Chalkface.net

- the educational resource centre for teachers by teachers

Museums & Galleries

North East   North West   Midlands   London & South
South West   N. Ireland   Scotland   Wales

Look out for the museums in bold as they have
'Teachers FREE Visit' schemes.

North East

Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust , South Yorkshire

Bass Museum, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire. Free !
History of the beer brewing industry - shire horses, web cams, and Shockwave interactive.

Barley Hall, York.
A medieval oak-framed house, with all items of fixtures and fittings are made using ancient materials and techniques.

Bede's World, Jarrow, Tyne & Wear.
Anglo-Saxon and medieval collections from the excavations of St Paul's Monastery.

Bradford Art Galleries and Museums, West Yorkshire.
Responsible for: Bolling Hall; Bracken Hall Countryside Centre; Bradford Heritage Recording Unit; Bradford Industrial Museum and Horse at Work; Cartwright Hall Art Gallery; Cliffe Castle, Keighley; The Manor House Museum and Art Gallery, Ilkley.

Brantwood, Coniston, Cumbria.
The home of the, 19th century, poet, artist and critic - John Ruskin.

Brontë Parsonage Museum, Haworth, West Yorkshire.
The home of the early 19th century women novelists

The Earth Centre, Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
A Millenium Project provide people with the opportunity to understand, explore, identify with and act on the idea of Sustainable Development.

Eden Camp, Malton, North Yorkshire.
World War II prisoner of war camp

Eturia Industrial Museum, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
Part of: Museums of the Potteries.

Eureka!, Halifax, West Yorkshire.
The Museum for Children.

Fire and Police Museum (Sheffield), South Yorkshire.
History of a local fire and police service.

Ford Green Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
17th to 18th centuries farmhouse. Part of: Museums of the Potteries.

Gladstone Pottery Museum, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
Working pottery. Part of: Museums of the Potteries

Hancock Museum, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Natural history museum.

Hatton Gallery, University of Newcastle.
A varied programme of contemporary and historical art exhibitions, and permanent displays of African sculpture

Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, West Yorkshire. Free !
Devoted exclusively to sculpture in general, with a programme comprising Exhibitions, Collections and Research. Part of: Henry Moore Foundation, Perry Green, Hertfordshire

Jorvik Viking Centre, York.
See also the World of the Vikings.

Leeds University Gallery University Library, Leeds, West Yorkshire.

Museum of Antiquities, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Archaeology in north east England. Includes a Flints and Stones exhibition, with an interactive hunter gatherer food quiz and national curriculum information for teachers.

Museum of Army Transport, Beverley, East Yorkshire.
Military museum.

Museums of the Potteries, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
Responsible for: The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery; The Gladstone Pottery Museum; Etruria Industrial Museum and Ford Green Hall.

National Centre for Popular Music, Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
A unique interactive arts and education centre that celebrates the diversity and influence of popular music. Uses Macromedia Flash

National Coal Mining Museum for England, Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
Industrial museum

National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, Bradford, West Yorkshire.
Part of the National Museum of Science and Industry.

National Railway Museum, York

National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, Bradford.

Old Fulling Mill Museum of Archaeology, Durham.

Path Head Water Mill, Blaydon, Tyne and Wear.

Peter Scott Gallery, University of Lancaster.
Temporary art exhibitions, and permanent displays of fine arts, contemporary ceramics and Royal Lancastrian Pottery.

The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
The world's finest collection of Staffordshire ceramics. Part of: Museums of the Potteries.

Ripon Law and Order Museums, North Yorkshire.
Museums of the history of the local police force, and the operation of the Victorian Poor Law (based in the former workhouse)
Includes: Prison and Police Museum; Museum of the Yorkshire Poor Law

Rotherham Museums and Arts Service.
Responsible for: Clifton Park Museum, Rotherham Art Gallery, York and Lancaster Regimental Museum

Ryhope Engines Museum, Ryhope Pumping Station, near Sunderland.

The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft, Doncaster South Yorkshire.
Transport

Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust , South Yorkshire.
Operates three important museums dedicated to the industrial and social history of Sheffield - 'City of Steel'.
Responsible for: Kelham Island Museum, Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, and Shepherd Wheel

Shefton Museum of Greek Art and Archaeology, Department of Classics, University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Spode Museum, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
Oldest English pottery, ceramics, bone china, earthenware.

York City Museums.
Responsible for: York Castle Museum, The Yorkshire Museum, and York City Art Gallery

The York Dungeon, York.
Museum of horror.

Shardlow Heritage Centre, Derbyshire.
Local history of an 18th century canal transhipment port.

Swaledale Folk Museum, Reeth, near Richmond, North Yorkshire.
Stone walls, village life, lead mining, sheep and cattle farming, etc.

Whitby Museum, North Yorkshire Free !
Local history and archaeology museum.

Windermere Steamboat Museum, Cumbria.

The Wordsworth Museum, Dove Cottage, Grasmere, Cumbria.
Maintained by the Wordsworth Trust.

North West

Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal, Cumbria.
Based in a Georgian villa, with important collections 18th, 19th and 20th century art. The gallery also has an innovative programme of educational activities, lectures and events.

Astley Hall Museum and Art Gallery, Chorley, Lancashire.
Local history museum, housed in a Tudor/Stuart house, with collections of fine art, ceramics and social history. Also news of the Education Service.

Boat Museum, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.
One of the world's largest floating collection of traditional canal craft.

Bolton Museum, Art Gallery and Aquarium, Lancashire.
Houses collections which cover Egyptian Antiquities, British Art from 18th - 20th Century, zoology, botany, geology collections and an activity centre for school parties and children, as well as an aquarium.
Responsible for: Smithills Hall, and Hall i'th'Wood

British Lawnmower Museum, Southport, Merseyside.
Garden machinery history.

Bury Art Gallery and Museum, Greater Manchester.
Victorian paintings, challenging contemporary art and scenes from Bury's past. Includes works by Constable and Turner

Cumberland Pencil Museum, Keswick, Cumbria.
A company museum featuring the history of pencil making.

Catalyst, Widnes, Cheshire.
The only museum in Europe solely devoted to the chemical industry.

Durham University Oriental Museum, Durham.
Only museum in UK devoted to the art and archaeology of the 'Orient' - the civilisations of Asia, the Near East, and the Islamic cultures of North Africa.

Haig Colliery Mining Museum, Whitehaven, Cumbria.
A restored deep coal mine, with two huge steam winding engines.

Hatting Museum, Stockport, Greater Manchester.
History of the hatmaking industry

Ironbridge Gorge Museum, Telford, Shropshire.
Birthplace of the industrial revolution. Including a virtual tour, and the Ironbridge Institute. UNESCO has designated the valley a World Heritage Site.
Responsible for: The Iron Bridge & Tollhouse; Blists Hill Victorian Town; Museum of Iron & Darby Furnace; The Darby Houses; Museum of the Gorge; Coalport China Museum, Jackfield Tile Museum; Broseley Pipeworks, Clay Tobacco Pipe Museum; The Teddy Bear Shop

Jodrell Bank Science Centre, Macclesfield, Cheshire.
Based at the Lovell Radio Telescope and the Jodrell Bank Observatory, the astronomy research centre of the University of Manchester. Has exhibition galleries, a 150-seater Planetarium and the extensive grounds and collections of the Arboretum.

Kendal Museum, Cumbria.
One of the country's oldest museums - founded in 1796. Its collections include local archaeology, history, geology, and natural science from around the world.

Lancashire Museums.
Responsible for: The Museum of Lancashire, Preston; Fleetwood Museum; Lodgings Lancaster, Helmshore Textile Museeums, Rossendale; Queen Street Mill, Burnley; Gawthorpe Hall; Turton Tower, Bolton; Clitheroe Castle Museum; Ribchester Roman Bath Museum; Museum Service to Schools

Macclesfield Museums and Heritage Centre, Cheshire.
Local history, and especially the silk industry. Other collections include the work of well-known bird artist Charles Tunnicliffe, Egyptian antiquities, costumes, textiles and a photographic archive.
Responsible for: Silk Museum, Paradise Mill, West Park Museum, The Heritage Centre

Manchester City Art Galleries.
Paintings, sculpture, ceramics, silver, glass and furniture, especially by 19th and 20th century artists, including the Pre-Raphaelites.

The Manchester Museum.
Botany, Mediterranean, ethnology, mammal and Egyptology galleries.

Manchester United Museum and Tour Centre, Greater Manchester.
Outlines the history of the football club from 1878 to the present day

The Lion Salt Works, Marston, Northwich, Cheshire.

Liverpool Scottish Museum Trust, Merseyside.
Military Museum - limited opening times

Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.
Includes Shockwave Flash, VRML, QTVR, streaming video and CD quality music.

Museum of Transport, Manchester.
The biggest collection of restored vintage buses and coaches in the United Kingdom, with associated objects and archives.

Mythstories, Shrewsbury, Shropshire.
Museum of myth and fable.

National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, Liverpool.
Responsible for: The Conservation Centre; Liverpool Museum; Merseyside Maritime Museum; Anything to Declare? (HM Customs & Excise National Museum); Museum of Liverpool Life; Walker Art Gallery; Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight; Sudley House.

National Waterways Museum, Gloucester.
Tells the 200 year story of Britain's canals through the 'National Collection' of historic waterway vessels.

Nature in Art, Trigworth, Gloucestershire.
The world's first museum exclusively to art inspired by nature, set in a Georgian mansion

North West Film Archive, Manchester Metropolitan University.
The Archive cares for over 24,000 items from the pioneer days of film in the mid 1890s to video production of the present day. The work of both the professional and the amateur is collected. The Site has a searchable on-line catalogue

Ordsall Hall Museum, Salford, Greater Manchester.
Family home of the Radclyffes.

National Tramway Museum, Crich, Derbyshire.
Includes a searchable database of 2,500 photographic images

Quarry Bank Mill, Styal, Cheshire.
A leading museum of the Industrial Revolution and a working cotton mill set in the original buildings dating back to 1784.

St.Helens Transport Museum, Merseyside.
Transport museum with an unrivalled collection of historic buses, coaches, trams, cars and lorries

Shrewsbury Museums Service, Shropshire.
Responsible for: Rowley's House, Shrewsbury Castle, Coleham Pumping Station and Clive House

Shropshire County Museum Service.
Collection areas: agriculture, archaeology, biology, environmental, ethnographic, fine & decorative art, geology, and social history. Also has news on the education, conservation, and outreach services.
Responsible for: Acton Scott Historic Working Farm, Ludlow Museum, and Much Wenlock Museum

Towneley Hall Art Gallery and Museums, Burnley.
A country house museum, set in parkland. Includes a Natural History Centre and a Museum of Local Crafts.

The World of Glass, St.Helens, Merseyside.
Celebrates the past, present and future of glass and the glass industry.

Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester.
Watercolours, drawings, textiles, prints, wallpapers, modern art. Includes a collections database.

Wigan Pier, Lancashire.
Local history presentations and Mill and Engine House.

Wellington Aviation Museum, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire.
Military museum.

Midlands

Althorp House, Northamptonshire.
Ancestral home of the Spencer family, resting place of Princess Diana.

Aerospace Museum, Cosford, Shropshire.

Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Oxford.

Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.
Historic buildings covering seven centuries, rescued and rebuilt on an open-air site

Bate Collection of Musical Instruments, University of Oxford.

Bedford Museum.
Local archaeology, social history, biology and geology.

Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre, Nottingham. Free

Birmingham and Midland Museum of Transport, Wythall, West Midlands.

Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, West Midlands.
Responsible for:Aston Hall, Blakesley Hall, Soho House, Weoley Castle, and the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter

Black Country Living Museum, Dudley, West Midlands.

Bressingham Steam Museum, Diss, Norfolk.
Military museum. Preserved narrow-guage railway, with traction engines, and a Victorian steam roundabout.

Bridewell Museum, Norwich

Bushey Museum and Art Gallery, Hertfordshire.
Local history through collections of artefacts, documents, maps and works of art. Has a large collection (considered to be of national significance) of works, artefacts and ephemera relating to Sir Hubert von Herkomer RA and his famous School of Art.

Cadbury World, Bournville, Birmingham, West Midlands.
Includes the Cadbury Collection, an exhibition on the history of Cadbury's chocolate and the village of Bournville.

Cambridge Museum of Technology.
Preserved Victorian pumping station and working museum on the River Cam.

Carillon (49 Bells) War Memorial and Military Museum, Loughborough, Leicestershire

Carpetbagger Aviation Museum, Harrington, Northamptonshire

Castle Museum, Norwich.
Collections of archaeology, natural history, art and social history

Cricklade Museum, Wiltshire.
Local history museum.

Cromer Museum.
Collections on local history and landscape.

Elgar Birthplace, Lower Broadheath, Worcestershire.
Collections relate to the life and work of the composer Sir Edward Elgar

Faringdon and District Museum, Oxfordshire.

Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge.
Permanent collections include antiquities, applied arts, coins and paintings. See on-line shop.

Museum of Modern Art Oxford

Papplewick Pumping Station, Nottinghamshire

Wellington Aviation Museum, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire

Galleries of Justice, Nottingham.
# Set in Victorian courthouse, with attached gaol (featuring real warders!), and hands-on exhibitions.

Green's Mill, Nottingham.
19th century tower windmill in Sneinton, once owned and operated by George Green (1793-1841), a mathematical physicist and scientist.

Henry Moore Foundation, Perry Green, Hertfordshire.
Aimed at advancing 'the education of the public by the promotion of their appreciation of the fine arts and in particular the works of Henry Moore'. Includes exhibitions, research facilities and guided tours.

Hitchin Museum, Hertfordshire.
Local industries, domestic life, and historical costume.

Leicester City Museums, Leicestershire.
Museums with collections of Egyptology; natural history (including dinosaurs); fine art; paintings; sculpture; pre-historic, Roman and medieval artefacts and costume
[Responsible for: New Walk Museum; Jewry Wall Museum; Newarke Houses Museum; The Guildhall; Abbey Pumping Station; Belgrave Hall and Gardens; Wygston's House; The Great Hall of Leiceter Castle; The Magazine]

Letchworth Museum, Herfordshire.
Natural history, art, archaeology.

Lapworth Museum, University of Birmingham, West Midlands.
Geology and fossils.

Lowewood Museum, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire.
Local history museum.

Lynn Museum, King's Lynn.
Collections on local history, natural science, art and industry. Part of: Norfolk Museums Service

Manor House Museum, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
Horology and art collections.

Midland Air Museum, Coventry Airport,Warwickshire.

Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge.

Museum of British Road Transport, Coventry, Warwickshire.

Museum of Classical Archaeology, University of Cambridge.
Includes a cast collection.

Museum of Modern Art Oxford.
Has established an international reputation for the high quality of its pioneering exhibition programme, which covers twentieth century painting, sculpture, photography, film, video, architecture, design and performance from all over the world.

Museum of the History of Science, University of Oxford.
See special exhibitions and an image library. Latest exhibition: The Garden, the Ark, the Tower, The Temple: Biblical metaphors of knowledge in early modern Europe

Norfolk Museums Service.
In Norwich - Castle Museum; Bridewell Museum; Royal Norfolk Regimental Museum; St Peter Hungate Museum; Stranger's Hall Museum;
In Great Yarmouth - Elizabethan House Museum; Maritime Museum; Toll House Museum and Brass Rubbing Centre;
In King's Lynn - Lynn Museum; Town House Museum of Lynn Life;

Norfolk Rural Life Museum and Union Farm, Gressenhall
Agricultural history museum and traditional working farm.

Cromer Museum

Thetford Ancient House Museum

Northamptonshire Aviation Museum, Harrington, Northamptonshire.

Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Entomology, geology, mineralogy, zoology collections in a Victorian neo-Gothic building.

Papplewick Pumping Station, Nottinghamshire.
A preserved Victorian water pumping station.

Pendon Museum of Miniature Landscape and Transport, Long Wittenham, Oxfordshire.

Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.
Anthropology and Ethnography.

Prickwillow Drainage Engine Museum, Cambridgeshire. Free !

Ramsey Rural Museum, Cambridgeshire.
Holds a collection of artifacts from the Fenland area of Cambridgeshire, particularly Ramsey and surrounding area. Primarily agricultural, the museum also contains many items of interest which give a clear picture of the history of the town.

River and Rowing Museum, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.

Royal Norfolk Regimental Museum, Norwich.
Military museum. Part of: Norfolk Museums Service

Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum, Tring, Hertfordshire].

St Neots Museum, Cambridgeshire.
Local history museum.

St Peter Hungate Church Museum, Norwich.
Collections of religious art and craftmanship. Part of: Norfolk Museums Service

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk.

