Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery

About the museum

The museum occupies the former officers' quarters of an army barracks in Old Portsmouth. The barracks were first built in 1760 behind St Nicholas Street and were renamed Clarence Barracks in 1827. A parade ground and new officers' quarters followed in 1893, and by 1911 the site housed more than 6,000 men together with the neighbouring Cambridge Barracks.

The Royal Navy took over the site in 1939 and the Women's Royal Navy occupied it from 1948, when it was renamed the Duchess of Kent Barracks. The barracks were decommissioned by 1967 and most buildings were demolished, but the officers' quarters were spared. Portsmouth City Council acquired them in 1972 and they became the city museum.

The collections cover local and military history, archaeology, art, natural history and the life of the author Charles Dickens, who was born in the city. The museum is run by the council's museum service, which also looks after the D-Day Story, Southsea Castle, the Dickens Birthplace Museum and the Eastney Engine Houses. It is currently closed while its galleries are transformed for the Portsmouth100 exhibition, marking 100 years of Portsmouth as a city, which opens on 26 October 2026.

Highlights

• Portsmouth100 exhibition on the city's first century (from 26 October 2026)
• Collections of local history, art and archaeology
• Material linked to Charles Dickens
• Victorian Parlour with induction loop
• Café and garden with games to hire

Founded

1972

Operated by

Portsmouth City Council (Portsmouth Museums)

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission; donations are welcome. Activity trails are available for a small fee.

Accessibility

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

Automatic front door and a very small incline into the building; some ground between the parking bays and the doors is uneven, with cobbles in places. A lift serves all three floors and changes of level on the first floor are ramps. A Changing Places toilet is available. Induction loops are installed at reception and in the Victorian Parlour; some video displays have no subtitles. Wheelchairs can be borrowed on request. Free disabled parking spaces are inside the museum compound. Guide, hearing and assistance dogs with tabards are allowed in all galleries. There is no quiet room, but quieter visits can be arranged in advance.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Baby changing facilities
• Playground / play area

Trails for children are available for a small fee. Baby changing facilities are provided and the garden has play equipment and benches; garden games can be hired. Breastfeeding is welcome.

Getting there & parking

By car take the M275, follow signs for the city centre, then the A3 towards the seafront and turn right at the Kings Road roundabout into Museum Road. What3words: ample.trials.fame.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Café and garden (Tuesday to Sunday) and a shop selling books, postcards and keepsakes. Other dogs may be walked on leads in the gardens.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

The venue can be hired for functions and meetings.

Plan your visit