by Dorset County Council, which was previously subdivided into the districts of Weymouth and Portland, West Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck, and East Dorset, as well as Christchurch, which is now part of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

There are many Grade II listed buildings in the county of Dorset. This is a list of them.

The economy of the County of Dorset in South West England was worth £16.189 billion to the UK economy in 2013.

References

  1. ↑ "Portland dockside D-Day museum opens - BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  2. ↑ "Grove Prison Museum". Portland History. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "West Bay Discovery Centre - Bridport & West Bay". Bridportandwestbay.co.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  4. ↑ "Spark of hope for Christchurch electricity museum". Daily Echo. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.