Sainsbury's Virtual Museum.
Contains a wealth of material, including photographic and documentary sources on shopping for the period 1869 to 1900. It is designed to help teachers use the internet to support the teaching of the following elements of the UK History National Curriculum

Scott Polar Research Institute Archives and Museum, University of Cambridge.
A collection of artifacts, paintings, drawings, photographs, and other material associated with the exploration and scientific study of the Arctic and Antarctic.

Sedgwick Museum of Geology, University of Cambridge.

Thetford Ancient House Museum.
Early Tudor building with local history, industry and natural science displays. Part of: Norfolk Museums Service

Toll House Museum and Brass Rubbing Centre, Great Yarmouth.
Medieval building, used as prison in 19th century. Local history collections. Part of: Norfolk Museums Service

Tom Brown's School Museum, Uffington, Oxfordshire.
Includes the White Horse and Sir John Betjeman.

Town House Museum of Lynn Life, King's Lynn.
Furniture and domestic life from medieval period to 20th century. Part of: Norfolk Museums Service

Wallingford Museum, Oxfordshire.

Stained Glass Museum, Ely, Cambridgeshire.
Based in the cathedral, and dedicated to the promotion, preservation and appreciation of stained glass in Britain

Stranger's Hall Museum, Norwich.
Social history collections. Part of: Norfolk Museums Service

Vale and Downland Museum, Wantage, Oxfordshire.

Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum, Tring, Hertfordshire.
Part of the Natural History Museum, London.

Wolverhampton Art Gallery, West Midlands.
See collections of contemporary, Pop, mid 20th century and Victorian art.

London and South

Amberley Museum, West Sussex.
Outdoor industrial museum based in chalk pits.

Apsley House, The Wellington Museum, London.
'Number One, London', 19th century home of the 1st Duke of Wellington. Part of Victoria and Albert Museum (V & A)

Bank of England Museum and Archive, City of London.

BBC Experience, London.
Interactive exhibition on the history and work of the BBC. Includes RealAudio clips and news of education support.

Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood, London.

Museum of English Rural Life , Reading, Berkshire

The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment Museum, Guildford

Bletchley Park Trust, near Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.
'Britain's Best Kept Secret' where codes were broken during World War II.

British Library, London.
See collections, digital library exhibitions and the Treasures Digitisation Project, which includes the Magna Carta, viewable at various magnifications.

British Museum, London.
See collection highlights and new Cracking Codes - The Rosetta Stone and Decipherment exhibition

Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey. Free !
Transport museum. 'The Birthplace of British Motorsport and Aviation' - the first purpose built motor racing circuit in the world.

Brunel Engine House, London.
Built between 1825 and 1843 by Sir Marc Isambard Brunel as part of the pioneering Thames Tunnel - the first underwater thoroughfare in the World.

Butser Ancient Farm, near Petersfield, Hampshire.
A replica of the sort of farm which would have existed in the British Iron Age circa 300 BC. Also a large open air laboratory where research into the Iron Age and Roman periods goes on using the methods and materials which were available at that time.

Cabaret Mechanical Theatre, Covent Garden, London.
A museum of automata (mechanical sculpture).

Centre for the Study of Cartoons and Caricature, University of Canterbury, Kent.
A research centre and picture library, based upon a unique archive of over 85,000 pieces of original cartoon artwork supported by a reference library of newspaper cuttings, books, catalogues, and AV materials. Includes a searchable database and an Andy Capp Exhibition.

Courtauld Institute of Art, Courtauld Gallery, London.

Cowper and Newton Museum, Olney, Buckinghamshire.
Presents Olney's heritage.

Corporation of London Library and Art Gallery Electronic (COLLAGE).
A computerised information system providing access to some 20,000 images from the combined collections of the Guildhall Library Print Room and the Guildhall Art Gallery. Reproductions can be purchased on-line.

Crabble Corn Mill, Dover, Kent.
A working water mill, cafe and gallery.

Cranbrook and District Museum, Kent.
Local history museum.

De Havilland Heritage Museum (Mosquito Aircraft Museum), Salisbury Hill, Hertfordshire.
Military aircraft collection.

Design Museum, London.

Dickens House Museum, London.
Includes a virtual tour.

Dover Museum, Kent. Local history museum.

Dulwich Picture Gallery, London.

Elmbridge Museum, Weybridge, Surrey.
Local history museum.

Essex Secret Bunker, Mistley.
The former Essex County nuclear war headquarters.

FA Premier League Hall of Fame, London.
The history of football and the legends of the modern game.

Fan Museum, Greenwich, London.
The only museum in the world devoted entirely to every aspect of fans and fan making.

Finchcocks Living Museum of Music, Hammerwood Park House, near East Grinstead, Sussex.
Collection of historical keyboard instruments set in a fine Georgian manor house.

Fighter Collection, Duxford, Cambridgeshire.
Military aircraft collection.

Firepower! The Museum of Royal Regiment of Artillery, Woolwich, London.
Military museum

Florence Nightingale Museum , London.
Collections relating to the life and work of this 19th century pioneer of nursing and healthcare.

Freud Museum, London.
The home of the founder of psychoanalysis

Geffrye Museum, London.
English furniture and decorative arts in a chronological series of period rooms.

Godalming Museum, Surrey.
Local history, industry, geology, archeology.

Gosport Museum, Hampshire.
Part of: Hampshire County Council Museums Service

Guernsey Museums and Galleries.
Responsible for: St Peter Port - Guernsey Museum and Art Gallery, Castle Cornet; St Peter's - Fort Grey

Hackney Museum, London.
Local history museum, with news of its education service, exhibitions, and behind the scenes.

Hampshire County Council Museums Service.
Includes an on-line catalogue with searching and browsing facilities, as well as a museums directory.
Responsible for: Aldershot Military Museum; Allen Gallery, Alton; Andover Museum; Bursledon Windmill; Curtis Museum, Alton; Eastleigh Museum; Flora Twort Gallery, Petersfield; Gosport Museum; Hampshire Farm Museum; Havant Museum; Museum of the Iron Age; Red House Museum, Christchurch; Rockbourne Roman Villa, Fordingbridge, St Agatha's Church; St Barbe Museum, Lymington; Treadgolds of Portsea; Westbury Manor Museum, Fareham; Willis Museum, Basingstoke; Whitchurch Silk Mill

Haslemere Educational Museum, Surrey.
Natural science and human history: geology, botany, zoology, classical archaeology, costume and textile, European folk art, ethnography and local history.

Hayward Gallery, South Bank, London.
Modern art, special exhibitions.

Historic Royal Palaces.
Information on: The Tower of London; Hampton Court Palace; The Banqueting House; Kew Palace; Kensington Palace

The Horniman Museum and Gardens, Forest Hill, London. Free !

House on the Hill Toy Museum, Stansted, Essex.
The largest privately owned toy museum in Europe, with over 30,000 individual items.

Imperial War Museum, London. Free !
Also includes the Cabinet War Rooms, HMS Belfast and RAF Duxford (including the American Air Museum in Britain).

Ipswich Transport Museum, Suffolk.

Jersey Heritage Trust, Channel Islands.
Collections relating to local history, archaeology, art, and natural science.
Responsible for: The Jersey Museum, Hamptonne Country Life Museum, La Houge Bie, Mont Orgueil Castle, Elizabeth Castle, The Occupation Tapestry Gallery, The Maritime Museum, and the Jersey Archive

The Jewish Museum, London.

Kew Bridge Steam Museum, Brentford, Middlesex.

Kew Transport Museum, London.

Kingston Museum, Kingston upon Thames.
Holds a large collection of photographs by Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904).

London Canal Museum, King's Cross.
Transport Museum

London Transport Museum, Covent Garden.

London's Cockney Museum.
The history of London's Cockneys, Pearly Kings and Queens, and Eels Pie and Mash.

Lothbury Gallery, London.
Part of the NatWest Group art collection.

Madame Tussauds, London.
Waxworks.

Montfitchet Castle, Stansted, Essex.
Recreation of a Norman castle on the original site.

Moyse's Hall Museum, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
Archaeology and local history.

Museum of Berkshire Aviation, Woodley, near Reading.

Museum of East Anglian Life, Stowmarket, Suffolk.

Museum of English Rural Life , Reading, Berkshire.
Part of the Rural History Centre - 'A national centre in England for the study of the history of farming, food and the countryside'. On-line catalogue, photograph collection and archive.

Museum of Farnham, Willmer House, Surrey.
Georgian house.

Museum of Garden History, St Mary-at-Lambeth Church, Lambeth Palace, London.

Museum of Installation, London.
An artist led organisation dedicated to the research, production and dissemination of installation art.

Museum of London.
The largest, most comprehensive city museum in the world, telling the fascinating story of London from prehistoric times to the present day.

Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI),

British Film Institute, South Bank, London. History of film and television.

Museums of The Royal College of Surgeons, London.
Responsible for : Hunterian Museum; Odontological Museum, Wellcome Museum of Anatomy; Wellcome Museum of Pathology.

National Army Museum, Chelsea, London.

The National Gallery, London.
Collection of Western European paintings (1260-1900).

NationalMaritime Museum, Greenwich, London.
Includes: Search Station an exciting initiative to make the collections more accessible to the public, by allowing their enjoyment and study through thematically arranged highlights.

National Motor Museum, Beaulieu,Hampshire.

National Portrait Gallery, London.
See information on the permanent collection.

Natural History Museum, London. Free !"
The first UK museum with its own Web server. Includes Virtual Reality fossils using VRML. See also interactive exploration using Science Casebook.

Old Operating Theatre, Museum and Herb Garret , London.
Displays the history of herbal medicine, surgery, nursing at Old St. Thomas's (the original home of Florence Nightingale's Nursing School) and Guy's and the Evelina Children's hospitals.

Public Record Office, Kew, London.
The repository of the national archives for England, Wales and the United Kingdom. The records, beginning with Domesday Book (1086), span an unbroken period from the 11th century to the present. Site includes on-line catalogues, and a very large education section (with source material for school students, and supporting the National Grid for Learning).

The Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace, London.
See also Windsor Castle and the rest of the Royal Collection.

The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment Museum, Guildford.
Military museum

Ragged School Museum, London.
Re-created classroom of the Victorian period, and displays on local history, industry and life in the East End of London.

Reading Museum, Berkshire.
Replica of the Bayeux Tapestry, history of Reading, Roman artifacts, etc.

The Regency Town House, Hove, East Sussex.
Museum and Heritage Centre covering British life between the 1780s and 1850s, especially the history of the Brighton area.

REME Museum of Technology (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers), Arborfield, near Reading, Berkshire. Free !

Royal Academy of Arts, London.
Permanent galleries and temporary exhibitions.

Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon, London.

Royal Armouries, with museums in: Leeds, West Yorkshire; Fort Nelson, Fareham, Hampshire; and the Tower of London.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London.

Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.
Information about the collections, and searchable databases.

The Royal Collection.
A distributed collection, mainly in royal palaces, formed by the Royal family, including The Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace and the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.

Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London. Free !
Home of the Prime Meridian of the world. Exhibitions on: The Story of Time, John Harrison and the Longitude Problem, and Halley and the Paramour.
Part of: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

Royal Tennis Courts and Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, Surrey

Rural Life Centre Old Kiln Museum, Tilford, Farnham, Surrey.
150 years of farming.

Science Museum, London.Free !
See collections, exhibitions (including : Hands on Science and Exhiblets), and the new Wellcome Wing
Part of the National Museum of Science and Industry.

Seaford Local History, East Sussex.
Housed in a Napoleonic Martello tower.

Shakespeare and the Globe.
An award-wining on-line exhibit from Renaissance Text Centre, and the Department of English, University of Reading. Includes information on the original and reconstructed theatre.

Sherlock Holmes Museum, London

Sir John Soane's Museum, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London.
House and museum of Sir John Soane, R.A., architect (1753-1837).

Tate Gallery, with galleries in London, Liverpool, Merseyside and St Ives, Cornwall.
National collection of British art and modern 20th century art.

Theatre Museum, Covent Garden, London.
Part of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V & A)].

Tunbridge Wells Museum and Art Gallery, Kent.
Displays of Tunbridge ware, local history, dolls and toys, natural history, and frquently changing exhibitions of art and craft.

Victoria and Albert Museum (V & A), London.Free !
The largest museum of the decorative arts in the world.
Responsible for the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood, the Theatre Museum, and Apsley House, The Wellington Museum. See also the National Art Library.

Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology, University of Reading, Berkshire.

Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire.
French Renaissance-style château was built at the end of the last century for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild to display his vast collection of 18th Century art treasure.

The Wallace Collection, Hertford House, London.
Paintings (especially French 18th century), miniatures, decorative arts, arms and armour.

Whitechapel Art Gallery, London.
Temporary exhibitions of modern and contemporary art.

William Morris Gallery, Waltham Forest, London.

Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, London.

Wycombe Museum, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.
Local history, especially the furniture industry, with a renowned collection of Windsor chairs. The grounds also house the British Regional Furniture Study Centre.

South West

Allhallows Museum, Honiton, Devon.
Local museum including lace and pottery industry displays housed in the town's oldest building.

American Museum in Britain, Bath, Somerset.
Only museum in Europe devoted to American furniture, decorative arts and quilts.

Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol.
Contemporary arts.

Barometer World and Museum, Merton, Devon.

Bath Preservation Trust, Somerset.
The Trust exists to preserve the historic character and amenities of Bath, one of only 3 UNESCO World Heritage Cities.

Beckford Tower and Museum, Bath, Somerset.
19th century retreat for William Beckford. Contains collections illustrating his life.

Brixham Heritage Museum, Devon.
Local history museum, with on-line photographs, and information about maritime history and archaeology.

Lyme Regis Philpot Museum, Dorset

The Bill Douglas Centre for the History of Cinema and Popular Culture , University of Exeter, Devon.
Displays on the history of cinema and its percursors - zoetropes, magic lanterns, panoramas and shadow puppets.

Building of Bath Museum, Somerset.
Housed in the, 18th century, Countess of Huntingdon's Chapel. Tells the story of the creation of Georgian Bath

Camborne School of Mines Museum & Art Gallery, Redruth, Cornwall.

Centre for the History of Defence Electronics (CHiDE), Bournemouth University, Dorset.
Includes a virtual museum plan.See also places to visit, listing UK military and naval museums, and an archive room plan.

Ceredigion Museum Service, Aberystwyth, Wales.
Local history, archaeology, and folk life.
Responsible for: In Aberystwyth - Ceredigion Museum, The Old Cottage;
In Lampeter - in the County Library; also branches at New Quay Heritage Centre, Tregaron and at Llandysul]

Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum, Gloucestershire.
Local history.
Responsible for: Holst Birthplace Museum

Chertsey Museum, Surrey. Free !
Local history and costume from the Runnymede area.

Chiltern Open Air Museum, Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire.
Re-erected agricultural and other buildings.

Christ Church Picture Gallery, Oxford.

City of Norwich Aviation Museum, Norfolk.
Military aircraft collection.

Claymills Pumping Engines, Stretton, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire.
A preserved Victorian pumping station.

Cole Museum of Zoology, University of Reading, Berkshire.

Colour Museum, Bradford, West Yorkshire.
Explores the concept of colour, how it is perceived and how it is used. Also looks at the story of dyeing and textile printing from ancient Egypt to the present day.

Connections Discovery Centre, Exeter, Devon.
Educational resource centre for schools and groups. Hands-on fun, real objects can be touch and try on, special displays and interpretive guides.
Part of: Exeter City Museums

Cotswolds Motor Museum, Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire.

Cotswold Woollen Weavers, Filkins, near Lechlade, Gloucestershire.
Historic working weaving mill, museum/gallery and shop.

Dinosaur Museum, Dorchester, Dorset.
Britain's only museum solely devoted to dinosaurs and their fascinating world.

Elizabethan House Museum, Great Yarmouth.
Late 16th century merchants's house, with period furnishings.
Part of: Norfolk Museums Service

Exeter City Museums, Devon.
Responsible for: Royal Albert Memorial Museum, St Nicholas Priory, Underground Passages,

Flagship Portsmouth at the Historic Dockyard, Hampshire.
Includes: Mary Rose (Tudor warship); HMS Victory (Nelson's flagship); HMS Warrior (1860 ironclad warship); Royal Naval Museum; and Dockyard Apprentice (hands-on exhibition about building a warship).

Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton, Somerset.
Military museum. One of the world's largest aviation collections with over 40 historic aircraft on display including Concorde 002 (the British prototype).

Fox Talbot Museum, Chippenham, Wiltshire.
Commemorates the life and work of William Henry Fox Talbot - known as The Father of Modern Photography.

