Shire Hall Museum

17/06/2026

🎁 Father’s Day is this Sunday! 🎁

Still searching for the perfect gift for Dad? Visit the Shire Hall shop, where you’ll find a wonderful range of thoughtful gifts, books, and local treasures.

Why not give Dad an Annual Pass to Shire Hall Museum — a gift that lasts all year?

With an annual pass, he can enjoy unlimited visits to:
⚖️ The historic courtroom and cells
🖼 Special exhibitions
📚 Fascinating Dorset history
✨ And much more throughout the year

🎟 Annual Pass Prices:
Adults £10.50
Children £5.50
Under 5s go free

Perfect for history lovers, curious minds, and anyone who enjoys discovering something new.

10/06/2026

🌈 **Pride Month Sale Alert!** 🌈

✨ **20% OFF ALL Pride items** in our gift shop until the **end of the month**! ✨

From colorful gifts to thoughtful books, now’s the perfect time to show your support and stock up on items you love.

🏳️‍🌈 **Shop now and save 20%**
📅 Offer ends **30 June
📍 Available in our gift shop

06/06/2026

Huge thanks to everyone who supported our sell-out drama and dining fundraising event ‘Justice on Trial’. From the fantastic food and service that Bobbie and the cafe team provided, to the amazing volunteers who took on the challenge of researching and acting in these real Dorset Victorian trials. Many were thrown in at the deep end and rose to the occasion brilliantly. Thanks also to everyone who came along and took part as jurors and audience members. What an amazing event.

03/06/2026

🌟 National Volunteers’ Week 🌟

This week, we’re celebrating the wonderful volunteers who help make Shire Hall such a welcoming and vibrant place. From greeting visitors and supporting events to helping share Dorset’s stories, their enthusiasm and dedication are truly invaluable. ❤️

As a registered charity, we rely on the generosity of our volunteer team, and we are incredibly grateful for everything they do behind the scenes and front of house.

Interested in joining our friendly team? We’d love to hear from you!

📧 [email protected]
📞 01305 261849

01/06/2026

🌈 Happy Pride Month from Shire Hall 🌈

At Shire Hall Museum, we’re proud to be a welcoming and inclusive space for our LGBTQ+ visitors, friends, and community — not just during Pride Month, but throughout the year. Pride is a time to celebrate the creativity, resilience, and contributions of LGBTQ+ people past and present, and to continue sharing stories that deserve to be heard.

To mark Pride Month, join us on Saturday 6th June at 11am for a fascinating fundraising talk: ✨ Bohemia in East Chaldon ✨
Presented by Mark Damon Chutter, Chairman and Academic Director of the Thomas Hardy Society, this special talk explores the extraordinary artistic and literary community that flourished in Chaldon Herring during the 1920s and 30s.

Focusing on figures including the Powys family, Sylvia Townsend Warner, and sculptor Elizabeth Muntz, Mark will examine themes of gender, sexuality, creativity, and the Dorset landscape — revealing how this remarkable circle became a rural counterpart to the Bloomsbury Group.

📍 Shire Hall Museum, Dorchester
🗓 Saturday 6th June
⏰ 11am
🎟 £10 per ticket
Available from the front desk or online

Why not arrive early and enjoy coffee and cake in our café before the talk?

Let’s celebrate love, literature, art, and LGBTQ+ history — this month and every month. 💖

28/05/2026

This Saturday, we have not one but TWO events happening! Something for all the family to enjoy. Buy your tickets on the day or book ahead.

26/05/2026

Many thanks to The New Blackmore Vale for running a feature on our 5th June drama & dining fundraising event, ''Justice on Trial'' in their latest issue. (It's on page 22😊)

"BLAZING A TRAIL"
Issue 148 out now! 📰
The latest issue of The New Blackmore Vale is out now!
You can read it here: https://blackmorevale.net/latest-issue/

18/05/2026

🌸✨ MAY SPRING SALE ✨🌸

Enjoy **50% OFF** for the rest of May at our lovely gift shop! (Some exclusions apply - please ask at the front desk).
Every purchase helps us raise vital funds to support the work we do as a social justice museum.

18/05/2026

Today is International Museum Day.
Museums are places where stories are preserved, shared, and re-examined—and here at Shire Hall, those stories are often deeply human.
From the Tolpuddle Martyrs to Elizabeth Martha Brown, the people who passed through these rooms and cells remind us that history is not just about the past—it continues to shape how we understand justice today.
Thank you to everyone who has visited, supported, and shared our work.

13/05/2026

📚 Moonfleet Crimson Tide – Live Storytelling Event
Saturday 30th May | 10:15am – 12:15pm

Join local author Will Adams for a lively and atmospheric family event bringing Moonfleet Crimson Tide to life.

Inspired by tales of smuggling and adventure along the Dorset coast, this immersive session blends storytelling, music, and creativity. Children can also take part in drawing activities, with a chance to win a special prize.

🎟 £5 per child | £3 per accompanying adult
📧 Book via: [email protected]
📞 Or call: 01305 261849
👉 For more information on this event, visit: https://shirehalldorset.org/events/moonfleet-crimson-tide-an-exciting-reimagining-of-a-classic-story/

A fun and imaginative session for ages 8–80.

Join us for a lively and atmospheric family event with local children’s author Will Adams, as he brings his exciting reimagining of his book Moonfleet Crimson Tide to life.