The Castle Heritage Centre

About the museum

The Castle was built in 1830 by Sir Goldsworthy Gurney, a Cornish surgeon, inventor and engineer, who put up the middle section of today’s building on sand dunes on land rented from the Acland family. Gurney is known for the Bude Light, a bright lamp that burned oil with added oxygen, for the limelight used on Victorian stages and for the Gurney stove used to heat churches and the Houses of Parliament.

Later residents extended the house to roughly its present size. Gurney’s niece, Lady Nicholson, and her husband took over the lease in 1930, and she later bought the property from the Acland family. In 1947 she sold it to Bude Urban District Council, and the building housed several council functions, including the magistrates’ court and the town library.

The building was converted into a heritage centre in 2007 and is owned and managed by Bude-Stratton Town Council. It sits beside the Bude Canal near Summerleaze Beach. The exhibits cover the history of the area from prehistory to the present day, and volunteers run an archive of material about Bude, Stratton and the surrounding parishes. The centre also holds galleries, a café and a gift shop.

Highlights

• Gurney Rooms on the inventor’s steam carriage, light experiments and steam jet
• Bude fossil fish and shipwreck collections, including a figurehead
• Bude Canal history with a model of the inclined plane
• The Bude Rangers, American troops who trained here before D-Day
• Free entry, café and local archive

Permanent exhibitions

• Gurney Rooms – First-floor rooms on Sir Goldsworthy Gurney’s inventions, including his steam carriage, light experiments and steam jet, with interactive displays.
• Shipwrecks Collection – Objects from local wrecks, including a cabinet from the SS Belem and the William Tapscott figureheads.
• The Bude Rangers – An exhibition about the American troops who trained on Bude’s cliffs before D-Day, with timelines and original objects.

Founded

2007

Operated by

Bude-Stratton Town Council

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission is free from Wednesday to Sunday. Family activity trails cost £2 each.

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

The entrance is on the ground floor, reached by sloped pavements. A lift to the first floor holds two people or one wheelchair or mobility vehicle, and staff show another route if it is out of service. The accessible toilet on the ground floor also serves as a baby-changing facility. Two disabled parking spaces are next to the building, and a Blue Badge must be displayed. Information is available in large print, easy read, audio, braille and accessible PDF on request. Coated assistance dogs are welcome at all times.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Baby changing facilities

The Castle Detective (£2) is a family activity sheet with puzzles and trails, and Spot Buddy Bear! (£2) is a trail for ages 3–7 with a free sticker on completion. The Gurney Rooms and The Bude Rangers have interactive elements, and a magnifying lens lets children study the fossil fish.

Getting there & parking

The Castle stands in the sand dunes by Summerleaze Beach, alongside the Bude Canal.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Café Limelight has a conservatory and an outdoor patio, and the gift shop is on the first floor. The galleries and the café are on the first floor, reached by the lift.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Weddings / ceremonies

The centre offers event hire and wedding support, and the town council holds community events on the lawn and bandstand.

Plan your visit