The museum re-opened on the 19th May 2021. We have timed sessions to maintain social distancing. Please book your tickets here

Welcome to Ilfracombe Museum

Ilfracombe Museum Trust CIO

Explore a world of curiosities at our friendly museum. Discover the story of Ilfracombe’s rich history and find objects from around the world. Be amazed at the variety of our collections, from natural history and archaeology, art and photography, costume and domestic history. There’s something here for everyone to enjoy.

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Plan Your Visit

From 19th May 2021 we’ll be open Monday to Friday 10am-5pm. Booking is essential and you’ll find details of session times on our booking page.

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Visitor Information

What’s On

We’ve got lots of exciting free family activities for you to take part in – click the Stay Curious button

Stay Curious

Events

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Explore a world of curiosities at our friendly museum

Ilfracombe’s great value family attraction

A fascinating place to visit come rain or shine

Overflowing with the curious and the wonderful, we have unimaginable finds from around the world – from a shrunken head to pickled bats! There is something here for everyone and children visit free! A great experience for all the family.

The whole family will be intrigued by the variety of displays. Peer into drawers and peek into cupboards; wander through eight different rooms and uncover the museum’s hidden treasures. You won’t be disappointed by your visit to one of North Devon’s best museums!

There’s more to discover than you’d ever imagine!

Museum gift shop – browse our great gift range

Children’s quizzes, brass rubbing & regular children’s activities.

Under 16s FREE. Disabled access.

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ilfracombe_museum

We love afternoon tea! Thanks so much to Kathy and $We love afternoon tea! Thanks so much to Kathy and David at Hele Corn Mill and Tearoom for a fab volunteers' cream tea in the sunshine yesterday! So good to see the mill looking fabulous and making the most of their beautiful outside spaces with this purpose built pergola. They have made a new film about the history of the mill too, including interviews with some older Hele residents. Such a lot of hard work - well done Kathy and David! #helemilltearoom #creamtea #volunteers #welovevolunteers💕 #ilfracombemuseum #ilfracombe$

Did you know that tomorrow is National Sewing Mach

Our first school visit since we reopened! It was a $Our first school visit since we reopened! It was a pleasure to welcome Kingsley school children and teachers to the museum today. Plenty of interest in the bats, snake and spiders! Thank you for coming and we hope you enjoy the rest of your day out in sunny Ilfracombe 🌞 #Kingsleyschool #bideford #schooltrip🚌 #ilfracombemuseum #schools #youngpeople$

Competition update! 👉Our Butterfly Wings design $Competition update! 👉Our Butterfly Wings design competition deadline has been extended to 5pm Tues 8th June. We had a technical glitch with our website entry form, but it is fixed now.🤩 If you have already sent in an entry and not had a reply from us , please re-send! And for anyone aged 13 -19 wanting to enter, remember there are prizes! And there is still time.... https://www.ilfracombemuseum.co.uk/stay-curious/stay-curious-butterfly-wings-competition/ #devonmuseums #competition #design #staycurious #museums# #artist #northdevon$

This week has been National Bike Week and although $This week has been National Bike Week and although we are in a very hilly place, we think there is nowhere better than Ilfracombe to stop and admire the views after a challenging ride to the top! This bicycle is a velocipede (or boneshaker) and originates from around 1869. We don't think anyone would fancy riding this! You'd feel every bump along the way as the wheels are made of wood with iron tyres and the frame and forks are made of iron! Next time you come to the museum, look up to the left in the main gallery to see the boneshaker safely up on the wall. #bikeweekuk #smallmuseum #ilfracombe #funinthesun$

If you're lucky enough to live here, every day is

Happy Bank Holiday Monday!!👓🍦☀️😂 We a $Happy Bank Holiday Monday!!👓🍦☀️😂 We are open today until 4pm - plenty of time to take in our curious collections or have a go at the new kids interactive trail!! And children under 16 are free 😂 Some Ilfracombe holiday photos of the past for you here too - enjoy! #seasidelife #ilfracombe #devonmuseums #staycurious #bankholiday$

