Crewkerne and District Museum and Heritage Centre

About the museum

Crewkerne and District Museum was founded in 1988 and is run by volunteers as an independent museum. It is housed in the Heritage Centre on Market Square, a listed building whose oldest part started life as a Somerset longhouse around the sixteenth century. The museum has won awards for its work.

The galleries explore how ordinary local people lived and worked at different times. Crewkerne was a Saxon royal mint, a coaching stop for travellers and a centre of the textile industry, and one gallery shows sailcloth, linen and webbing made in the town. Other rooms recreate a grammar school and a haberdashery shop and an old kitchen with memories from years gone by.

The museum also tells the story of local figures. A display is devoted to Ralph Reader, the Crewkerne-born producer of the Gang Show, and another remembers the local First World War hero Fred Fox. A courtyard with a small garden shows further objects, and the Andrew Room upstairs shows archive photographs and can be hired for meetings.

Highlights

• Ralph Reader and the Gang Show display
• Galleries on the local weaving and textile industry
• Recreated grammar school, haberdashery shop and old kitchen
• Courtyard in the oldest part of the building
• Free entry

Permanent exhibitions

• Ralph Reader and the Gang Show – A display on the Crewkerne-born theatre producer Ralph Reader and the Gang Show.
• Weaving and textile industry – Gallery on sailcloth, linen and webbing made in Crewkerne and the local people who worked in the industry.
• Grammar school, haberdashery and old kitchen – Recreated rooms showing school life, a shop and a kitchen from years gone by.

Founded

1988

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Entry is free; donations are welcome. Schools pay £1 per child for group visits.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• 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

The ground floor has no steps and is mostly flat from the pavement, and there is an accessible toilet on that floor. The ground floor and outside courtyard are accessible to everyone. A lift serves the first floor, but the first-floor galleries are reached by a staircase from Gallery 3 or three steps from the lift area, and the museum states that neither staircase is wheelchair friendly because the building is listed.

Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

The museum runs hands-on sessions for school and youth groups such as Brownies, Scouts and Rainbows.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in the Heritage Centre on Market Square in the town centre.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Reception sells souvenirs, local publications and books. Free WiFi is mentioned only for hirers of the Andrew Room. Refreshments for groups can be arranged on request.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Up to 35 guests.

The first-floor Andrew Room seats up to 35 for small meetings, training sessions and functions. It has a lift, toilets, kitchen use and free WiFi, and costs £30 per session or £50 for a whole day (2026).

Plan your visit