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Totnes Museum

Totnes Museum is housed in a Grade I listed authentic Elizabethan Merchant's House, built in 1575 and located on Fore Street in the heart of Totnes. This year the house is 450 years old and we've added new displays to celebrate this! The Museum has a Collection of over 10,000 artifacts which together tell the story of Totnes and the surrounding area.

The Museum has twelve galleries, a courtyard and a herb garden. Highlights include a collection of coins minted in Totnes during Saxon times, the Lee ring dating from 1652 and information about the life and work of Charles Babbage, inventor of the Difference Engine and Analytical Engine and Ada Lovelace who was vitally important to his work.

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Saxon Coins

In Saxon times Totnes was a minting Burgh, a fortified town which produced its own coinage. The Museum houses a collection of coins minted in Totnes during the Saxon period, which are currently on display in the Bennett Room.
Charles Babbage

The museum houses an exhibition detailing the work that Charles Babbage conducted, as well as describing the advancement in the field of modern computers and technology.
Lee Ring

This is one of two rings presented to the daughters of Totnes merchant Richard Lee - around 1650 - to thank him for funding the building of " Church Walk" a place where fellow traders could do business. The other ring is in the V&A. Its decoration is enamel on gold.
Fore Hall

The Elizabethan Forehall. This gallery is dedicated to demonstrating how Elizabethans and later citizens would have lived, as well as containing some beautiful examples of Elizabethan and Jacobean furniture.
The Kitchen

This gallery compares food and cookery throughout the Elizabethan and Victorian periods, and the displays include some good examples of cookery equipment and the food enjoyed by Elizabethans and later residents

Admission & prices

OPENING TIMES

We will be open on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10.30am to 4.00pm from April to October and we're opening some Saturdays starting on May 31st. Check our website for up to date opening days and times: https://www.totnesmuseum.org/

We'll also be taking part in Heritage Open Days in September 2025.

ADMISSION CHARGES

The Museum is free to enter but we depend on visitor donations.

Coach parties and school bookings are welcome - please email us in advance of your visit as we are not a large Museum!

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Museum news

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Summer season opening

The Museum will open for the summer season on Tuesday April 1st 2025 and we'll be open on Tuesdays and Fridays for the season......

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TOTNES MUSEUM SOCIETY TALKS 2015 2016

Thursday October 8th 2015 AGM followed by ROMAN DEVON Speaker THOMAS CADBURY, Curator of Antiquities at RAMM Thursday November 12th 2015 MEDIEVAL SCULPTURE OF THE SOUTH WEST Speaker ALEX WOODCOCK, sculptor and conserv......

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Information

The Museum is in the centre of Totnes and close to many facilities including car parks. There is limited wheelchair access to the ground floor of the museum only. There are no toilets, but there public toilets nearby and cafes in the town.

HOUSE 450: This year the Museum building is 450 years old so there are new displays to celebrate this.

TOTNES ARCHIVE is sited in the courtyard garden at the rear of the Museum
OPENING HOURS - Fridays 10.30 am until 2.00pm. Other times may be possible by appointment.

TARIFF for Research & Services
Totnes Archives Use: £2.50 per hr
Research by post on your behalf: £15.00 per hr

CONTACT the ARCHIVE
archive@totnesmuseum.org

PARANORMAL
The Museum can be booked overnight by paranormal groups for a fee depending on the numbers attending. Groups will need to have your own insurance. Email info@totnesmuseum.org in the first instance.

Totnes Elizabethan House Museum
70, Fore Street
TOTNES
TQ9 5RU

T: 01803 863821
E: info@totnesmuseum.org