Find out about: Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery

About Us

Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery

Close to Plymouth's city centre this exciting regional museum has permanent galleries featuring objects from the world cultures, ancient Egypt, archaeology, maritime and local history, natural history, fine and decorative art collections.

These displays are supported by an ambitious exhibition programme, plus a varied and large-scale event programme that includes lunchtime talks, Art Bites tours, family-friendly holiday workshops, contemporary craft and creative writing workshops for adults and a host of special events. A shop and cafe are also available.

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Facilities

  • Toilets On-Site

    Toilets On-Site

  • Wheelchair access

    Wheelchair Access

  • Cafe on-site

    Refreshments On-Site

  • Childrens activities

    Family friendly

  • Gift Shop

    Gift Shop

Our Next Event

Pride in Our Past

Pride in Our Past

When: 28 April 2012 to 30 June 2012
Where: Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AJ

Discover new research about the previously hidden history of Plymouth’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities in this new exhibition, produced by the Plymouth Pride Forum and supported by the Plymouth and West Devon Record Office and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

This thought-provoking exhibition is based on new research into the City’s LGBT communities and includes personal stories, objects, photographs and more. It spans three centuries and captures the heart of the changing ‘scene’ over the decades, as well as the political struggle both past and present.

Come along and find out more about this diverse and intriguing aspect of Plymouth’s history.

Open Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5.30pm and Saturdays 10am to 5pm

more events

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Our Collections

Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery has been actively collecting since 1897 and the permanent collections are showcased across 9 different areas in the Museum. The collections include social history, archaeology, world cultures, maritime history, natural history, fine art and decorative art.

 

Archaeology Collection

The archaeological collection includes locally excavated objects from the City of Plymouth, West Devon and the South Hams. Items include prehistoric artefacts from Dartmoor as well as important Bronze Age and Iron Age material.

Archaeology Collection

Natural History Collection

The natural history collection includes an estimated 90,000 insects, 10,000 minerals, 10,000 plants, 3000 jars of wet-preserved specimens, plus hundreds of birds, mammals, eggs, shell, corals, skeletons, fossils and rocks.

Natural History Collection

Ethnographic Collection

The world cultures, or ethnography, collection consists of around 3,700 objects that have been collected from Asia, Oceania, Africa and the Americas, as well as some items from Europe. It includes weaponry, tools and utensils, games, clothing and ceremonial artefacts.

Ethnographic Collection

Fine Art Collection

Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery has a large and important fine art collection. With over 800 paintings, 3000 watercolours and drawings, over 5000 prints and small collections of sculpture and miniatures, it represents the largest fine art collection in Devon and Cornwall.

Fine Art Collection

Decorative Art Collection

The decorative art collection contains ceramics, glass, furniture, costume and textiles, silver and contemporary craft. It also includes one of the most extensive collections of the historically important Plymouth and Bristol porcelain.

Decorative Art Collection
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Our Latest news

  • New exhibitions at Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery

    22 February 2012

    Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery has a series of new and exciting exhibitions on ...read more

  • New natural history exhibition looks at ‘Forms Most Beautiful’

    19 February 2012

    'Forms Most Beautiful', a new exhibition based on the natural history collections at Plymo...read more

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