Totnes Museum

About the museum

Totnes Museum occupies an Elizabethan merchant’s house on Fore Street that was built around 1575. It has long been linked with the local merchant Walter Kellond, although recent research has cast doubt on this, and the museum says there is always more of the story to uncover. The house is Grade I listed and owned by Totnes Town Council.

The former Borough Council bought the building in 1958, renovated it extensively and turned it into a museum, which opened in 1961. Before then the town’s collection had been kept in the Guildhall. The museum counts the house itself as its most important object, and in 2025 it marked 450 years since the house was built.

Today the museum is run by Totnes Museum Trust, an independent charity governed by volunteer trustees, and it is staffed entirely by volunteers without external funding. Its galleries show objects and stories from the history of Totnes and its people, with small displays that change from visit to visit and a changing window display in the entrance area.

Behind the house, a courtyard garden in the style of an Elizabethan herb garden leads to Totnes Archive, which holds a reference library, a photograph collection and historic documents for research.

Highlights

• Elizabethan merchant’s house from about 1575, Grade I listed
• Galleries with objects and stories of Totnes and its people
• Display about local writers in the Bennett Room
• Courtyard herb garden leading to Totnes Archive
• Written guides in Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish

Permanent exhibition

• Museum galleries – Displays of objects and stories from the history of Totnes in a Grade I listed Elizabethan merchant’s house, with small changes made throughout the building.

Founded

1961

Operated by

Totnes Museum Trust

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Entry is free, but the museum receives no external funding and relies on donations. Gift Aid allows it to reclaim an extra 25p for each £1 donated. Visits to the archive for research are charged by the hour. Guided tours when the museum is closed are possible, depending on volunteer availability, for a charge per person.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom: not available
• 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 Grade I listed building has mainly original, uneven floors, narrow doorways and steps into many rooms and galleries, and outside there are cobbles, uneven surfaces and steps. Ramps give access to some areas on the ground floor, and access for visitors with reduced mobility is limited to the ground-floor galleries. The two upper floors can be reached only by a steep spiral staircase with a handrail and a rope, and a second short, steep staircase leads from the kitchen to a gallery on the first floor. There are steps up to the garden and archive. Assistance dogs are welcome (they must be insured); other dogs are not allowed in the museum or garden. Volunteers can help visitors, a sighted guide for visitors with visual impairments is often available on request, and seating is provided in most galleries. There are no public toilets; the nearest are in Market Square.

Kids & families

School and group visits are welcome on opening days by email arrangement and are self-guided. Group leaders must supervise their own pupils, and volunteers can help on request. The building has steps, narrow doorways and a steep spiral staircase.

Getting there & parking

The museum is at 70 Fore Street in the centre of Totnes; the nearest public toilets are in Market Square.

Amenities & dining

There is no public toilet in the museum; the nearest are in Market Square. The courtyard garden is a quiet place for a break, and visitors who bring a drink or snack are asked to take their cups and packaging away.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit