Lawrence House Museum
Launceston local history museum in a Georgian town house on Castle Street, currently open as a pop-up museum on High Street.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Lawrence House is a Grade II* listed town house at 9 Castle Street in Launceston, and it is described by the museum as a National Trust house. The building has not been modernised, and its galleries are spread across the basement, ground and first floors. They include themed rooms such as the Mayor's Parlour, the War Room, the Toy Room, the Launceston Room and the Railway Room, a herbarium, a costume collection and a scale model of part of the pre-Beeching railway. Notable local people, among them the astronomer John Couch Adams and the poet Charles Causley, are celebrated on the ground floor.
The museum is a registered charity that relies on donations and on a Friends membership. Items in the collection include a working Polyphon, a nineteenth-century musical box that plays a metal disc, a bone ship model linked to Napoleonic prisoners and a silver penny of William I minted in Launceston.
The main house closed during the Covid lockdown in 2020 and then stayed shut for repairs to damp damage. While the building work is carried out, the museum runs a pop-up museum with rolling exhibitions in the Merchant's House at 13 High Street. No reopening date for the main house has been announced.
Highlights
- Pop-up museum with changing local history displays
- Working Polyphon, a nineteenth-century disc musical box
- Costume collection and a herbarium
- Scale model of part of the Launceston railway
- Collections linked to John Couch Adams and Charles Causley
- Operated by
- Lawrence House Museum (registered charity)
Admission & discounts
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible: no information
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom: no information
- 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
No access information is published for the pop-up museum, so visitors should call 01566 773277. In the main house, which is closed, the ground floor can be reached by a ramp at the Castle Street entrance and the basement and first floor only by stairs, with no lift. A large-print gallery guide is available and assistance dogs are welcome.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
By car
No on-site parking at the museum.
The museum has no dedicated parking. The nearest public car parks are on Castle Street, Tower Street and Westgate Street.
The pop-up museum is on High Street, opposite the Co-op. From Market Square on Broad Street, walk to High Street; it is the second door on the right.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| School programs | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | Schools can learn about the history of Launceston and the surrounding area. Groups of ten or more must book in advance. |
