The Museum of the Horse

About the museum

The Museum of the Horse was founded in 2014 and describes itself as the only museum in the UK covering everyday equestrian objects from antiquity to the present day and from many parts of the world. It was inspired by the horse museums at Saumur in France and Verden in Germany. The collection is the result of a lifetime of collecting by Sally Mitchell, and has since grown through donations. It has won a Nottinghamshire Heritage Award.

The museum is on the upper floor of a Georgian coaching inn and posting house on the old Great North Road in Tuxford. The building stood empty and vandalised for about seven years before Sally Mitchell and her son John rescued it and spent several years restoring it. The Grade II listed inn once provided changes of horses for the coaches that passed through, and its former stable yard is now the car park. Sally Mitchell's Gallery occupies the ground floor.

The displays fill nine rooms and two long passageways. They cover transport and coaching, agriculture and industry, warfare, sport and horse racing, with sections on veterinary practice, children's equipment, heavy horse items, side saddles, spurs, stirrups and bridles, and material from Africa, India and the Americas. The oldest items date back to about 600 BC. The museum also offers talks, seminars and school visits.

Highlights

• Antique saddlery, bridles, spurs and stirrups
• Coaching collection and horse rugging from the 19th century
• Veterinary, military and heavy horse items from around the world
• Side saddle collection
• Housed in a Georgian coaching inn on the old Great North Road

Permanent exhibition

• The collections – Nine rooms and two passageways of equestrian objects, including saddlery, coaching, veterinary, military and heavy horse items from antiquity to the 20th century.

Founded

2014

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Entry is free; donations are very welcome. A guided tour (£25) or a "curious object" quiz (£25) can be booked in advance for groups.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: not available
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom: no information
• 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

The museum is on the upper floor up a flight of stairs with no lift, and the Grade II listed building cannot be adapted. The ground-floor gallery below has wheelchair access, with the sleigh and the mail coach on show. A wheelchair is available for visitors who can climb the stairs, and staff can show films and objects downstairs if given advance notice. Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome.

Kids & families

• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide

A free quiz for children can be arranged by calling ahead. The museum has a section on children's equipment. The museum itself is up a flight of stairs.

Getting there & parking

The museum is about one minute off the A1 in North Nottinghamshire, at the junction at the end of the A6075 slip road into Tuxford. There is pedestrian access through the courtyard and a front door on the main road.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

The Chilli Petals coffee shop, gift shop and florist in the courtyard serves light lunches, cream teas and drinks. Toilets are in the coffee shop and the gallery.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Meeting room space and gallery hire are offered, and the museum hosts seminars for other societies.

Plan your visit