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Totnes Museum

Totnes Museum is housed in a Grade I listed authentic Elizabethan Merchant's House, built around 1575 and located on Fore Street in the heart of Totnes. It is open from March to Octobe 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 a room dedicated to the life and work of Charles Babbage, inventor of the Difference Engine and Analytical Engine. The museum will be closed until March 2024.

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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 1640 - to thank him for funding the building of the 'Exchange' - a place where fellow traders could do business. It features - in exquisite detail - images of the townspeople of that time.
Forehall

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 Tudor 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 Tudors.

Admission & prices

OPENING TIMES

Mon - Sat. 10.00 - 4.00 (last admission: 3.30) from March to October with some special event openings.

ADMISSION CHARGES

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

Coach parties and school bookings very welcome by prior arrangement - please phone.

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Museum news

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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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Change of name

Note that the STUDY CENTRE is now known as TOTNES ARCHIVES......

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Information

We regret that there is only wheelchair access to the ground floor in the museum. There are no wheelchair accessible toilets.

TOTNES ARCHIVES

OPENING HOURS
Open from February 2024
Thursday & Friday
10.30 ~ 4.00

TARIFF for Research & Services
Totnes Archives Use: £1.25 per hr
Research by post on your behalf: £7.50 per hr
One year's use of the Archives
(for Friends of Totnes Museum): £8.00

CONTACT
totnes.archives@outlook.com
01803 863821

PARANORMAL

The museum can be booked overnight by paranormal groups. Normally these events are open to the public for a fee.