Glastonbury Abbey, Somerset.
Traditionally the oldest above-ground Christian church in the world, with connections to King Arthur and the Holy Grail.

Helicopter Museum, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.

Herschel Museum, Bath, Somerset.
The home the 18th century astronomer William Herschell and his sister Caroline. The planet Uranus was discovered here in 1781.
Part of: Bath Preservation Trust

Holbourne Museum and 20th Century Crafts Study Centre, Bath, Somerset.
Fine art and decorative art collection

Jane Austen's House, Chawton, Hampshire.
Where the early 19th century novelist lived and worked.

Lyme Regis Philpot Museum, Dorset.
Local history museum, housed in building on the site where Mary Anning, the early 19th century fossil collector was born.

Maritime Museum for East Anglia, Great Yarmouth.
Part of: Norfolk Museums Service

Museum of Costume and Assembly Rooms, Bath, Somerset

Museum of East Asian Art, Bath, Somerset.

Porthcurno Telegraph Museum, Porthcurno, Cornwall.
Try out the animations, send a message. Morse and Semaphore

North Somerset Museum Service,Weston-super-Mare.
Over 70,000 items covering the human and natural history of the District from pre-history to the present day. The collections are made up of social history, local history, natural history & geology, and archaeology.

Nothe Fort and Museum of Coast Defence,Weymouth, Dorset.

No1 Royal Crescent Museum, Bath, Somerset.
Restored 18th century house in the palladian style.
Part of: Bath Preservation Trust

Past Impressions On-line Museum, Portsmouth, Hampshire.
On-line cultural exhibitions and gallery space.

Penlee House Gallery and Museum, Penzance, Cornwall.
Collections of archaeology, costumes and textiles, decorative art, fine art, photography, social history, and local history.

Roman Baths Museum and Pump House, Bath, Somerset.

Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, Devon.
Antiquities, ethnography, natural history, fine art, decorative arts.Part of: Exeter City Museums

Royal Cornwall Musem, Truro.
The history of Cornwall from the Stone Age to the present day, as well as the natural history of Cornwall, a world famous collection of minerals, a pre-eminent collection of ceramics, and a changing display of fine and decorative art.

Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth, Hampshire.
Military museum, with collections of manuscripts, artefacts, photographs, oral history, sound recordings, paintings and prints relating to the history of the Royal Navy.

Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport, Hampshire.
Military museum featuring the Submarine Service, includes a real submarine

Royal Photographic Society, Bath, Somerset.
World-renowned collection of 19th century photographs, equipment, books and journals

Royal Signals Museum, Blandford Camp, Dorset.
Military museum

Russell Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth, Dorset.
Housed in late 19th century building, with especially strong collections of British and Japanese art.

St Barbe Museum, Lymington, Hampshire.
Local history and arts museum.

Southampton City Cultural Services, Hampshire.
Nationally important archaeology collections, and information about RMS Titanic.
Responsible for: Tudor House Musem, Southamption Maritime Museum, Museum of Archaeology, and Southampton City Art Gallery

The Tank Museum, Bovington, Dorset.

Tiverton Museum, Devon.
Local history museum

Trowbridge Museum, Wiltshire.
Local history

The Wardrobe, Salisbury, Wiltshire.
Military museum, located in the Cathedral Close. Housing the collections and archives of the Royal Berkshire, the Wiltshire and the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiments.

Weald and Downland Open Air Museum, Chichester, West Sussex.
A unique collection of over 40 domestice and agricultural buildings dating from the 13th to the 19th century.

Westonzoyland Pumping Station Museum, Somerset.
Large collection of stationary steam engines and land drainage items.

Wheal Martyn China Clay Museum, near St Austell, Cornwall.
Heritage centre.

Northern Ireland

Armagh Planetarium, Northern Ireland.

Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), Belfast.
The official place of deposit for public records in Northern Ireland.

Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) Virtual Museum, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Police museum. Includes use of Shockwave.

Ulster-American Folk Park, Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
An outdoor museum which tells the story of emigration from Ulster to America in the 18th and 19th centuries. Includes an interactive map

Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Holywood, Northern Ireland.
Reconstructed buildings. Includes exhibition on Titanic ocean liner.

Scotland

Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum, Dunfermline, Scotland.
Based in the cottage where the steel millionaire and benefactor was born in 1835. Tells his family's story prior to their emigration to the United States.

Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums, Scotland.
Collections of fine art, applied art, archaeology, maritime, numismatics, science, industry and technology.
Responsible for: Aberdeen Art Gallery; Aberdeen Maritime Museum; Provost Skene's House; The Tolbooth

Almond Valley Heritage Trust, Millfield, Scotland.
Includes a museum of Scottish shale oil industry, Livingston Mill Farm, and the Almond Valley Light Railway.

Bell-Pettigrew Museum, University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland.
Evolutionary and taxonomic relationships between animals. Montrose Air Station Museum, Angus, Scotland

Biggar Museum Trust, Moat Park, Biggar, Lanarkshire, Scotland.
Includes: Greenholl Covenanters' House, Moat Park Heritage Centre, Gladstone Court Museum, The Albion Archive, Biggar Gasworks, Brownsbank Cottage (home of Hugh MacDiarmid) and Böd of Gremista Museum, Lerwick, Shetland. Part of Shetland Museum Service

British Golf Museum, St Andrews, Scotland.
Tells the story of British golf chronologically, exploring the events, personalities and equipment used throughout the ages.

Burrell Collection, Glasgow.

Croft House Museum, Dunrossness, Shetland.
Part of Shetland Museum Service

Museum nan Eilean, Western Isles, Scotland

Dunaskin Open Air Museum, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Large collection of industrial machinery, historic buildings, an ironworker's cottage, and a simulated coal mine

Easdale Island Folk Museum, Scotland.
Local history, especially the slate quarring industry.

