List of museums in Norfolk

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This list of museums in Norfolk, 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

Many of these museums are members of Museums Norfolk (formerly the Museums in Norfolk Group). Museums Norfolk is the representative organisation for museums in the county, and its membership includes museums from both Norfolk Museums Service (NMS) and independent museums. Details of each member museum, opening times and events are given on its website www.museumsnorfolk.org.uk.


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/CityRegionTypeSummary
100th Bomb Group Memorial Museum Thorpe Abbotts Control Tower.jpg Thorpe Abbotts South Norfolk MilitaryHistory of the 100th Bomb Group at RAF Thorpe Abbotts in World War II
389th Memorial Exhibition Museum Hethel South Norfolk Military website, history of RAF Hethel and the 389th Bombardment Group, open on specific days
Ancient House, Thetford Thetford Breckland Local website, Tudor merchant's house with local history and period rooms displays
Barton House Railway Wroxham Broadland RailwayHeritage miniature railway and museum with Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway memorabilia and artefacts
Bishop Bonner's Cottage Museum East Dereham Breckland Local website, local history, archaeology, operated by the Dereham Antiquarian Society
Blickling Hall, Gardens and Park BlicklingHall.JPG Blickling Broadland Historic houseOperated by the National Trust, Jacobean stately home with reflecting four centuries of use, museum about use by RAF Oulton in World War II
Blitz and Pieces Blitz Street House.jpg Scratby Great Yarmouth MilitaryLife in England (the Home Front) during World War II and Dad's Army
Bressingham Steam & Gardens Bressingham Steam Museum and Gardens 13.jpg Bressingham South Norfolk TechnologySteam railway engines, tractors and other vehicles
Burston Strike School Burston South Norfolk EducationCentre of the longest running strike in British history, between 1914 and 1939
Caister Castle Motor Museum Caister Castle 2.jpg Caister-on-Sea Great Yarmouth TransportationFine and rare veteran, vintage, classic, sports and touring automobiles and motorcycles, bicycles, horse-drawn vehicles, pedal cars and other related items
Castle Acre Priory Castle Acre Priory.jpg Castle Acre King's Lynn and West Norfolk ReligiousOperated by English Heritage, history and remains of the medieval priory
Charles Burrell Museum Thetford Breckland IndustryExhibits about Charles Burrell & Sons manufacturers of traction engines, agricultural machinery, steam trucks wagons and tram engines
City of Norwich Aviation Museum CNAM Mystere IVA.jpg Horsham St Faith Norwich AviationMilitary and civilian aircraft, history of aviation in Norfolk
Clifton House, King's Lynn Clifton house tower.JPG King's Lynn King's Lynn and West Norfolk Historic house website, merchant's house with historic interiors dating from the 13th to the 18th centuries, and five-storey Elizabethan tower
Collectors World Downham Market King's Lynn and West Norfolk MultipleCurrently closed, [1] includes Magical Dickens Experience with Victorian period street tableaux, photos and equipment of James Lafayette, Aero Museum with aero engines from Rolls-Royce and Armstrong Siddeley, rooms about author Barbara Cartland, Admiral Horatio Nelson, actress Liza Goddard, the 1960s, telephones, horse-drawn carts and carriages, farming and household memorabilia, an old cobblers shop, and antique and unusual dolls
Colman's Mustard Shop and Museum Norwich Norwich Food website, store and museum of Colman's mustard memorabilia
County School Station County School Railway Station - geograph.org.uk - 1894292.jpg North Elmham Breckland RailwayWorld War II period station and museum for the Mid-Norfolk Railway
Cromer Museum Cromer North Norfolk Local website, local history, culture, geology, Victorian fisherman's cottage display
Custom House, King's Lynn Kings-lynn-customs-house.JPG King's Lynn King's Lynn and West Norfolk MaritimeExhibits about the merchants, customs men and smugglers of Lynn, Horatio Nelson and George Vancouver
Dad's Army Museum Thetford Breckland Media/Local website, exhibits about Dad's Army and its links with Thetford
Denver Windmill Denver Windmill.jpg Denver King's Lynn and West Norfolk MillEarly 19th-century restored windmill, currently closed
Diss Museum Diss South Norfolk Local website, local history
Elizabethan House Museum Elizabethan House Museum - geograph.org.uk - 1018577.jpg Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth Historic house website, reflects different periods from the Elizabethan to the Victorian eras
Fakenham Museum of Gas and Local History Fakenham Gas Works - geograph.org.uk - 1899049.jpg Fakenham North Norfolk Industry website, information, former gasworks used in the manufacture of gas from coal, displays of gas-powered lighting, heating, cooking and domestic equipment
Felbrigg Hall Felbrigg Hall, near Holt, Norfolk - geograph.org.uk - 45780.jpg Felbrigg North Norfolk Historic houseOperated by the National Trust, 17th-century country house with Jacobean exterior and sumptuous Georgian interior
Fishermen's Heritage Centre Sheringham North Norfolk Maritime website, information, Sheringham's private lifeboats, including the Henry Ramey Upcher , the fishermen who crewed them and the lives they led, Peter Coke Shell Gallery [2]
Forncett Industrial Steam Museum The Forncett Industrial Steam Museum - geograph.org.uk - 1360823.jpg Forncett South Norfolk TechnologyCollection of large stationary steam engines
The Forum ForumNorwich.JPG Norwich Norwich ArtIncludes Fusion, a digital screen gallery for art
Great Bircham Windmill Bircham Windmill, Great Bircham.jpg Great Bircham King's Lynn and West Norfolk MillMid 19th-century windmill
Great Yarmouth Row Houses Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth Historic houseOperated by English Heritage, early 17th-century merchants' houses later sub-divided into tenements
Green Britain Centre Swaffham.JPG Swaffham Breckland EcologyGreen energy (including solar and wind power), transportation options without oil, and organic gardening
Green Quay King's Lynn King's Lynn and West Norfolk Multiple website, environment and natural history of the Ouse Wash, history of shipping and trading
Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse Gressenhall Breckland Multiple website, historic workhouse, heritage farm, agriculture and rural life displays, costumes, steam engines, historic farm machinery and farming implements
Gunton Sawmill Gunton Saw Mill - geograph.org.uk - 1936852.jpg Erpingham North Norfolk Industrial website, preserved saw mill in working order owned by the Norfolk Windmills Trust, run by the Norfolk Industrial Archeology society
Harleston Museum Harleston South Norfolk Local https://archive.today/20150317225629/http://www.visiteastofengland.com/Harleston-Harleston-Museum/details/?dms=3&venue=0227282 information], local history
Holkham Hall Holkham Hall wing.jpg Holkham North Norfolk Multiple18th-century Palladian style country house with opulent interiors, walled gardens, Bygones Museum with toys, household implements, agricultural tools, vintage cars and steam engines, and an exhibition on the history of farming
Horsey Windpump Horsey Windpump 01.jpg Horsey North Norfolk MillOperated by the National Trust, drainage windmill pump
Houghton Hall Houghton Hall 01.jpg Harpley King's Lynn and West Norfolk Historic house18th-century Palladian-style country house built for Britain's first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole
John Jarrold Printing Museum Norwich Norwich History website, historic printing equipment
King's Lynn Arts Centre King's Lynn King's Lynn and West Norfolk Art website, performing and visual arts centre with galleries
Letheringsett Watermill Letheringsett Watermill west elevation.jpg Letheringsett with Glandford North Norfolk MillWorking early 19th-century watermill
Lydia Eva Steam Drifter Lydia Eva.jpg Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth MaritimeLast surviving steam-powered herring drifter museum ship
Lynn Museum King's Lynn King's Lynn and West Norfolk Local website, local history, archaeology, social history
Marshland Maritime Museum Clenchwarton King's Lynn and West Norfolk Military website, open by appointment only, naval memorabilia
Mid-Norfolk Railway Class 101 Diesel Multiple Unit - geograph.org.uk - 1449812.jpg Dereham Breckland RailwayHeadquarters and museum for the heritage railway
Mo Sheringham Museum Sheringham North Norfolk LocalLocal history, lifeboats, fishing industry
Muckleburgh Collection Muckelbourgh collection.JPG Weybourne North Norfolk MilitaryHistory and memorabilia of RAF Weybourne, Suffolk and Norfolk Yeomanry, naval and civilian ship models, weapons, missiles, tanks, aircraft and other military vehicles
Mundesley Maritime Museum Mundesley Maritime Museum - geograph.org.uk - 204932.jpg Mundesley Norwich Local website, local maritime heritage and social history
Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell Norwich Norwich Local website, local industries, culture, people's daily lives
Museum of Straw Work and Crafts Colby North Norfolk Art information, items crafted from straw including corn dollies, marquetry, Swiss straw lace, plaits, embroidery, jewellery
Museum of the Broads The Museum of the Broads, Stalham - geograph.org.uk - 165570.jpg Stalham North Norfolk Local website, boats, heritage of the Broadland waterways
Nelson Museum Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth MilitaryLife and naval history of Admiral Horatio Nelson
Norfolk Motorcycle Museum North Walsham North Norfolk Transportation website, motorcycles from the 1920s to the 1960s
Norfolk Tank Museum Forncett South Norfolk Military website, Cold War militaria including Main Battle Tanks, armoured personnel carriers, small arms, military memorabilia and uniforms
