Seaford Museum

About the museum

Seaford Museum is housed in Martello Tower No. 74, the westernmost of a chain of coastal forts built in the early 19th century to guard the south coast against a feared invasion by Napoleon. The tower was built between 1806 and 1810. The War Department sold it in 1880, and later it served a series of commercial uses, among them a roller-skating rink in the moat and a cafeteria in the 1930s.

Lewes District Council bought the tower in 1976, and the Seaford Museum and Heritage Society opened the museum there in 1979. The society is a registered charity and runs the museum with volunteers.

Visitors cross the dry moat by a ramp and enter through the thick tower wall. A lift and ramps lead down to the moat level, where displays cover the history of Seaford and its time as a seaside resort, local shipwrecks and sea defences, and everyday life. There are re-created Victorian and wartime kitchens, a chemist's shop, a general store and a wartime bomb shelter, as well as an archaeology room with a hoard of Neolithic axe heads and Roman coins. A stair leads up to the gun platform, with views along the coast.

Highlights

• Napoleonic Martello Tower with gun platform and coast views
• Restored ship figurehead "Phoebe"
• Neolithic axe head hoard and Roman coins found near Seaford
• Re-created Victorian and wartime kitchens, shops and bomb shelter
• Victorian bathing machine and model of Seaford station c.1922
• George Jakens archive of local streets and buildings

Permanent exhibitions

• Seaford history and everyday life – Moat-level displays on the town, its seaside past, Victorian and wartime homes and shops, and a wartime bomb shelter.
• Archaeology in the Magazine – Finds from the Seaford area, including a hoard of Neolithic axe heads and Roman coins.
• George Jakens Archive and Kathleen Aires Room – Local archive of streets and buildings from about 1834, with local history books and paintings.

Founded

1979

Operated by

Seaford Museum & Heritage Society

Admission & discounts

Members of Seaford Museum and Heritage Society and of Newhaven Maritime Museum enter free.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• 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

Visitors enter by a ramp over the dry moat and a passenger lift serves the main exhibition level, with ramps throughout the lower level, so no stairs need to be used. A wheelchair is kept at the museum for visitors to transfer into. Motorised scooters cannot go down to the lower level. The accessible toilet is nearby, outside the museum. A Blue Badge bay is right outside the tower.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Hands-on stations

There is a children's dressing-up area. School and youth groups such as Cubs and Guides are welcome.

Getting there & parking

The tower is near the cliffs at the eastern end of the seafront. For satnav the museum suggests BN25 1JH.

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Museum shop

There is a gift shop at reception and an online shop. No refreshments are served. The museum has no toilets; visitors use the public toilets outside.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit