Lancaster City Museum

About the museum

The museum occupies the Old Town Hall on Market Square, a Grade II* listed building designed by Major Thomas Jarrett and built between 1781 and 1783. The cupola was added to a design by Thomas Harrison, and the building was extended in 1871 and 1886. Besides the council chamber it once housed the town court, with cells, and two bank branches. When the council moved to a new building in Dalton Square in 1910, the old hall was left free, and it opened as the city museum in 1923.

The galleries and dioramas lead visitors through the history of Lancaster from prehistoric times to the present day, with displays on Roman and Viking Lancaster, local industries and trades, costume and daily life. Among the best-known objects are a Roman tombstone found in the area in 2005, showing a cavalry soldier with a defeated enemy, and the Viking-age Silverdale Hoard, which the museum acquired after its discovery in 2011. A fine art collection includes paintings connected with the city, and a temporary exhibition space shows changing displays.

The building also houses the separate King's Own Royal Regiment Museum. The City Museum is one of three museums run by Lancaster City Council, together with the Maritime Museum and the Cottage Museum.

Highlights

• Roman tombstone found in Lancaster in 2005
• Silverdale Hoard from the Viking period
• Immersive galleries and dioramas on Lancaster's history from prehistory to today
• Fine art collection with paintings of the city
• Georgian Old Town Hall of the 1780s on Market Square

Permanent exhibitions

• Lancaster through time – Galleries with objects and dioramas following the city's history from the prehistoric era to the present, including Roman, Viking and industrial Lancaster, costume and local trades.
• Fine art collection – Paintings with a connection to Lancaster, shown alongside the history displays.

Founded

1923

Operated by

Lancaster City Council

Admission & discounts

Residents of the Lancaster District (postcode areas LA1 to LA6) enter free. The £5 ticket is for one adult from outside the district. Free entry with a National Art Pass.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: not available
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description

The ground floor, including the shop and temporary exhibition gallery, is level and can be entered by a ramp beside the main steps. Most of the galleries are on the first floor, which is reached by stairs and a platform lift for manual wheelchairs only; only one wheelchair user is allowed upstairs at a time, and the lift has at times been out of service, so visitors should check before coming. There are no public toilets in the museum; the nearest accessible toilet is in the Marketgate Shopping Centre. Two Blue Badge spaces are on New Street behind the museum. A hearing loop is installed, wheelchairs can be borrowed, and sensory backpacks with ear defenders and fiddle toys can be borrowed at the front desk. A touch unit with audio description headphones is on the first floor. Assistance dogs are welcome, and water is available at reception.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Baby changing facilities: not available

The galleries include hands-on games and activities for families, and sensory backpacks can be borrowed at the front desk. There are no public toilets and so no baby changing facilities in the museum.

Getting there & parking

The museum stands on Market Square in the centre of Lancaster.

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Museum shop

There is no café in the museum; cafés are nearby on Market Square. The shop is on the ground floor beside the admission desk.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit