Dorset Museums: North Dorset
Gillingham Museum
Chantry Fields, Gillingham, Dorset (Tel: 01747 854018)
Gillingham Museum tells the story of the town and its surrounding villages from prehistoric times, through Roman and mediaeval occupation, to the major rebuilding work of the Victorian period. The displays include a 1790 manual fire engine, an exhibition about John Constable, an interactive quiz and a photographic display. Admission is free and the museum is open all year round on Mondays (except Bank Holidays), Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday mornings.
Shaftesbury Abbey Museum and Garden
Park Walk, Shaftesbury, Dorset (Tel: 01747 852910, Web: www.shaftesburyabbey.co.uk)
The site of this Abbey church and museum was once the most important Benedictine community for women in the country and is the resting place of the murdered boy King Edward the Martyr. Today visitors can see the excavated foundations of the church, which lie in a walled garden, and see what the Abbey would have looked like through a virtual tour. There is also an Anglo-Saxon herb collection and a mediaeval orchard. The museum is open from mid-March to the end of October. There is a modest admission charge but concessions and family tickets can be purchased.
Recreation of Shaftesbury Abbey, Dorset
Shaftesbury Town Museum and Garden
Gold Hill, Shaftesbury, Dorset (Tel: 01747 852157)
Gain an insight into Shaftesbury's long history including the Byzant water ceremony, unique to the town, and its association with crafts such as the Dorset button making industry. From the museum's cottage garden you can enjoy views to Melbury Hill. Open daily, except Wednesdays, from April until the end of October. A small admission fee is charged.
Sherborne Museum
Abbey Gatehouse, Church Lane, Sherborne, Dorset (Tel: 01935 812252, Web: www.sherbornemuseum.co.uk)
Located near the historic Abbey and Almshouses, Sherborne Museum features local history, geology and agriculture, as well as a model of the old Norman castle, displays on Sherborne's silk and glass fibre industry, a beautiful doll's house and an ecclesiastical wall painting dating from the early 16th century. It is open from April to October on Tuesdays to Saturdays and in the afternoon on Bank Holidays. There is a very small admission charge for adults but children and students can enter for free.
Sturminster Newton Museum and Mill
Sturminster Newton, Dorset (Tel: 01747 854355, Web: www.sturminster-museum.freehosting.net)
This is a small, local museum located in a former Workhouse Chapel, which contains memorabilia from the old railway, creamery and livestock market. A working mill still grinds flour using a 1904 turbine and special Milling Days and events are held throughout the season. It is open from Easter until the end of September. A small admission fee is charged for entry to the mill but the museum is free.
Sturminster Newton Museum and Mill, Dorset