Athelstan Museum

About the museum

The Athelstan Museum began with a letter to the Wiltshire Gazette dated 19 February 1931, which announced the plan to set up a museum in Malmesbury and asked for donations. The collection was first kept in the Town Hall and could be seen by appointment. In 1975 it moved to Gloucester Street, but those premises were soon judged unsafe and the museum returned to the Town Hall in 1979.

The Friends of Athelstan Museum started in 1981 as a supporters' club. In 2006, as the Town Hall was about to be sold to Malmesbury Town Council, the Friends took over the running of the museum, and in 2007 they took over the collection as well. Volunteers moved the displays to temporary premises while the Town Hall was restored, helped by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant, and the museum reopened in its permanent home in the Town Hall. It became a charitable incorporated organisation in 2017.

In 2017 the museum also bought the former Moravian Church, which was renovated as the Julia and Hans Rausing Building and opened in December 2018 for museum events and hire. A Turner watercolour of Malmesbury Abbey was bought in 2018 and unveiled in the museum in 2021. The displays follow a timeline that links the town with national and world events, and the museum has been run entirely by volunteers since 2006.

Highlights

• Roman coin hoard of 1,266 coins and a Romano-British coffin
• Turner watercolour of Malmesbury Abbey
• Displays on King Athelstan, Eilmer the flying monk and Thomas Hobbes
• Topographical model of the town
• Malmesbury Voices audio collection
• Coin-operated tiger called Tyger

Permanent exhibitions

• Malmesbury timeline displays – Displays arranged along a timeline that links the town with national and global events, from the Iron Age to the present day.
• Roman coin hoard – A hoard of 1,266 Roman coins shown with a Romano-British coffin and a topographical model of the town.
• Turner painting of Malmesbury Abbey – A watercolour of Malmesbury Abbey by J. M. W. Turner, shown upstairs with the Malmesbury Voices audio collection.

Founded

1931

Operated by

Athelstan Museum Malmesbury (registered charity 1174110)

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission is free. Donations are welcome, because the museum receives no government funding.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

A wheelchair lift serves the mezzanine floor and a wheelchair can be borrowed. Disabled toilets are nearby, and disabled parking is at the near end of the Cross Hayes car park. Dogs on a lead are allowed inside the museum.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide

A small children's area upstairs offers activity sheets and crayons, and children can look for the toy tigers hidden around the museum. The museum holds History Club for Children afternoons in the Rausing Building. Children aged 16 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

Getting there & parking

Malmesbury is just off the A429, about five miles north of junction 17 of the M4.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

The museum shop is in the reception area and sells local history books, cards, gifts and children's items. Public toilets are in the Town Hall.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

The Julia and Hans Rausing Building, a converted Moravian church, can be hired throughout the year for talks, concerts, workshops, meetings and conferences. It has projector and sound equipment with a hearing loop, adjustable lighting, flexible table layouts and kitchen facilities. Bookings: bookings@athelstanmuseum.org.uk.

Plan your visit