Wareham Town Museum

About the museum

Wareham Town Museum grew out of the Wareham Pictorial Museum, a private collection assembled by the local historian and former mayor Harry Broughton and his wife. In 1960 the couple opened their home in North Street to the public. When that collection later closed, Wareham Town Council took it over to keep it safe, and in 1974 it became the official town museum, first on St John's Hill.

In 1984 the museum moved to its present home in the Town Hall, in the centre of the town. A major refurbishment in 1998, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, gave it the layout it still has, and new displays have been added since through fundraising and grants. The most recent permanent addition, a display on Saxon Wareham with a reproduction sword, opened in 2016.

Today the museum is run by volunteers with the support of the town council and holds Arts Council accreditation. Its displays cover archaeology, geology, pottery and social history, as well as the Kimmeridge Woman skeleton from the Iron Age, a dinosaur display, the history of the Royal Naval Cordite Factory, the First World War and the great fire of 1762. A growing section is devoted to T. E. Lawrence and his last years in Dorset. The council has also set out plans for a larger, two-floor museum next to the Town Hall and Corn Exchange.

Highlights

• Display on Saxon Wareham with a reproduction Saxon sword
• Kimmeridge Woman, an Iron Age skeleton
• Section on T. E. Lawrence and his last years in Dorset
• Royal Naval Cordite Factory and First World War displays
• Dinosaur, geology and pottery displays

Permanent exhibitions

• Museum displays – Displays on archaeology, geology, pottery, social history, Saxon Wareham, the Royal Naval Cordite Factory and the First World War.
• T. E. Lawrence section – A growing collection about T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and his final years in Dorset.

Founded

1974

Operated by

Wareham Town Council (run with volunteers)

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission is free; donations are welcome in the boxes by the museum door.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• 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

The museum states that it is fully accessible to wheelchair users.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

The museum runs family activities such as seasonal trails and hands-on object-handling sessions for children, some of them held at Wareham Library.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in the centre of Wareham next to the main traffic lights and the Town Hall; sat nav postcode BH20 4NS.

Amenities & dining

A 17-minute video about the museum and its collections is shown on site.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit