Beaminster Museum

Beaminster Museum Beaminster Museum is a fascinating small museum about the history of this part of West Dorset, with plenty to see and do for all ages.

Admission free - donations welcome! See website for latest info

Did you know that this week (1st -7th June) is Volunteers' Week?It is a week for to say a big thank you to all the lovel...
01/06/2026

Did you know that this week (1st -7th June) is Volunteers' Week?

It is a week for to say a big thank you to all the lovely volunteers at Beaminster Museum who contribute to keeping the museum as an invaluable asset for Beaminster and the wider community.

It is also an ideal opportunity for you to come & pop into the museum to see if you would like to be part of our amazing team - or contact us on [email protected].

We are open at the following times:
Tues, Thurs, Sat, Bank Holidays: 10:30am - 4:00pm
Sun: 2:00pm to 4:30pm

Entry is FREE but as a completely volunteer-run museum with no council support, donations are always welcome.

We are open for the summer season with a wonderful exhibition for this summer only of the impact of fire, flood and fros...
21/05/2026

We are open for the summer season with a wonderful exhibition for this summer only of the impact of fire, flood and frost on the local area. We also have new exhibitions of fossils* and of prehistoric finds in West Dorset, plus all our other social, agricultural and industrial history displays

We are open at the following times:
Tues, Thurs, Sat, Bank Holidays: 10:30am - 4:00pm
Sun: 2:00pm to 4:30pm
Entry is FREE but as a completer volunteer-run museum with no council support, donations are always welcome.

*Hence the "170 million years in the making", in case you were wondering.

As the apple blossom fades for another year, it has reminded us that Dorset has a long and deeply rooted cider-making tr...
18/05/2026

As the apple blossom fades for another year, it has reminded us that Dorset has a long and deeply rooted cider-making tradition, especially in the orchards of west Dorset where cider once formed part of everyday farming life and local trade. For centuries, small farmhouse producers supplied villages and farm workers rather than large commercial markets, giving Dorset cider a distinctly local character. Areas such as Netherbury were particularly well known for their orchards and cider makers, including the Warren family, preserving old methods well into the late twentieth century. Although many orchards disappeared over time, Dorset has seen a revival in recent years through artisan producers helping to keep the county’s orchard heritage and farmhouse cider culture alive.

Pictures from Beaminster Museum, except the landscape of apple trees in blossom (c) Isaac Cider

Find out more about the agricultural heritage of West Dorset at Beaminster Museum. We are open at the following times:
Tues, Thurs, Sat, Bank Holidays: 10:30am - 4:00pm
Sun: 2:00pm to 4:30pm
Entry is FREE but as a completer volunteer-run museum with no council support, donations are always welcome.

Thanks to Rob Kemp for the information in this post.

Have you thought about Beaminster Museum shop as the place to get your good-value crafty gifts? No? Then think again - b...
15/05/2026

Have you thought about Beaminster Museum shop as the place to get your good-value crafty gifts? No? Then think again - beautiful hand-crafted items made by volunteers at very giftable prices. Cards by local artists too!

The shop is open whenever the museum is open.

Opening times times:
Tues, Thurs, Sat, Bank Holidays: 10:30am - 4:00pm
Sun: 2:00pm to 4:30pm

And if you also want to look around the museum, entry is FREE , though as a completer volunteer-run museum with no council support, donations are always welcome.

In July 1994 Beaminster Ladies Hockey team finally won their first major trophy when they beat Westlands in a penalty sh...
11/05/2026

In July 1994 Beaminster Ladies Hockey team finally won their first major trophy when they beat Westlands in a penalty shoot-out to win the Yeovil and District’s summer league on the astroturf at Yeovil Town football club. Urged on by centre half and captain Eleanor Wood they created the better chances but the injury to Emma Davies, who was taken to hospital, unsettled the team. So they failed to press home their advantage. However, they made few mistakes in the penalty shootout when goals from Emma Gardiner, Gemma Paull and Ruth David sealed their victory.

Beaminster Museum curates all kinds of local sporting information so it's nice to feature it in our social media too.

We are open at the following times:
Tues, Thurs, Sat, Bank Holidays: 10:30am - 4:00pm
Sun: 2:00pm to 4:30pm
Entry is FREE but as a completer volunteer-run museum with no council support, donations are always welcome.



Thanks to Bob Waterhouse for the post.

08/05/2026

Imagine walking on sand which is 165 million years old ... This slab of Forest Marble originates from Corscombe where it was used as a doorstep. Formed under warm shallow seas, you can see ripples on its surface, much as on a modern beach. There are traces showing where creatures such as crabs left trails as they scampered across the surface. Circular marks show where creatures lived under the surface but emerged for food. Modern equivalents would be razor shells. The organisms which made such trails or marks are rarely preserved

Come and see our fossil collection from the local area at Beaminster Museum.

We are open at the following times:
Tues, Thurs, Sat, Bank Holidays: 10:30am - 4:00pm
Sun: 2:00pm to 4:30pm
Entry is FREE but as a completely volunteer-run museum with no council support, donations are always very welcome.

A re-share, just in case you missed our version of this story a week or so ago
05/05/2026

A re-share, just in case you missed our version of this story a week or so ago

Looking for something to do on Bank Holiday Monday? Come along to find out about FIRES in Beaminster and just how the to...
03/05/2026

Looking for something to do on Bank Holiday Monday? Come along to find out about FIRES in Beaminster and just how the town was devastated in 1664, during the civil war.

By the way, the picture is of a cannonball, probably from the civil war, found in Drimpton. It was a _musket_ which cause the fire in Beaminster: the town was Parliamentarian but was taken by Prince Maurice's Royalist army. During the royalist occupation, on 14th April 1644 a fire broke out which destroyed much of the town. Where did it happen, how many houses were lost, how did the town recover? Come along to the museum to find out.

We are open at the following times:
Tues, Thurs, Sat, Bank Holidays: 10:30am - 4:00pm
Sun: 2:00pm to 4:30pm
Entry is FREE but as a completer volunteer-run museum with no council support, donations are always welcome.

Address

Beaminster
DT83NB

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10:30am - 4pm
Thursday 10:30am - 4pm
Saturday 10:30am - 4pm
Sunday 2pm - 4:30pm

Telephone

+441308863623

Website

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