Museums in England

See also: Museums in Scotland | Wales | London

A highly idiosyncratic list of both public and commercial places to visit, based on the exacting criteria of whatever I think might be fun. There are, of course, thousands of museums big and small throughout the UK. What's your favourite?

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Name	Town	County
Abbey House Museum	Leeds	Yorkshire
Abbot Hall	Kendal	Cumbria
Alexander Keillor Museum	Avebury	Wiltshire
Alford Manor House Museum	Alford	Lincolnshire
Allhallows Museum of Lace and Local Antiquities	Honiton	Devon
Almonry Heritage Centre Museum	Evesham	Worcestershire
Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre	Amberley	West Sussex
American Museum and Gardens	Bath	Somerset
Amersham Museum	Amersham	Buckinghamshire
Ancient House Museum of Thetford Life	Thetford	Norfolk
Arundel Museum	Arundel	West Sussex
Ashby de la Zouch Museum	Ashby-de-la-Zouch	Leicestershire
Ashmolean Museum	Oxford	Oxfordshire
Astley Hall Museum and Art Gallery	Chorley	Lancashire
Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings	Stoke Heath	Worcestershire
Axminster Heritage Centre	Axminster	Devon
Bagshaw Museum	Batley	Yorkshire
Bailiffgate Museum, Alnwick	Alnwick	Northumberland
Bakelite Museum	Williton	Somerset
Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden	St Ives	Cornwall
Barley Hall	York	Yorkshire
Bate Collection of Musical Instruments	Oxford	Oxfordshire
Bath Postal Museum	Bath	Somerset
Battle Museum of Local History	Battle	East Sussex
Beamish Open-Air Museum	Beamish	County Durham
Beaney House of Art and Knowledge	Canterbury	Kent
Beatrix Potter Gallery	Hawkshead	Cumbria
Beck Isle Museum	Pickering	Yorkshire
Beckford's Tower	Bath	Somerset
Bentwaters Cold War Museum	Woodbridge	Suffolk
Bewdley Museum	Bewdley	Worcestershire
Bexhill Museum	Bexhill-on-Sea	East Sussex
Bilston Craft Gallery	Bilston	West Midlands
Black Country Living Museum	Dudley	West Midlands
Bletchley Park	Milton Keynes	Buckinghamshire
Bognor Regis Museum	Bognor Regis	West Sussex
Boscastle Museum of Witchcraft and Magic	Boscastle	Cornwall
Boston Guildhall Museum	Boston	Lincolnshire
Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre	Sutton Cheney	Leicestershire
Bowes Museum	Barnard Castle	County Durham
Brantwood	Coniston	Cumbria
Bridewell Museum	Norwich	Norfolk
Bridgwater Museum	Bridgwater	Somerset
Brighton Fishing Museum	Brighton	East Sussex
Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery	Bristol	Bristol
Bristol's Georgian House Museum	Bristol	Bristol
British Motor Museum	Gaydon	Warwickshire
British Schools Museum	Hitchin	Hertfordshire
Bromyard Local History Centre	Bromyard	Herefordshire
Bronte Parsonage Museum	Haworth	Yorkshire
Brooks Experience	Winchester	Hampshire
Bude Castle Heritage Centre	Bude	Cornwall
Burwell Museum and Windmill	Burwell	Cambridgeshire
Butchers Row House Museum	Ledbury	Herefordshire
Caister Castle Car Collection	Caister-on-Sea	Norfolk
Cambridge University Museum of Zoology	Cambridge	Cambridgeshire
Canterbury Roman Museum	Canterbury	Kent
Captain Cook Birthplace Museum	Marton-in-Cleveland	Cleveland
Captain Cook Memorial Museum	Whitby	Yorkshire
Captain Cook Schoolroom Museum	Great Ayton	Yorkshire
Carlisle Guildhall Museum	Carlisle	Cumbria
Castlegate House Gallery	Cockermouth	Cumbria
Chain Bridge Forge	Spalding	Lincolnshire
Charlbury Museum	Charlbury	Oxfordshire
Chart Gunpowder Mills	Faversham	Kent
Chiltern Open Air Museum	Chalfont St Giles	Buckinghamshire
Christ Church Picture Gallery	Oxford	Oxfordshire
Churchill and Sarsden Heritage Centre	Churchill	Oxfordshire
Cider Museum and King Offa Distillery	Hereford	Herefordshire
City Museum	Lancaster	Lancashire
Clare Ancient House Museum	Clare	Suffolk
Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum	Skinningrove	Cleveland
Clock Collection	Owermoigne	Dorset
Coates English Willow Visitor Centre	Stoke St Gregory	Somerset
Cobbaton Combat Collection	Umberleigh	Devon
Cogges Manor Farm	Witney	Oxfordshire
Coggeshall Museum	Coggeshall	Essex
Cole Museum of Zoology	Reading	Berkshire
Commandery	Worcester	Worcestershire
Compton Verney House	Compton Verney	Warwickshire
Congleton Museum	Congleton	Cheshire
Coningsby Medieval Museum	Hereford	Herefordshire
Corinium Museum	Cirencester	Gloucestershire
Cottage Museum	Lancaster	Lancashire
Courthouse Museum	Knaresborough	Yorkshire
Courthouse Museum	Ripon	Yorkshire
Cowes Maritime Museum	Cowes	Isle of Wight
Cowper and Newton Museum	Olney	Buckinghamshire
Cranbrook Museum	Cranbrook	Kent
Crawley Museum Centre	Crawley	West Sussex
Crofton Beam Engines	Crofton	Wiltshire
Cuckfield Museum	Cuckfield	West Sussex
Dartmouth Museum	Dartmouth	Devon
De Montfort University Heritage Centre	Leicester	Leicestershire
Derby Museum and Art Gallery	Derby	Derbyshire
Derby Museum of Making	Derby	Derbyshire
Didcot Railway Centre	Didcot	Oxfordshire
Discover Bucks Museum	Aylesbury	Buckinghamshire
Ditchling Museum of Art & Craft	Ditchling	East Sussex
Dock Museum	Barrow-in-Furness	Cumbria
Donington Collection of Grand Prix Racing Cars	Castle Donington	Derbyshire
Dorset County Museum	Dorchester	Dorset
Dorset Teddy Bear Museum	Dorchester	Dorset
Dover Museum	Dover	Kent
Durham Museum	Durham	County Durham
East Grinstead Museum	East Grinstead	West Sussex
Eastbourne Heritage Centre	Eastbourne	East Sussex
Eden Camp	Malton	Yorkshire
Edward Elgar Birthplace Museum	Worcester	Worcestershire
Elstow Moot Hall	Elstow	Bedfordshire
Ely Museum	Ely	Cambridgeshire
Eyam Museum	Eyam	Derbyshire
Fashion Museum, Bath	Bath	Somerset
Felixstowe Museum	Felixstowe	Suffolk
Finchcocks	Goudhurst	Kent
Fitzwilliam Museum	Cambridge	Cambridgeshire
Forge Mill Needle Museum	Redditch	Worcestershire
Fort Paull	Paull	Yorkshire
Fox Talbot Museum	Lacock	Wiltshire
Geevor Tin Mine	Pendeen	Cornwall
George Marshall Medical Museum	Worcester	Worcestershire
Gilbert White's House and Oates Museum	Selborne	Hampshire
Glastonbury Tribunal	Glastonbury	Somerset
Gloucester Waterways Museum	Gloucester	Gloucestershire
Gold Hill Museum	Shaftesbury	Dorset
Gordon Boswell Romany Museum	Spalding	Lincolnshire
Gordon Russell Museum	Broadway	Worcestershire
Green Howards Museum	Richmond	Yorkshire
Greene King Brewery Museum	Bury St Edmunds	Suffolk
Grosvenor Museum	Chester	Cheshire
Guildford House Gallery	Guildford	Surrey
Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker	Nantwich	Cheshire
Halesworth Airfield Museum	Halesworth	Suffolk
Harwich Maritime Museum	Harwich	Essex
Haslemere Educational Museum	Haslemere	Surrey
Hastings Fishermen's Museum	Hastings	East Sussex
Hastings Museum	Hastings	East Sussex
Haynes Motor Museum	Sparkford	Somerset
Head of Steam Museum	Darlington	County Durham
Helston Museum	Helston	Cornwall
Henfield Museum	Henfield	West Sussex
Henry VII Experience	York	Yorkshire
Herbert Museum & Art Gallery	Coventry	West Midlands
Hereford Museum and Art Gallery	Hereford	Herefordshire
Herefordshire Light Infantry Museum	Hereford	Herefordshire
Hertford Museum	Hertford	Hertfordshire
Higgins Art Gallery & Museum	Bedford	Bedfordshire
Historic Dockyard Chatham	Chatham	Kent
Holburne Museum of Art	Bath	Somerset
Hollytrees Museum	Colchester	Essex
Holst Birthplace Museum	Cheltenham	Gloucestershire
Honeywood Museum	Carshalton	Greater London
Hornsea Museum	Hornsea	Yorkshire
Horsham Museum	Horsham	West Sussex
Hungate Medieval Art	Norwich	Norfolk
Imperial War Museum Duxford	Duxford	Cambridgeshire
Ipswich Museum	Ipswich	Suffolk
Jamaica Inn Smugglers Museum	Bolventor	Cornwall
Jane Austen Centre	Bath	Somerset
Jane Austen's House Museum	Chawton	Hampshire
Jorvik DIG	York	Yorkshire
Jorvik Viking Centre	York	Yorkshire
Keep Military Museum of Devon and Dorset	Dorchester	Dorset
Kent Museum of the Moving Image	Deal	Kent
Keswick Museum	Keswick	Cumbria
King John's House and Heritage Centre	Romsey	Hampshire
King John's Hunting Lodge	Axbridge	Somerset
Kings Royal Hussars Museum	Winchester	Hampshire
Kirkleatham Old Hall Museum	Kirkleatham	Cleveland
Lakeland Motor Museum	Backbarrow	Cumbria
Laurel and Hardy Museum	Ulverston	Cumbria
Lawrence House Museum	Launceston	Cornwall
Laxield Guildhall Museum	Laxfield	Suffolk
Ledbury Heritage Centre	Ledbury	Herefordshire
Leicester Guildhall	Leicester	Leicestershire
Leighton Buzzard Railway Museum	Leighton Buzzard	Bedfordshire
Leominster Museum	Leominster	Herefordshire
Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre	Spilsby	Lincolnshire
Little Hall	Lavenham	Suffolk
Little Holland House	Carshalton	Greater London
Littlehampton Museum	Littlehampton	West Sussex
Looe Old Guildhall Museum & Gaol	Looe	Cornwall
Lulworth Heritage Centre	East Lulworth	Dorset
Lynn Museum	King's Lynn	Norfolk
Maelmin Heritage Trail	Wooler	Northumberland
Maidstone Museum & Bentlif Art Gallery	Maidstone	Kent
March Museum	March	Cambridgeshire
Marlipins Museum	Shoreham-by-Sea	West Sussex
Maryport Maritime Museum	Maryport	Cumbria
Mechanical Music Museum	Northleach	Gloucestershire
Mercer Art Gallery	Harrogate	Yorkshire
Merchants House Museum	Plymouth	Devon
Mevagissey Museum	Mevagissey	Cornwall
Mevagissey Sealife Aquarium	Mevagissey	Cornwall
Military Wireless Museum	Kidderminster	Worcestershire
Mill Green Mill & Museum	Hatfield	Hertfordshire
Mill House Cider Museum	Owermoigne	Dorset
Millom Discovery Centre	Millom	Cumbria
Modern Art Oxford	Oxford	Oxfordshire
Morwellham Quay	Morwellham	Devon
Moyses Hall Museum	Bury St Edmunds	Suffolk
Much Hadham Forge Museum	Much Hadham	Hertfordshire
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology	Cambridge	Cambridgeshire
Museum of Bath Architecture	Bath	Somerset
Museum of Bath at Work	Bath	Somerset
Museum of Berkshire Aviation	Woodley	Berkshire
Museum of Cambridge	Cambridge	Cambridgeshire
Museum of English Rural Life	Reading	Berkshire
Museum of Lincolnshire Life	Lincoln	Lincolnshire
Museum of Nottingham Life at Brewhouse Yard	Nottingham	Nottinghamshire
Museum of Oxford	Oxford	Oxfordshire
Museum of Royal Worcester	Worcester	Worcestershire
Museum of the History of Science	Oxford	Oxfordshire
Museum of the Manchester Regiment	Ashton-under-Lyne	Greater Manchester
National Centre for Craft and Design	Sleaford	Lincolnshire
National Coal Mining Museum for England	Overton	Yorkshire
National Holocaust Centre	Laxton	Nottinghamshire
National Justice Museum	Nottingham	Nottinghamshire
National Maritime Museum Cornwall	Falmouth	Cornwall
National Media Museum	Bradford	Yorkshire
National Railway Museum	York	Yorkshire
Natural History Museum at Tring	Tring	Hertfordshire
Natural History Museum, Colchester	Colchester	Essex
Navigation House Visitor Centre	Sleaford	Lincolnshire
New Walk Museum	Leicester	Leicestershire
Newarke Houses Museum	Leicester	Leicestershire
Newhaven Museum	Newhaven	East Sussex
Norris Museum	St Ives	Cambridgeshire
North Yorkshire Moors Railway	Pickering	Yorkshire
Norton Collection Museum	Bromsgrove	Worcestershire
Octavia Hill Birthplace Museum	Wisbech	Cambridgeshire
Old Gaol Museum	Buckingham	Buckinghamshire
Old House Museum	Bakewell	Derbyshire
Otterburn Mill	Otterburn	Northumberland
Overbeck's Museum and Garden	Sharpitor	Devon
Oxford University Museum of Natural History	Oxford	Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire Museum	Woodstock	Oxfordshire
Pallant House Gallery	Chichester	West Sussex
Peak District Lead Mining Museum	Matlock Bath	Derbyshire
People's History Museum	Manchester	Greater Manchester
Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery	Peterborough	Cambridgeshire
Petworth Cottage Museum	Petworth	West Sussex
Pewsey Heritage Centre	Pewsey	Wiltshire
Pickford's House Museum of Georgian Life and Costume	Derby	Derbyshire
Pinchbeck Engine Museum	Spalding	Lincolnshire
Pirates Quest	Newquay	Cornwall
Pitt Rivers Museum	Oxford	Oxfordshire
Powell-Cotton Museum, Quex House and Gardens	Birchington	Kent
Preston Hall Museum	Stockton-on-Tees	County Durham
Priest's House Museum	Wimborne Minster	Dorset
Primavera Gallery	Cambridge	Cambridgeshire
Prison and Police Museum	Ripon	Yorkshire
Quay House	Exeter	Devon
Rayleigh Town Museum	Rayleigh	Essex
Reading Museum	Reading	Berkshire
Redoubt Fortress & Military Museum	Eastbourne	East Sussex
REME Museum of Technology	Lyneham	Wiltshire
Richard III Centre	Leicester	Leicestershire
Richard III Museum	York	Yorkshire
Richmondshire Museum	Richmond	Yorkshire
Riverside Museum at Blake's Lock	Reading	Berkshire
RNLI Grace Darling Museum	Bamburgh	Northumberland
Roald Dahl Museum	Great Missenden	Buckinghamshire
Rochester Guildhall Museum	Rochester	Kent
Rotunda Museum	Scarborough	Yorkshire
Royal Cornwall Museum	Truro	Cornwall
Royal Crown Derby	Derby	Derbyshire
Royal Engineers Museum	Gillingham	Kent
Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum	Winchester	Hampshire
Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum	Winchester	Hampshire
Royal Pump Room Museum, Harrogate	Harrogate	Yorkshire
Royal Signals Museum	Blandford Camp	Dorset
Ruskin Museum, Coniston	Coniston	Cumbria
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum	Bournemouth	Dorset
Rutland County Museum	Oakham	Rutland
Rye Art Gallery	Rye	East Sussex
Rye Castle Museum	Rye	East Sussex
Ryedale Folk Museum	Hutton-le-Hole	Yorkshire
Saffron Walden Museum	Saffron Walden	Essex
Salcombe Maritime Museum	Salcombe	Devon
Salisbury Museum	Salisbury	Wiltshire
Sally Lunns House	Bath	Somerset
Scarborough Art Gallery	Scarborough	Yorkshire
Scarborough Maritime Heritage Centre	Scarborough	Yorkshire
Scott Polar Research Institute	Cambridge	Cambridgeshire
Seaford Museum of Local History	Seaford	East Sussex
Seaside Museum	Herne Bay	Kent
Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences	Cambridge	Cambridgeshire
Shuttleworth Collection	Biggleswade	Bedfordshire
Sleaford Museum	Sleaford	Lincolnshire
Somerset and Dorset Railway Museum	Washford	Somerset
St Albans South Signal Box and Railway Museum	St Albans	Hertfordshire
St Barbe Museum	Lymington	Hampshire
St Ives Museum	St Ives	Cornwall
St Neots Museum	St Neots	Cambridgeshire
Stained Glass Museum	Ely	Cambridgeshire
Stanley Spencer Gallery	Cookham-on-Thames	Berkshire
Stanmer Rural Museum	Brighton	East Sussex
Steam - Museum of the Great Western Railway	Swindon	Wiltshire
Steyning Museum	Steyning	West Sussex
Stockwood Discovery Centre	Luton	Bedfordshire