Calling all young Dr Frankensteins… we are looki $Calling all young Dr Frankensteins… we are looking for the most weird and wonderful Curious Creature Specimens to exhibit at Ilfracombe Museum! We have some weird and wonderful things in jars at Ilfracombe Museum - like the collection of bats and a kitten born with two heads! 😺🦇 We would love you to create your own totally weird and curious specimen in a jar and we will pick our favourites to be displayed in the Museum’s Cabinet of Curiosities! 🤩 Just watch our ‘how to’ video at https://www.ilfracombemuseum.co.uk/stay-curious/stay-courious-things-to-do/ or download the activity sheet and when you have finished your specimen in a jar – don’t forget to give it a crazy scientific name! – share a photo of it here👇👇 or email it to the museum ( address in bio) Don't have all the stuff to make one? No problem, we can give you a free activity pack with all the materials ( except the jar) Just call into the museum. Open to all ages. Closing date Sunday 21 June 2021. If your Curious Specimen is selected for exhibition, we will display it in the Museum from July to the beginning of September and award you with an Ilfracombe Museum Certificate of Authenticity, a free family ticket to the Museum. Your specimen will be returned to you at the end of the exhibition. #curiousity #twoheadedcat #madscientists #ilfracombe #thingstodowithkids #MuseumFromHome #devonmuseums #thingstodo$

Do you know how to read a map? This week is Map Re $Do you know how to read a map? This week is Map Reading Week! You can brush up on map reading skills with the Ordnance Survey here https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/guides/map-reading-week/ Families and kids - why not create and colour in your own compass? This one is inspired by our collections. Visit our Stay Curious page https://www.ilfracombemuseum.co.uk/stay-curious/stay-courious-things-to-do/ for a downloadable sheet. Or pick one up from the museum when you collect a free Stay Curious Activity bag. #mapsarecool #compass #kidsactivities #freestuff #goodybags #staycurious #artfund #museums #ilfracombe$

We're excited to be part of a new promotional film $We're excited to be part of a new promotional film of North Devon! Here's Sara our manager being interviewed today about the history of Ilfracombe Museum by Henry of 1st Take. Lot's more Ilfracombe places will be featured too - we love promoting our wonderful town! #ilfracombe #publicity #museum #filmmaking$

🌊It's World Turtle Day!🌊 We have two friend $🌊It's World Turtle Day!🌊 We have two friendly Hawksbill Sea Turtles waiting to meet you in the museum. Hawksbill Sea Turtles are a critically endangered species known for their pointed beaks and scaly tortoiseshell shells. They live in coral reefs and feed mainly on sea sponges. They are threatened by reduction of habitat and by illegal trade in wildlife - but don't worry, the turtles in our museum were captured a long time ago when less was understood about wildlife protection, and are now used to educate people on the importance of saving these beautiful creatures! This guy is also guarding a point on our Curious Beasts Trail! If you want to know more about him and the other Curious Beasts in the museum, please come in and scan the QR Codes to begin your adventure! We can't wait to see you x #worldturtleday #worldturtleday2021 #seaturtle #savetheturtles #hawksbillturtle #sealife #conservation #tortoiseshell #turtleday #turtleday2021 #turtle #marinelife #coralreef #criticallyendangered #criticallyendangeredspecies #museum #ilfracombe #naturalhistory #backtomuseums #staycurious #museumcollection #nature$

Post a picture of the coolest shell you have found $Post a picture of the coolest shell you have found below! 🐚 We have a diverse collection of shells here in the museum, and think the different forms they can take can be absolutely fascinating. Did you know that the Murex shell in the centre of the photo, on the green background, was used by the Romans to make the iconic Tyrian purple dye used for emperors' togas? Today we celebrate the International Day for Biological Diversity. Now, more than ever, biodiversity is under threat from increasing extinction rates, and preserving biodiversity is important for so many reasons! Not only is it our moral duty, but it is essential to continued human existence. Plus, the diversity of nature is so cool - just pop into the museum to see what we mean! #biodiversity #internationaldayforbiologicaldiversity #nature #shells #shellcollection #ecology #naturalhistory #museum #backtomuseums #preservation #conservation #rockpools #onthebeach #staycurious #ilfracombe$

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