Norwich Arts Centre Norwich Norwich ArtPerforming arts centre with exhibit galleries
Norwich Castle Norwich castle.JPG Norwich Norwich MultipleTours of the castle, dungeon and battlements, exhibits of fine and decorative arts including costume, textiles, jewelry, glass, ceramics and silverware, exhibits of archaeology, Ancient Egypt, natural history, Anglo Saxon and Viking artifacts
Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral, spire and south transept.jpg Norwich Norwich ReligiousVisitor centre with exhibits about the cathedral and art exhibits
Old Gaol House & Regalia RoomsKings lynni King's Lynn and West Norfolk Multiple website, 1930s police station, old jail cells, city treasures and regalia
Oxburgh Hall Oxburgh Hall 20080719-01.jpg Oxborough Breckland Historic houseOperated by the National Trust, 15th-century moated country house
Peter Coke Shell Gallery Sheringham North NorfolkArt website, sculptures and arrangements formed from seashells from around the world, adjacent to Fishermen's Heritage Centre
RAF Air Defence Radar Museum Horning North Norfolk Military website, located at RAF Neatishead, history of the military radar station in World War II and the Cold War
RAF Sculthorpe Heritage Centre Fakenham North Norfolk Militarywebsite, Learn about the stories of East Anglias only USAF Atomic Drop bomb base.
RNLI Henry Blogg Museum Cromer North Norfolk Maritime website, Cromer lifeboat crews and their most famous coxswain Henry Blogg
Royal Norfolk Regimental Museum Norwich Norwich MilitaryRegimental artefacts and memorabilia
Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts Scva.jpg Norwich Norwich ArtPart of the University of East Anglia, collections include modern art, art from Africa, the Pacific, the Americas, Asia, Egypt, medieval Europe and the ancient Mediterranean, Art Nouveau decorative art, abstract and constructivist art, architecture and design
Sandringham Estate Sandringham - geograph.org.uk - 1062504.jpg Sandringham King's Lynn and West Norfolk Historic housePrivate home of the British Royal Family, includes late 19th-century house with furnishings, Sandringham Museum with royal collection of gifts, vehicles, ceramics, photographs and memorabilia
Seething Control Tower Museum The buildings at Seething Control Tower - geograph.org.uk - 1426556.jpg Seething South Norfolk Military website, located at Seething Airfield, history of the 448th Fighter-Bomber Group at RAF Seething in World War II
Shell Museum Museum of shells - geograph.org.uk - 242242.jpg Glandford North Norfolk Natural history website, seashells, fossils, birds' eggs, agate ware, local archaeological finds
Stow Mill Paston, Stow Mill.jpg Paston North Norfolk Mill website, early 19th-century windmill
Stalham Firehouse Museum Stalham Norwich Firefighting website
Strangers' Hall NorwichNorwichHistoric houseTudor and Stuart period rooms
Strumpshaw Hall Steam Museum 2005 0819 Red Traction Engine.JPG Strumpshaw Broadland TechnologySteam traction engines, rollers, a wagon and a showman's engine
Swaffham Museum Swaffham Town Hall.jpg Swaffham Breckland Local website, local history and culture
Thursford Collection Thursford North Norfolk TechnologySteam engines, organs and fairground attractions
Time and Tide: The Museum of Great Yarmouth Life The old curing works at Great Yarmouth - geograph.org.uk - 1067984.jpg Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth MaritimeArea fishing, shipbuilding and other maritime trades, merchant trade and lifesaving, herring fishing and curing
Toad Hole Cottage How Hill North Norfolk Local website, information, home and working life on the marshes of The Broads in the early 20th century
The Tolhouse Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth Prison website, 12th-century medieval former merchant's house turned into a prison
True's Yard Fisherfolk Museum True's Yard King's Lynn.JPG King's Lynn King's Lynn and West Norfolk Maritime website, exhibits about the historic fishing community
Walsingham Abbey Grounds and Shirehall Museum WalsinghamAbbeyRemains.jpg Walsingham North Norfolk Religious website, ruins of the medieval abbey, museum with exhibits on the abbey and local history
Whitwell & Reepham Railway Station Whitwell Station - a Baguley-Dewry No7 - geograph.org.uk - 1255543.jpg Reepham Broadland RailwayHistoric railway station under restoration
William Marriott Museum Spare stock at the William Marriott museum - geograph.org.uk - 1477182.jpg Holt North Norfolk RailwayRailway artefacts of the North Norfolk Railway
Wolterton Hall Erpingham North Norfolk Historic houseRestored Georgian country house and park
Wymondham Heritage Museum Wymondham Heritage Museum (The Bridewell) - geograph.org.uk - 1290507.jpg Wymondham South Norfolk LocalLocal history, culture, former prison, police station and courthouse
Wymondham Station Wymondhame.jpg Wymondham South Norfolk RailwayFeatures collection of railway memorabilia

Defunct museums

See also

Related Research Articles

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

Norfolk is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and east, Cambridgeshire to the west, and Suffolk to the south. The largest settlement is the city of Norwich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Anglia</span> Region of England

East Anglia is an area in the East of England. It comprises the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, with Cambridgeshire and Essex also included in some definitions. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in what is now Northern Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Yarmouth</span> Seaside town in Norfolk, England

Great Yarmouth, often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located 20 miles (32 km) east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, mainly for herring, shrank after the mid-20th century and has all but ended. North Sea oil from the 1960s supplied an oil-rig industry that services offshore natural gas rigs; more recently, offshore wind power and other renewable energy industries have ensued.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horning</span> Village in Norfolk, England

Horning is an ancient village and parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of 11 km2 and had a population of 1,033 in the 2001 census. Horning parish lies on the northern bank of the River Bure south of the River Thurne and is located in The Broads National Park. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of North Norfolk, although areas alongside the rivers and broads fall into the executive area of the Broads Authority.

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

Lowestoft is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. As the most easterly UK settlement, it is 110 miles (177 km) north-east of London, 38 miles (61 km) north-east of Ipswich and 22 miles (35 km) south-east of Norwich, and the main town in its district. The estimated population in the built-up area exceeds 70,000. Its development grew with the fishing industry and as a seaside resort with wide sandy beaches. As fishing declined, oil and gas exploitation in the North Sea in the 1960s took over. While these too have declined, Lowestoft is becoming a regional centre of the renewable energy industry.