Storrington and District Museum	Storrington	West Sussex
Stott Park Bobbin Mill	Finsthwaite	Cumbria
Strangers Hall	Norwich	Norfolk
Suffolk Regiment Museum	Bury St Edmunds	Suffolk
Swaledale Museum	Reeth	Yorkshire
Tangmere Military Aviation Museum	Tangmere	West Sussex
Tank Museum	Bovington	Dorset
Tate St Ives	St Ives	Cornwall
Taunton Castle (Museum of Somerset)	Taunton	Somerset
Tenterden and District Museum	Tenterden	Kent
The Bayle	Bridlington	Yorkshire
The Canal Museum, Stoke Bruerne	Stoke Bruerne	Northamptonshire
The Collection Museum	Lincoln	Lincolnshire
The Dinosaur Museum	Dorchester	Dorset
The Gurkha Museum	Winchester	Hampshire
The Mary Rose	Portsmouth	Hampshire
The Novium Museum	Chichester	West Sussex
The Regency Town House	Hove	East Sussex
The Shipwreck Centre & Maritime Museum	Arreton	Isle of Wight
The Time Machine Museum of Science Fiction	Bromyard	Herefordshire
The Vale of Avalon	Camelford	Cornwall
Time and Tide Museum, Great Yarmouth	Great Yarmouth	Norfolk
Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum	Tolpuddle	Dorset
Towneley Hall Art Gallery and Museum	Burnley	Lancashire
Trues Yard Fisherfolk Museum	King's Lynn	Norfolk
Tudor World	Stratford-upon-Avon	Warwickshire
Tullie House Museum	Carlisle	Cumbria
Tunbridge Wells Museum & Art Gallery	Tunbridge Wells	Kent
Tutankhamun Exhibition	Dorchester	Dorset
Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology	Reading	Berkshire
Usher Gallery	Lincoln	Lincolnshire
Vale and Downland Museum	Wantage	Oxfordshire
Victoria Art Gallery	Bath	Somerset
Victoria Gallery and Museum	Liverpool	Merseyside
Wandle Industrial Museum	Mitcham	Surrey
Wardown Park Museum	Luton	Bedfordshire
Watchet Boat Museum	Watchet	Somerset
Watchet Market House Museum	Watchet	Somerset
Waterworks Museum, Hereford	Hereford	Herefordshire
Weald and Downland Living Museum	Singleton	West Sussex
Weardale Museum and High House Chapel	Irehopesburn	County Durham
Wedgwood Museum & Visitor Centre	Barlaston	Staffordshire
Wellington Museum	Wellington	Somerset
Wensleydale Cheese Experience	Hawes	Yorkshire
Weobley Museum	Weobley	Herefordshire
Wesley Cottage and Museum	Altarnun	Cornwall
West Berkshire Museum	Newbury	Berkshire
West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village	Bury St Edmunds	Suffolk
Westgate Museum	Winchester	Hampshire
Westonzoyland Pumping Station	Westonzoyland	Somerset
Whipple Museum of the History of Science	Cambridge	Cambridgeshire
Whitehall Tudor House Museum	Cheam	Greater London
William Herschel Museum	Bath	Somerset
Winchelsea Court Hall Museum	Winchelsea	East Sussex
Winchester City Mill	Winchester	Hampshire
Winchester City Museum	Winchester	Hampshire
Winchester Guildhall	Winchester	Hampshire
Wisbech and Fenland Museum	Wisbech	Cambridgeshire
Wolverhampton Art Gallery	Wolverhampton	West Midlands
Worcester City Museum and Art Gallery	Worcester	Worcestershire
Workhouse Museum	Ripon	Yorkshire
World of James Herriot	Thirsk	Yorkshire
Worthing Museum and Art Gallery	Worthing	West Sussex
Wycombe Museum	HIgh Wycombe	Buckinghamshire
Wymondham Heritage Museum	Wymondham	Norfolk
York Army Museum	York	Yorkshire
York Art Gallery	York	Yorkshire
York Castle Museum	York	Yorkshire
York Dungeon	York	Yorkshire
York Model Railway	Gainsborough	Lincolnshire
York's Chocolate Story	York	Yorkshire
Yorkshire Air Museum and Allied Air Forces Memorial	Elvington	Yorkshire
Yorkshire Museum	York	Yorkshire
Yorkshire Museum of Farming	Murton	Yorkshire
Zetland Lifeboat Museum and Redcar Heritage Centre	Redcar	Cleveland
Name	Town	County