Stromness Museum
An independent Victorian museum in Stromness showing Orkney's maritime and natural history, Scapa Flow wartime displays and seafaring collections.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Stromness Museum belongs to the Orkney Natural History Society, which was founded on 28 December 1837 to support natural science and to build a museum of natural history and antiquities. It is one of the oldest independent museums in Scotland. The society first rented a room in Victoria Street, then moved to a hotel on the same street while it looked for a permanent home.
With the help of the town authorities, the present building at 52 Alfred Street was put up in 1858. The museum reopened there on 29 December 1862 and at first used only the first floor, with the town hall on the ground floor below. When the town hall moved in the 1920s, the society bought the old hall at auction and expanded into the ground floor, where a new gallery opened in 1931. In the 1990s the neighbouring Pilot's House at 56 Alfred Street was added at the rear and refitted for new displays, while the museum kept its original Victorian character.
Today the museum is run by volunteers elected from the society's members and is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Its galleries cover social and maritime history, wartime and Scapa Flow, natural history, ethnography and seafaring. The collections have been catalogued and put online, and temporary exhibitions are shown through the year.
Highlights
- Maritime history of Orkney and the Hudson's Bay Company links
- Wartime and Scapa Flow displays
- Natural history collections, including birds, fossils and geology
- Ethnography and seafaring galleries
- Victorian building with the Captain's Parlour
- Searchable online collections and blue plaque walk
- Founded
- 1837
- Operated by
- Orkney Natural History Society Museum SCIO
Admission & discounts
| Adults | £8 |
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| Reduced | £5Students |
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 15 · Children under 16 are admitted free. |
| Students & apprentices | £5 |
Standard admission is £8.00 for adults, £5.00 for students; under-16s are free.
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
Access is limited because of the age of the building. The entrance and ground floor are level, with a slight slope up to the upper ground-floor gallery. A stair lift serves the Natural History collection, but the other galleries have no step-free access. To reach the Captain's Parlour, visitors can ask the custodian on duty to arrange access from the pier. There is an accessible toilet at street level, and hand rails are fitted. Only assistance dogs are allowed.
Kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 15 |
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- Baby changing facilities
Baby changing facilities are available. Children under 16 enter free.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Stromness ferry terminal and bus stop
The museum is at the south end of Stromness, about a 15 to 20 minute walk from the ferry terminal and bus stop.
By car
Parking available
Parking on site is limited.
From the ferry terminal, walk to the Pier Head, follow the main street south past Graham Place and turn at Hellihole Road, where a blue sign points to the museum. What3words location: verbs.placed.crusaders.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
An online shop is run by the museum. No visitor café is mentioned on the website.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Good to know | A floor plan and a Top 10 highlights guide can be downloaded from the website, as can a self-guided blue plaque trail of Stromness. Only assistance dogs are allowed inside. |
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