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- Schoolchildren on a visit to Priest's House Museum
- Visitors browse the exhibits at Shaftesbury Abbey Museum & Garden
- Visitors at the Red House Museum and Gardens
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Sturminster Newton Mill
Sturminster Newton Mill is still in good working order, the present mill dates from the mid16th century with considerable mechanical renovation in the early 20th century, although there has been a... -
Sherborne Steam and Waterwheel Centre
Sherborne Steam and Waterwheel Centre, formerly known as Castleton Waterwheel Museum, is run by a local group of volunteers who over the past 25 years have rescued the waterwheel and its house from... -
The Tank Museum
The Tank Museum is the only place where many of these rare and historic vehicles can be seen. Fresh from a £16m investment in new exhibitions & facilities, with almost 200 vehicles on...
Welcome to the Dorset Museums website
There’s something for everyone in Dorset’s museums and galleries from the Victorian splendour of the Russell Cotes Art Gallery and Museum in the West to the amazing array of dinosaur fossils to be found in Lyme Regis Museum on the County’s eastern border.
This site provides a gateway to everything Dorset museums have to offer.
Find out more about all the museums near you or use the search function to plan a perfect day discovering Dorset’s fascinating history.
Planning a Fun Day for the Family or Scheduling a School Trip?
The Facilities and Learning sections on the museum information pages will help you discover which Dorset museums are best suited to your needs and interests.
Latest News
Unlocking the Bankes Archive Project Conference
Saturday 16th June 2018, 10am – 4.30pm
Queen Elizabeth’s School, Wimborne
Bookings are now open for this exciting conference highlighting the work Dorset History Centre has been undertaking on one of Dorset’s largest and most significant archive collections – that of the Bankes family of Kingston Lacy and Corfe Castle.
The keynote speakers include:
Anna Sebba, author of ‘The Exiled Collector: William Bankes and the Making of an English Country House’
Martin Papworth, Wessex Regional Archaeologist for the National Trust
Patricia Usick, author of ‘Adventures in Egypt and Nubia: The Travels of William John Bankes (1786–1855)’
Professor Henry French, Professor of Social History at the University of Exeter
Check the Bankes website for further details: https://dcc.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/bankes-archive/bankes-archive-conference/