Update 19th July: We strongly suggest booking a ticket in advance to be sure of your visit. Face coverings must be worn in the museum unless visible proof of exemotion is shown. . 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

We are open Mon to Friday and Saturday afternoons. We strongly recommend booking in advance as visitor numbers are restricted

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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

Support Us

Details of how you can support what we do

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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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We all know about Ilfracombe's proud maritime hist $We all know about Ilfracombe's proud maritime history but there was also a thriving farming community away from the sea which grew up around Holy Trinity Church. The two communities were known as 'townites' and 'quayites'. My family were townites and my very elderly great great aunt preferred a less polite term for quayites! 😂Can anyone share any family memories of townites and quayites? We'd love to hear from you 😀 #townites #quayites #ilfracombe #ilfracombemuseum #localhistory #familymemories$

More famous friends...Joan and Jackie Collins were $More famous friends...Joan and Jackie Collins were evacuated here during the Second World War. Joan had this to say "My favourite was Ilfracombe. To get to the beach you had to go under a dark tunnel, which was very exciting for my sister and me, and then you’d get onto these beautiful golden sands and rocks." #tunnelsbeaches #ilfracombe #evacuees #ww2 #ilfracombemuseum$

Did you know that Peter Sellers started his career $Did you know that Peter Sellers started his career in Ilfracombe? His parents travelled the country with a variety act in provincial theatres and for a time managed the Gaiety Theatre and this where he first stepped on stage and reputedly played the drums. Ilfracombe has quite a history of celebrity residents, let us know if you have any connection to famous friends of Ilfracombe 😀 #ilfracombe #ilfracombemuseum #friendsofilfracombe #famousvisitors #localmuseum$

Did you know the writer George Eliot caused scanda $Did you know the writer George Eliot caused scandal when she stayed in Ilfracombe in 1856 for 6 weeks with her married lover? She visited with the intention of studying Ilfracombe's rockpools with George Lewes and the Rev Tugwell and their stay is well documented in her letters and essays. #GeorgeEliot #ilfracombe #smallmuseum #eclectic #staycurious$

Do you need a new challenge? If you'd like to join $Do you need a new challenge? If you'd like to join our friendly team, get in touch with us. We're looking for people who enjoy being with people and want to share our lovely museum with our visitors. We'd love to hear from you if you have a morning or afternoon spare during the week. Give us a ring or fb message or now we're open you can just pop in to see us! #volunteer #newchallenges #ilfracombemuseum #thebestteam$

Just to let you all know that our winter opening h $Just to let you all know that our winter opening hours are Tuesday to Friday 10-1pm every week. Our lovely volunteers are here, ready to welcome you and chat about all things Ilfracombe (and lots of other things!) We'd love to see you #readyfor2022 #winteropening #ilfracombe #ilfracombemuseum$

We know it's not cold enough for snow, and not eve $We know it's not cold enough for snow, and not everyone likes it but........we've been browsing our archive for snow pictures all the same 😆 These 2 scenes are from an album donated to us last year which dates to 1943 and includes some snaps taken in Bicclescombe Park and other unidentified locations in Ilfracombe. If anyone can spot the location of the photo with the dog, please let us know! 🤔 #snow #devon #devonmuseums #Ilfracombe #parklife$

Did you know that the Christmas season offically e $Did you know that the Christmas season offically ends tonight on Twelfth Night? In Europe and the USA this feast is still celebrated with the eating of a King cake or 'galettes du rois'. The King cakeis linked to the traditional day of Epiphany, the 6th January, which marks the day that the 3 Kings visited the baby Jesus. In medieval England Twelfth Night was when the Lord and Lady of Misrule were chosen - if anyone ate a portion of the twelfth night cake that had a special dried bean in it, they were crowned king and queen for the night and everyone had to obey them! The practice of celebrating Twelfth Night has died out in Britain, but in our North Devon Journal in 1853 there were magnificent twelfth cakes in the Ilfracombe bakers' windows; ''which were executed in a variety of devices, wrought into a filigree work like the patterns of rich lace, and surmounted by artificial flowers, fruit, and foliage; while holly and mistletoe, not artificial, aided the gorgeous combination'' Nowadays we mainly remember Twelfth Night because Shakespeare wrote a comedy based around it. Perhaps we should bring back the twelfth cake in Britain, after all who needs an excuse to eat cake? 😆 #twelfthnight #devonmuseums #cake #kingcakes #Epiphany$

1st January HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Welcome to 2022, make $1st January HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Welcome to 2022, make sure your New Year resolutions include a visit to #ilfracombemuseum 😀We can't wait to welcome you 😍 #happynewyear #welcome2022 #ilfracombe #visitilfracombe #perfectholiday$

31st December - thank you so much for following us $31st December - thank you so much for following us for this epic month long marathon sharing some of our favourite posts from the last few years. We love Ilfracombe and we love to share the museum with you. If you ask people what the most famous item in our collection is, most will reply the two headed kitten. So here is our final post for 2021, we wish you a happy and healthy 2022 and look forward to seeing you at some point during the year. Thank you all for your support. Love from all of us at Ilfracombe Museum$

30th December It would be wrong for a museum with $30th December It would be wrong for a museum with such strong ties to the sea not to celebrate seashells and seaweed! We have a wonderful collection, I wonder how many you recognise? #seashells #seaweed #ilfracombe #localsealife #museum$

29th December Would you like to support the work o $29th December Would you like to support the work of Ilfracombe Museum? Please don't forget that for as little as £12.50 a year you can help support us to continue to look after the wonderful treasures, and to plan for the future. We would love you to visit https://membermojo.co.uk/ilfracombemuseum and check out the options we offer and think about becoming a Supporter. What a #newyearresolution - supporting Ilfracombe's museum to carry on championing Ilfracombe's heritage and history In return we give you free entry to the museum all year! What's not to love?! #lovemuseums #support #forthefuture #devonmuseums #ilfracombe #newyear$

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