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

Swaffham is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District and English county of Norfolk. It is situated 12 miles east of King's Lynn and 31 miles west of Norwich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoveton</span> Human settlement in England

Hoveton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is located within the Norfolk Broads, and immediately across the River Bure from the village of Wroxham. Whilst Hoveton is north of the river, Wroxham is south; but many people refer to the whole settlement as "Wroxham".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norwich</span> City and non-metropolitan district in Norfolk, England

Norwich is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about 100 mi (160 km) north-east of London, 40 mi (64 km) north of Ipswich and 65 mi (105 km) east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with one of the country's largest medieval cathedrals, it is the largest settlement and has the largest urban area in East Anglia. The population of the Norwich City Council local authority area was estimated to be 144,000 in 2021, which was an increase from 143,135 in 2019. The wider built-up area had a population of 213,166 in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cromer</span> Coastal town in Norfolk, England

Cromer is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is 23 miles north of Norwich, 116 miles north-northeast of London and four miles east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local government authorities are North Norfolk District Council, whose headquarters is on Holt Road in the town, and Norfolk County Council, based in Norwich. The civil parish has an area of 4.66 km2 and at the 2011 census had a population of 7,683.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hopton-on-Sea</span> Human settlement in England

Hopton-on-Sea is a village, civil parish and seaside resort on the coast of East Anglia in the county of Norfolk. The village is 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Great Yarmouth, 5 miles (8.0 km) north-west of Lowestoft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Litcham</span> Human settlement in England

Litcham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated some 10 km (6.2 mi) north-east of the town of Swaffham and 40 km (25 mi) west of the city of Norwich. The village is located on the B1145 a route which runs between King's Lynn and Mundesley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cockley Cley</span> Village and civil parish in England

Cockley Cley is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village covers an area of 17.94 km2 (6.93 sq mi) and falls within the district of Breckland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felmingham</span> Human settlement in England

Felmingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is located 2 miles (3.2 km) west of North Walsham and 13 miles (21 km) north of Norwich, along the B1145 between King's Lynn and Mundesley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mileham</span> Village in Norfolk, England

Mileham is a village approximately midway between East Dereham and Fakenham in Mid Norfolk with a population of 563 people in 2011. The village sits astride the B1145 Kings Lynn to Mundesley road that dissects Mid Norfolk west to east. It is the old coaching road from Kings Lynn to Norwich and then on to Great Yarmouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hickling, Norfolk</span> Human settlement in England

Hickling is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is 22 miles south-east of Cromer, 20.3 miles north-east of Norwich and 137 miles north-east of London. The village lies 3 miles east of the Broadlands town of Stalham. The nearest railway station is at Worstead for the Bittern Line which runs between Sheringham, Cromer and Norwich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norwich 12</span> Initiative in Norwich

Norwich 12 was an initiative by the Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust (HERT) to develop 12 of Norwich's most iconic buildings into an integrated family of heritage attractions to act as an international showcase of English urban and cultural development over the last 1,000 years.

Norfolk Museums Service (NMS), formerly Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service (NMAS), is a county-wide museums service that presides over ten museums in Norfolk, operated by Norfolk County Council and headed by the council's Director of Culture and Heritage, Steve Miller. It notably runs Norwich Castle Museum, Strangers' Hall, and the Time and Tide Museum, and also operates a study centre at Shirehall.

References

  1. ↑ "Collectors World of Eric St John-Foti a tourist attraction in Downham Market, Norfolk, to visit | tourUK.co.uk". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2013. Tour UK
  2. ↑ "Peter Coke Shell Gallery". Sheringham Society. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "Visit". Dragon Hall. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015. Dragon Hall is now closed to visitors. On 1 April 2015 the Writers' Centre, Norwich will be moving into Dragon Hall.
  4. ↑ "end of an era". www.fenlandcitizen.co.uk. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  5. ↑ "Iceni Centre, formerly the Iceni Village, closes despite attempted revival". Watton & Swaffam Times. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "Norwich Inspire Discovery Centre to close this weekend". Eastern Daily Press. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Litcham Museum". Litcham. Retrieved 25 January 2015. The Litcham Museum is located at Fourways on the Mileham Road IT IS NOW CLOSED TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC
  8. ↑ "Town House Museum". Maritime Heritage East. Retrieved 18 March 2015. This Museum was closed in 2011
  9. ↑ "Closure of Yesterday's World – Great Yarmouth". Yesterday's World. 12 November 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
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