East Lothian Council Museums, Scotland.
Responsible for: North Berwick Museum, Dunbar Town House Museum, Prestongrange Museum

City Art Centre , Edinburgh, Scotland.
Scotland's premier temporary exhibition space, and an ideal home to the city of Edinburgh's fine art Collection.

Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments,
Faculty of Music.

Fife Museums Forum, Scotland.
A group of local museums with shared site.
Includes: Scottish Fisheries Museum, Anstruther; Buckhaven Museum; Burntisland Edwardian Fair Museum; Fife Folk Museum, Ceres; Crail Museum; Fife Council Museums East, Cupar; In Dunfermline - Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum, West Fife Museums and Small Gallery, Pittencrief House Museum; McDouall Stuart Museum, Dysart; East Wemyss Environmental Education Centre; The Friary, Inverkeithing; Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery; Laing Museum, Newburgh; In St Andrews - Bell Pettigrew Museum, Crawford Arts Centre, St Andrews Museum, St Andrews Preservation Trust Museum.

Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow.

Gordon Highlanders Museum, Aberdeen, Scotland.
Military museum

Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow.
Anatomical and pathological specimens. Art, coins, books, manuscripts and ethnography. See virtual and guided tours.

Isle of Skye Toy Museum, Scotland.

Kilmartin House Museum, Argyll.

Kilmartin Centre for archaeology and landscape interpretation.

Marischal Museum, University of Aberdeen

Montrose Air Station Museum, Angus, Scotland.
Military museum, featuring the history of an aerodrome, with artefacts, displays, memorabilia, aircraft, etc.

Moray Council Museums Service, Scotland.
Responsible for: The Anson Gallery, Buckie; Burghead Museum; In Forres - The Falconer Museum, and Nelson Tower; Tomintoul Museum; Tugnet Ice House, Spey Bay

Museum nan Eilean, Western Isles, Scotland.
Local history museums in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, and Sgoil Lionacleit, Isle of Benbecula.

National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh.
Home to great national collection of European painting, sculpture and graphic art from the Renaissance to the present day.
Responsible for: National Gallery of Scotland; Scottish National Portrait Gallery; Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art; Dean Gallery: Paolozzi Gift; Duff House, Banff; Paxton House, nr Berwick-upon-Tweed

National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh.
On-line catalogues and other resources, a digital library (including "The First Scottish Books"), and an exhibition – Churchill.

National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh.
"Presenting Scotland to the World and the World to Scotland"
Responsible for: Royal Museum; Museum of Scotland; Museum of Flight, North Berwick; Museum of Agricultural; Armed Forces Museum; Museum of Costume, New Abbey

Open Museum, Glasgow.
Unofficial, Community led outreach service.

Scotland's Secret Bunker, near St Andrews.
"Scotland's best kept secret!" - 24,000 square feet, 100 feet underground complex, used as the government's underground nuclear command bunker during Cold War

Scottish Football Museum, Glasgow.
History of football in Scotland.

Shetland Museum, Lerwick.
Part of Shetland Museum Service

Wales

Centre for Visual Arts, Cardiff.
The largest gallery in Wales showing the very best of new and historical art from Wales and around the world. Also the home of Fantasmic, one of the UK's only hands-on interactive galleries exploring the fun and fascinating world of art and seeing.

Egypt Centre (formerly the Wellcome Museum of Antiquities),University of Wales, Swansea.
Includes antiquities owned by Sir Henry Wellcome.

Judge's Lodgings (Llety'r Barnwr), Presteinge, Powys, Wales.
Restored historic rooms, local history, and two interactives on 'King Offa' and 'Voices from the Past'.

Museum of the Welsh Woollen Industry, Dre-fach Felindre.
Part of National Museums & Galleries of Wales.

Museum of Welsh Life, St Fagen's, Cardiff.
Re-erected buildings and social history.
Part of National Museums & Galleries of Wales.

Museums of the Royal Regiment of Wales.
Military Museums
Responsible for: South Wales Borderers Museum , Brecon; Welch Regiment Museum, Cardiff.

Narrow Gauge Railway Museum, Tywyn, Gwynedd, Wales.

National Botanic Garden of Wales, Llanarthne. Free !
Millennium Project - under construction.

National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
Includes on-line exhibitions and searchable databases

Ntional Museums & Galleries of Wales,Cardiff.
(In English and Welsh).
Responsible for: National Museum & Gallery, Cardiff; Welsh Slate Museum, Llanberis; Museum of Welsh Life, St Fagen's, Cardiff; Segontium Roman Museum, Caernafon; Roman Legionary Museum, Caerleon; Museum of the Welsh Woollen Industry, Dre-fach Felindre; Turner House Gallery, Penarth; Welsh Industrial & Maritime Collections, Cardiff.

Roman Legionary Museum, Caerleon.
Part of National Museums & Galleries of Wales.

Segontium Roman Museum, Caernafon.
Part of National Museums & Galleries of Wales.

Swansea Museums and Art Galleries, Wales.
Responsible for: Swansea Museum; Glynn Vivian Art Gallery; Swansea Maritime and Industrial Museum

Techniquest, Cardiff.
A hand-on science discovery centre with special programmes for schoolchildren link to different stages of the National Curriculum

Turner House Gallery, Penarth.
Part of National Museums & Galleries of Wales.

Welsh Industrial & Maritime Collections, Cardiff.
Part of National Museums & Galleries of Wales.

Welsh Slate Museum, Llanberis.
Industrial Museum.
Part of National Museums & Galleries of Wales

If you wish your company link to be included on this page please contact us here.