Dorset / Wiltshire | Discover Britain's Museums

DORSET

Dorset is home to a variety of museums that offer a glimpse into the county's rich history and it's culture.

From impressive military exhibitions to traditional thatched breweries; charming collections to historic birthplaces, you will find a fantastic variety of museums and galleries here in Dorset. If you're visiting Dorchester, don't miss the Shire Hall Historic Courthouse Museum, this immersive museum is a fantastic for visitors of all ages and explores the history of law and order Staying in Dorset's County town of Dorchester you will find the delightful Dorset Museum With permanent exhibitions covering 250 million years of Dorset's history, they also have touring exhibitions to give you something new to see throughout the year.

For literary lovers Dorset is Thomas Hardy's Wessex, this is the landscape that the novelist used time and time again as a backdrop for his tales of love and tragedy. Soak up the scenery and imagine yourself in one of his fictional hamlets. Visit the 'Jewel' in the crown of the Jurassic Coast, The Etches Collection Museum of Jurassic Marine Life situated in the village of Kimmeridge, Dorset. Housing the finest single collection of Late Jurassic age fossils all found by just one man, Dr Steve Etches MBE - you will be mesmerized by sea monsters, prehistoric predators and the marine flora and fauna of 152-157 million years ago when Kimmeridge was but a shallow, tropical sea.

All of the fossils in the collection were found by Steve in the Kimmeridge Bay locality, from the world-famous oil rich Kimmeridge Clay, within 2 miles of where the Museum is located. From fossils to fashion Dorset has it all Blandford Fashion Museum's collection dates from the 1760s to the 1980s and provides a unique history of fashion and accessories, charting the changes in style and manufacture during those years. The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum is a wonderful setting for groups visits Located on Bournemouth's East Cliff, overlooking the sea.

Completed in 1901, this dream house was given by Sir Merton Russell-Cotes to his wife Annie for her 66th birthday. Called East Cliff Hall, the house was an extraordinary, extravagant birthday present, and Annie and Merton filled their exotic seaside villa with beautiful objects from their travels across the world the walls are lined with a remarkable collection of British art, creating a unique atmosphere in a most dramatic setting.