Poole Museum (formerly known as the Waterfront Museum) is a currently closed local history museum situated on the Lower High Street in the Old Town area of Poole, Dorset, and is part of the Borough of Poole Museum Service. Entrance to Poole Museum is free, [1] and the museum is the fifth most visited free attraction in South West England. [2]
Opened in 1989 and set in a 19th-century harbour warehouse, Poole Museum illustrates the story of the town and its people. A major refurbishment of the museum took place in 2005 at a cost of £1,300,000 funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and local fundraising. [3] The renovated museum opened in July 2007 with new public facilities including a terrace and a visitor lounge with views over Poole Harbour and the Old Town and a new glass atrium entrance designed by Richard Horden of Horden Cherry Lee Architects. [1]
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] The museum also has a floor devoted to the history of Poole Pottery and some of the company's products are on display. Other galleries have displays telling the history of Poole from prehistory through to the 21st century. [4]
On the third floor of the museum, with a terrace overlooking Poole Harbour, is Cafe Explore, the museum's new cafe, serving breakfast, lunch and tea dishes and drinks. Attached to the main Poole Museum building, in the Grade I listed medieval town cellars, is the Local History Centre, [5] containing an extensive library of material involving Poole's heritage supported by microfilmed and digitised material. Poole Museum Service also manages Scaplen's Court Museum and Garden, situated next to Poole Museum. This is a Grade I listed medieval townhouse, [6] which is opened to the public in August. The Garden is open May to September. [1]
In 2021 the museum was given a £2.24 million grant by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. [7] A revamp will turn the site into a "world-class cultural centre". [8] In May 2022 it was reported that redevelopment costs had increased by 20%. [9] The museum closed for renovation in December 2022 with plans to reopen in late 2024. [10] In May 2023, the Poole Logboat was removed into safe storage. [11]
Since 2014, there has been an exhibition showcasing finds from the Swash Channel Wreck, one of the most important shipwrecks found in British waters. The exhibition traces the history of this high status early 17th century ship and focuses on the excavation and conservation of the wreck. [12] In 2016, the museum held an exhibition entitled "Lines of Thought" that focused on 70 artworks that reveal inner feelings of the artists. [13]
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.
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.
Poole is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is 21 miles (34 km) east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. The town had an estimated population of 151,500 making it the second-largest town in the ceremonial county of Dorset. Together with Bournemouth and Christchurch, the conurbation has a total population of nearly 400,000.
Poole Harbour is a large natural harbour in Dorset, southern England, with the town of Poole on its shores. The harbour is a drowned valley (ria) formed at the end of the last ice age and is the estuary of several rivers, the largest being the Frome. The harbour has a long history of human settlement stretching to pre-Roman times. The harbour is extremely shallow, with one main dredged channel through the harbour, from the mouth to Holes Bay.
Gosport is a town and non-metropolitan borough, on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2021 Census, its population was 81,952. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite the city of Portsmouth, to which it is linked by the Gosport Ferry. Gosport lies south-east of Fareham, to which it is linked by a Bus Rapid Transit route and the A32. Until the last quarter of the 20th century, Gosport was a major naval town associated with the defence and supply infrastructure of His Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB) Portsmouth. As such over the years extensive fortifications were created.
Peterlee is a town in County Durham, England. It lies between Sunderland to the north, Hartlepool to the south, the Durham Coast to the east and Durham to the west. It gained town status in 1948 under the New Towns Act 1946. The act also created the nearby settlement of Newton Aycliffe and later Washington, Tyne and Wear.
Dorset Wildlife Trust (DWT) is a wildlife trust covering the county of Dorset, United Kingdom. The trust was founded in 1961 as Dorset Naturalists' Trust, to protect and conserve the wildlife and natural habitats of the county.
St Mary's Lighthouse is on the tiny St Mary's Island, just north of Whitley Bay on the coast of North East England. The small rocky tidal island is linked to the mainland by a short concrete causeway which is submerged at high tide.
Valence House Museum is the only surviving of the five manor houses of Dagenham. The timber-framed museum building, partially surrounded by a moat, is situated in Valence Park off Becontree Avenue, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, London, England. The building has been used as a manor house, a family home, a town hall, the headquarters of the library service and now houses a museum.
The Poole Logboat is an ancient logboat made from a single oak tree. It was excavated in the town of Poole, Dorset, England. The boat is over 2,200 years old and is estimated through carbon dating to have been constructed around 200–300 BCE, likely around 295BC.
Weston Museum is a museum in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England. It was established in 1861. and is home to North Somerset Council museum collection with exhibits relating to Weston-super-Mare and the surrounding area from 400 million years ago to the present day.
The history of Poole, a town in Dorset, England, can be traced back to the founding of a settlement around Poole Harbour during the Iron Age. The town now known as Poole was founded on a small peninsula to the north of the harbour. Poole experienced rapid growth as it became an important port following the Norman Conquest of England.
Poole Park is an urban park adjacent to Poole Harbour in Poole, Dorset, England. The park was opened during the Victorian era and has remained popular with visitors ever since. It is open all year round and hosts a number of events.
The Swash Channel Wreck is the remains of an early 17th-century armed merchantman possibly of Dutch origin wrecked outside of Poole Harbour. The vessel was approximately 40 m long and has been predicted to be around 600 tonnes. The ship was probably involved with the beginning of internationalization.
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.
The Museum of Wigan Life is a public museum and local history resource centre in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The nineteenth-century listed building is by the noted architect Alfred Waterhouse. It originally housed Wigan Library, where George Orwell researched his book The Road to Wigan Pier in 1936.
Scaplen's Court is a fifteenth century Grade I listed house in Poole, Dorset, England, adjacent to the Poole Museum. The house is now used as a museum focusing on life in Poole between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, and includes a Victorian schoolroom and kitchen.
Poole Civic Centre is an Art Deco municipal building in Poole, Dorset. Since 7 October 2019 the building has been a Grade II listed building. Also sometimes known as Poole Town Hall, the civic centre was the headquarters of Poole Borough Council until 2019.
Poole Town Centre is an area of Poole, Dorset. It is just to the west of Poole Park. Poole Old Town is home to many historic buildings like the 15th-century Scaplen's Court, the 18th-century Custom House and the Victorian St James' Church.
Wrexham County Borough Museum is a local history museum in Wrexham, Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It is located within County Buildings, alongside the Wrexham Archives and a proposed Football Museum for Wales. The building is located on Regent Street, in the city centre. The museum is managed by the Wrexham Heritage & Archives Service, which in turn, is operated by Wrexham County Borough Council as part of its Housing & Economy Department.