Our history
Ilfracombe Museum began its life in the old laundry of the magnificent Ilfracombe Hotel. The hotel was built in the 1860s to accomodate the growing crowds of genteel tourists that were seduced by the ‘salubrious’ conditions of this seaside resort. It had electric lighting and boilers for hot and cold baths in the early days of these new inventions, making Ilfracombe a confirmed fashionable spot! The laundry is the only part of the building that now survives, housing 28,000 artifacts instead of stores of carbolic soap.
Our first curator, Mervyn Grove Palmer, retired to the town after spending the early 1900’s travelling in South America collecting for major museums. He had several species named after him and wrote two books about his expeditions. He found there was no museum or library in Ilfracombe and decided to create and run both places of educational and community value.
The museum opened on the 1st August 1932 with a collection, much of which was natural history, donated over the previous year from local people. Over twelve hundred visitors arrived on our opening day. Admission was free until 1941 and during the war the museum ran an education programme for local children and evacuees.
There was no electric light until 1935 and no telephone until 1966. Time, and a variety of curators have seen the museum expand and change in many ways, but we still work hard to ensure the spirit of the museum stays the same. The museum became a registered charity governed by trustees in 1975.
The museum still holds the spirit of its passionate founder who seems interested in everything, especially natural history. Visit our museum if you enjoy losing yourself in the eccentricity of Victorian collections – with drawers full of pinned butterflies, ammonites and fossils, wedding cake and locks of hair! Here we have personal stories from the everyday person, interactive exhibits to immerse you into the past and cabinets and clusters of objects to feast your eyes on.
A fantastic day out for families and kids. A fantastic day out for history nerds. A fantastic day out for anyone with a spare hour and a curious mind.
