Dorchester Abbey Museum

About the museum

Dorchester Abbey Museum was founded in 1960 by Edith Stedman, an American who spent more than thirty years raising funds for the abbey. It occupies part of the ground floor of the Abbey Guest House, a building that belonged to the abbey until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s.

After the Dissolution the house became a home for the Ashfield family from 1544. In 1652 John Fettiplace turned it into a grammar school with twenty original pupils, and from 1801 it was a private boarding school. It was Dorchester National Boys' School from 1858 to 1896. In 1960 part of the ground floor opened as the museum.

The main display, Dorchester through the Ages, covers prehistoric, Roman, Saxon and later periods, with objects found in and around the village, including a model Roman house and a flint hand axe at least 40,000 years old. The museum also runs the Cloister Gallery, a covered walkway on the north wall of the abbey that shows medieval worked stone and sarcophagi. The museum is an independent accredited museum and a registered charity, run by about 30 local volunteers.

Highlights

• Dorchester through the Ages, from prehistory to recent times
• Model Roman house and objects from a local dig
• Flint hand axe at least 40,000 years old
• Cloister Gallery of medieval worked stone in the abbey
• Fettiplace indenture of 1635 that founded the grammar school

Permanent exhibitions

• Dorchester through the Ages – Finds from prehistoric, Roman, Saxon and later Dorchester, including a model Roman house.
• The Cloister Gallery – A covered walkway on the abbey's north wall showing medieval worked stone and sarcophagi.

Founded

1960

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free entry; donations are welcome to help care for the collections and fund new displays and events.

Accessibility

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

The museum is in a 15th-century building with uneven floors and steep steps to both entrances; physical access is challenging and may not be possible for large pushchairs and wheelchairs. The Cloister Gallery in the abbey and a touchscreen about the museum and the village are accessible by wheelchair. Toilets are in the courtyard behind the museum (one accessible) and an accessible toilet is at the far end of the Cloister Gallery. Assistance, guide and companion dogs are always welcome, with a water bowl in the courtyard of the adjoining tearoom.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

Dorchester-on-Thames is 9 miles south of Oxford. Sat-nav postcode OX10 7HH.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Small shop selling local gifts, books and walking guides. The Dorchester Abbey Tearoom is next door; The Snug Café, The George Hotel and The White Hart Hotel are also nearby.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit