Poole Museum (formerly known as the Waterfront Museum) is a maritime museum, gallery and cultural centre, situated on the Lower High Street in the Old Town area of Poole, Dorset, and is owned by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. Entrance to Poole Museum is free, [1] and the museum was the fifth most visited free attraction in South West England in 2015. [2]
A major transformation of the museum took place in 2025 The renovated museum opened in November after removal of non-historic partitions and structures opening up the space horizontally and vertically and enabling the architecture to be seen and better appreciated. Remodelling and refurbishment of the Town Cellars as a new permanent gallery and Scaplen’s Court as a visitable historic house and garden has more than doubled the public space.
The centrepiece of the museum is the 2,000-year-old Poole Logboat, an Iron Age vessel which was found in 1964 during dredging work in Poole Harbour. [3] Other galleries have displays telling the history of Poole from prehistory through to the 21st century. [4]
In 2025 two exhibitions were held in the museum: Sound of the Sea exhibition created by Marpi Studio and inspired by real marine life and Un/Common People; a touring exhibition celebrating the rich traditions, seasonal customs and creativity of Wessex, past and present.