Teddy Bear Museum

Over het museum

The museum opened in 1990 in Bournemouth as The Bournemouth Bears. In 1995 it moved to Dorchester and was renamed Teddy Bear House, and it later settled in its present early Victorian building at the Eastgate, on the corner of High East Street and Salisbury Street. The museum describes itself as the oldest teddy bear museum in Britain.

The displays are arranged as the home of Edward Bear, a life-sized teddy bear, and his family of people-sized bears. The house is furnished as a period home, and the bears collect other teddy bears, which gives visitors a way into the collection. The oldest bear dates from 1906.

The collection covers more than a hundred years of teddy bear making, from early antique bears to bears from the late twentieth century. It includes work by makers such as Steiff, Merrythought, Chiltern, Chad Valley and the Ideal Toy Company, as well as replicas of record-breaking auction bears. Well-known fictional bears and their friends, among them Winnie the Pooh, Rupert, Paddington and Aunt Lucy, Sooty and Yogi Bear, have their own displays. A period-style shop sells new and vintage bears for collectors, and school and group visits invite children to compare home life in Edwardian times with today.

Hoogtepunten

• Life-sized Edward Bear and his family in a furnished Victorian house
• Antique bears from 1906 by Steiff, Merrythought, Chad Valley and others
• Replicas of record-breaking auction bears
• Winnie the Pooh, Rupert, Paddington, Sooty and Yogi Bear
• Period shop for collectors of new and vintage bears

Vaste collectie

• Edward Bear's house and the teddy bear collection – A furnished early Victorian house where life-sized bears live and collect teddy bears, with displays from antique bears to television favourites.

Opgericht

1990

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

Tickets are sold at the admission desk and are not available online. The museum website says the current ticket also covers the Terracotta Warriors exhibition and gives free re-entry until 31 October 2026. Joint tickets with the Dinosaur Museum, the Tutankhamun Exhibition and the Terracotta Warriors Museum are available.

Toegankelijkheid

• Rolstoeltoegankelijk: geen informatie
• Lift: geen informatie
• Aangepast toilet: geen informatie
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats: geen informatie
• Hulphonden welkom: geen informatie
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

A local tourism listing says the museum is on the upper floor of a listed building and is reached by stairs.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Speurtocht, doeboekje of kinderaudiotour

The museum describes itself as a family museum. School visits let children compare life and homes from Edwardian times to the present day, and a free worksheet is provided for each child.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

The museum is signposted from the main car parks in Dorchester and is a two-minute walk from the Dinosaur Museum.

Service & horeca

• Museumwinkel

A period-style shop sells new and vintage teddy bears by makers such as Steiff, Merrythought, Dean's and Gund; items can also be bought online.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

Je bezoek plannen