List of museums in Kent

This list of museums in Kent, England contains museums which are defined for this context as institutions (including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing. Also included are non-profit art galleries and university art galleries. Museums that exist only in cyberspace (i.e., virtual museums) are not included.

Museums

Name Image Town/City Region Type Summary
Agricultural Museum, BrookBrookAshfordAgriculturewebsite, barn and oast house with farm tools, equipment, wagons, operated by the Wye Rural Museum Trust
Ashford MuseumAshfordAshfordLocalwebsite, local history, archaeology, geology, industry, household artifacts
Beaney House of Art and KnowledgeCanterburyCity of CanterburyMultipleKnown locally as the Beaney Institute or The Beaney, formerly known as the Royal Museum and Art Gallery, includes art, photography, local history
Belmont House and GardensThrowleySwaleHistoric house18th-century Georgian house and gardens, features extensive private collection of clocks
Blue Town Heritage CentreBlue TownSwaleLocalwebsite, local history, culture, music hall and cinema
Brattle Farm MuseumStaplehurstMaidstoneAgricultureinformation, open for groups by appointment only, historic farm equipment, household items, vintage cars
Bredgar and Wormshill Light RailwayBredgarSwaleRailwayHeritage railroad and museum with steam locomotives, freight and carriage stock, railway artefacts
British Cartoon ArchiveCanterburyCity of CanterburyArtExhibit gallery of political and social-comment cartoons from British newspapers and magazines, part of the University of Kent
Canterbury Heritage MuseumCanterburyCity of CanterburyMultipleCity history, culture, Rupert the Bear Museum for children
Canterbury Roman MuseumCanterburyCity of CanterburyArchaeologyArtifacts from Roman Britain and reconstructions
Chantry Heritage CentreGravesendGraveshamLocalwebsite, local history, located in a 14th-century chantry
Chart Gunpowder MillsFavershamSwaleIndustrywebsite, 18th-century gunpowder factory with watermill, one of the sites of the Faversham explosives industry
ChartwellWesterhamSevenoaksHistoric houseOperated by the National Trust, principal adult home of Sir Winston Churchill, exhibits, paintings and memorabilia, gardens
Chatham Historic DockyardChathamMedwayMaritimeIncludes 3 historic warships: HMS Gannet (1878), HMS Cavalier (R73) and HMS Ocelot (S17), a Victorian rope factory, a recreation of the working life of the dockyard in 1758, the Museum of the Royal Dockyard, a museum about the work of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Chiddingstone CastleChiddingstoneSevenoaksMultipleMedieval style castle, includes Egyptian and Buddhist artefacts, Japanese armour and swords, Jacobean paintings, gardens
Chillenden WindmillChillendenDoverMillReconstructed mid-19th-century windmill
C M Booth Motor MuseumRolvendenAshfordTransportationwebsite, collection of Morgan Motor Company three wheel cars, bicycles, tricycles, model cars, automotive memorabilia
Colonel Stephens Railway MuseumTenterdenAshfordRailwayHistory of Colonel H. F. Stephens, manager of the Kent and East Sussex Railway, railway equipment and memorabilia
Court Hall MuseumMilton RegisSwaleLocalwebsite, currently closed, local history, archaeology
Crabble Corn MillRiverDoverMillGeorgian and Victorian watermill
Crampton Tower MuseumBroadstairsThanetMultiplewebsite, life and works of railway engineer Thomas Russell Crampton, local railways, electric tramways, road transport, industry, model railways, local history
Cranbrook MuseumCranbrookTunbridge WellsLocalwebsite, local history, culture, rural life artifacts, toys, costumes, household items, art
Dartford Borough MuseumDartfordDartfordLocalwebsite, local history, culture, archaeology, geology, artifacts of Roman Britain, Anglo-Saxon, Norman and medieval eras
Deal CastleDealDoverMilitaryOperated by English Heritage, one of Henry VIII's Device Forts
Deal Maritime & Local History MuseumDealDoverMultiplewebsite, local history, maritime heritage
Deal Timeball Tower MuseumDealDoverMaritimeSemaphore tower used for navigation aid, exhibits about smuggling, signaling, and the mechanics of the time ball
Dickens House MuseumBroadstairsThanetBiographicalinformation, Charles Dickens memorabilia and Victoriana
Dover CastleDoverDoverMultipleOperated by English Heritage, medieval castle with exhibits about its history, Henry II of England living history tower rooms, secret World War II tunnels
Dover MuseumDoverDoverMultipleLocal history, culture, archaeology, houses the Dover Bronze Age Boat
Dover Transport MuseumDoverDoverTransportationwebsite. cars, bicycles, buses, road vehicles, model railway and tramway, local transport history, model vehicles, maritime display, 1930s garage and period shops, farm vehicles
Draper's WindmillMargateThanetMillMid-19th-century windmill
Dungeness LighthouseDungenessShepwayMaritimeLighthouse museum, adjacent to Dungeness railway station
Dymchurch Martello TowerDymchurchShepwayMilitaryOperated by English Heritage, early 19th-century artillery tower
East Kent Light RailwayShepherdswellDoverRailwayHeritage railway and signal box visitor centre with railroad artifacts, model railway
Eastgate HouseRochesterMedwayMultiple16th-century Elizabethan town house featured as the Nun's House in Charles Dickens’ novel The Pickwick Papers, Dickens' exhibits, changing exhibits of art and local history
Eden Valley MuseumEdenbridgeSevenoaksLocalLocal history, medieval period room, blacksmith and tanning trades, cricket ball making
Elham Valley Line Trust Countryside Centre & Railway MuseumPeeneShepwayRailwaywebsite, history of the Elham Valley Railway, railway artifacts, local history, railway model of the Channel Tunnel
FinchcocksGoudhurstTunbridge WellsMusicEarly Georgian manor house with collection of historical keyboard instruments
Fleur de Lis Heritage CentreFavershamSwaleMultipleWebsite, local history, explosives industry, history of Faversham Abbey and Davington Priory, Victorian period schoolroom and kitchen, period store displays, culture, gallery for changing art, history and culture exhibits
Fort AmherstChathamMedwayMilitary18th-century fort under restoration, includes World War II exhibit, period re-enactments
Godinton HouseAshfordAshfordHistoric houseJacobean house with medieval hall, gardens
Gravesend's Cold War BunkerGravesendGraveshamMilitarywebsite, 1950s Cold War underground nuclear bunker and command center
Guildhall Museum, RochesterRochester, KentMedwayLocalLocal history, culture, Victorian period drawing room and kitchen, fine art, exhibits on Charles Dickens, and agricultural engine and steam roller manufacturer Aveling and Porter
Herne WindmillHerneCity of CanterburyMillLate-18th-century windmill
Herne Bay Museum and GalleryHerne BayCity of CanterburyLocalLocal history, culture, archaeology, geology, paleontology, art
Hever CastleHeverSevenoaksHistoric houseMedieval country house, childhood home of Anne Boleyn, exhibits from differing historical eras, instruments of torture, Tudor furnishings and history
Hop Farm Country ParkBeltringTonbridge and MallingMultipleIncludes Yesterday's Village, a recreation of a bygone village with shops and artefacts on display, a wax museum, Hop Farm Museum with oast houses and exhibits about growing hops
Hythe Library and MuseumHytheLocalinformation, information, library with local history museum
Ightham MoteIghthamTonbridge and MallingHistoric houseOperated by the National Trust, medieval moated manor house, gardens
Kent & Sharpshooters Yeomanry MuseumHeverSevenoaksMilitarywebsite, located at Hever Castle, history and memorabilia of the Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry
Kent Battle of Britain MuseumHawkingeShepwayMilitaryHistory of RAF Hawkinge and the Battle of Britain, World War II aircraft
Kent LifeSandlingMaidstoneOpen airFormerly the Museum of Kent Life, 28-acre (110,000 m2) heritage farm, historic houses, farm and village buildings
Kent Museum of FreemasonryCanterburyCity of CanterburyMasonicMasonic history, paintings, glassware, porcelain, regalia
Kent Police MuseumChathamMedwayLaw enforcementHistory of the Kent County Constabulary
Killick's MillMeophamGraveshamMillEarly-19th-century windmill
Knole HouseSevenoaksSevenoaksHistoric houseOperated by the National Trust, 17th-century country house, birthplace and childhood home of Vita Sackville-West, includes rare furniture, important paintings, gardens
Lashenden Air Warfare MuseumHeadcornMaidstoneAviationLocated at Lashenden (Headcorn) Airfield, military aircraft and aviation history
Leeds CastleLeedsMaidstoneHistoric houseFormer royal palace dating to the 12th century, furnished rooms, moat, aviary, maze, grotto, gardens, dog collar museum, other attractions
Lullingstone CastleLullingstoneSevenoaksHistoric houseMedieval manor house and gardens
Lullingstone Roman VillaEynsfordSevenoaksArchaeologyOperated by English Heritage, excavated Roman villa artifacts
Lydd Town MuseumLyddShepwayLocalinformation, local history
Maidstone Museum & Art GalleryMaidstoneMaidstoneMultipleLocal history, natural history, geology, archaeology, ethnography, fine and decorative art, Ancient Egyptian artifacts, costumes, Japanese decorative arts and prints, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment Museum
Maison DieuFavershamSwaleArchaeologyOperated by English Heritage, 13th-century wayside hospital housing area Roman artifacts
Margate MuseumMargateThanetLocalwebsite, local history and culture, located in a former Victorian police station and magistrates court
Mascalls GalleryPaddock WoodTunbridge WellsArtIncludes national and international art exhibits
Minster Abbey Gatehouse MuseumMinsterSwaleLocalwebsite, local history, culture
New Hall MuseumDymchurchShepwayLocalinformation, local history
New MillWillesboroughAshfordMillMid-19th-century windmill, also houses the Norman Museum
Norman MuseumWillesboroughAshfordTransportationMopeds, motorcycles and bicycles manufactured by Norman Cycles, located at New Mill
New Tavern FortGravesendGraveshamMilitaryRemains of an 18th-century fort, guns from 1904, vaults, magazines, World War II displays
Old Brook Pumping StationChathamMedwayTechnology1920s pumping station with two diesel engines, exhibits of local industrial equipment
Old Soar ManorBorough GreenTonbridge and MallingHistoric houseOperated by the English Heritage, small 13th-century stone manor house
Otford Heritage CentreOtfordSevenoaksLocalinformation, local history
OwlettsCobhamGraveshamHistoric houseOperated by the National Trust, Charles II house and garden, home of the architect Sir Herbert Baker
Penshurst PlacePenshurstSevenoaksHistoric houseMedieval mansion and gardens, state rooms, tapestries, arms and armour, toy museum
Powell-Cotton MuseumBirchington-on-SeaThanetMultipleIncludes the 19th-century Regency-period Quex House, museum exhibits of wildlife dioramas, African cultural objects, firearms and cutting weapons, area archaeological artifacts, and porcelain from China and Europe collected by the family, Victorian gardens
Princess of Wales Royal Regiment MuseumDoverDoverMultipleLocated in Dover Castle, uniforms, weapons, regimental memorabilia
Quebec HouseWesterhamSevenoaksHistoric houseOperated by the National Trust, childhood home of General James Wolfe, exhibits about his life, the Battle of Quebec (1759), military memorabilia
Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment MuseumMaidstoneMaidstoneMilitaryLocated inside the Maidstone Museum & Art Gallery
Queenborough Guildhall MuseumQueenboroughSwaleLocalwebsite, local history, culture, industry, maritime heritage
RAF Manston History MuseumManstonThanetAviationwebsite, history of RAF Manston since 1916
Ramsgate Maritime MuseumRamsgateThanetMaritimeMaritime history of East Kent, development of the harbour, navigation, fishing, lifeboats and shipwrecks
Restoration HouseRochester, KentMedwayHistoric houseElizabethan mansion and garden where King Charles II stayed in 1660 on his way to reclaim England's throne
Rochester Art Gallery and Craft CaseRochesterMedwayArtwebsite, changing exhibits of fine art, craft and design
Roman Painted HouseDoverDoverArchaeologyExcavated remains of a Roman mansio, artifacts
Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch RailwayNew RomneyShepwayRailwayHeritage railway headquarters at the New Romney railway station with engine sheds and model train museum
Romney Marsh Wartime CollectionBrenzettShepwayMilitarywebsite, history of RAF Brenzett, remains recovered from aircraft crash sites, World War II aircraft, military equipment and memorabilia
Royal Engineers MuseumGillinghamMedwayMilitaryHistory of the Corps of Royal Engineers and British military engineering
Rupert Bear MuseumCanterburyCity of CanterburyChildren's literatureRupert the Bear museum for children – part of the Museum of Canterbury
Salomons MuseumSouthboroughTunbridge WellsHistoric houseCountry house of Sir David Salomons, the first Jewish Lord Mayor of London, and of his nephew, Sir David Lionel Salomons, a scientist and engineer
Sandwich Guildhall MuseumSandwichDoverLocalwebsite, local history
Sarre WindmillSarreThanetMillEarly 19th-century windmill
Scotney CastleLamberhurstTunbridge WellsHistoric houseOperated by the National Trust, 19th-century Elizabethan-style house and ruins of a medieval castle and moat, formal gardens
Sevenoaks MuseumSevenoaksSevenoaksLocalwebsite, part of the Sevenoaks Kaleidoscope, local history, culture
Sheerness Heritage CentreSittingbourneSwaleLocalinformation, local history, 19th-century-period rooms
Shoreham Aircraft MuseumShorehamSevenoaksAviationMilitary aviation in World War II, relics from crashed RAF and Luftwaffe aircraft
Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light RailwaySittingbourneSwaleRailway2 ft 6in narrow gauge heritage railway that operates from Sittingbourne to the banks of The Swale.
Sittingbourne Heritage MuseumSittingbourneSwaleLocalwebsite, local history, archaeology
Six Poor Travellers HouseRochester, KentMedwayHistoric house16th-century charity house with restored Elizabethan bedrooms, inspiration for Charles Dickens' short story, The Seven Poor Travellers
Smallhythe PlaceSmall HytheAshfordHistoric houseOperated by the National Trust, 16th-century half-timbered house, home of Victorian actress Ellen Terry, houses her theatrical costume collection, local shipbuilding heritage
South Foreland LighthouseDoverDoverMaritimeOperated by the National Trust, first lighthouse powered by electricity and the site of the first international radio transmission
Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial MuseumManstonThanetAviationwebsite, World War II military aviators and aircraft, aviation memorabilia
St Augustine's AbbeyCanterburyCity of CanterburyReligiousOperated by English Heritage, remains and museum about the 7th-century Benedictine abbey
St Margaret's MuseumSt Margaret's BayDoverLocalLocal history and the environment
Stelling Minnis Windmill and MuseumStelling MinnisShepwayMillMid-19th-century windmill, also known as Davison's Mill
Stocks MillWittershamAshfordMill18th-century windmill
StoneacreOthamMaidstoneHistoric houseOperated by the National Trust, 15th-century half-timbered yeoman's house
Swanton MillMershamAshfordMillinformation, information, weather boarded watermill in working order
Teapot IslandYaldingMaidstoneArtCollection of over 3500 ceramic teapots
Temple ManorStroodMedwayHistoric house13th-century house of the Knights Templar with 17th-century additions
Tenterden MuseumTenterdenAshfordLocalwebsite, local history, maritime heritage, Victorian room, hops growing and harvesting, tapestry depicting town history, industry
The Canterbury TalesCanterburyCity of CanterburyHistoryvisites audio
Tonbridge CastleTonbridgeTonbridge and MallingHistoryMotte and bailey gatehouse with medieval period rooms and audio tours
Tunbridge Wells Museum & Art GalleryRoyal Tunbridge WellsTunbridge WellsMultiplewebsite, local history, toys, costumes, Tunbridge ware, natural history, art
Turner ContemporaryMargateThanetArtVisual arts centre, exhibitions of contemporary and historical art, events and activities
Tyrwhitt-Drake Museum of CarriagesMaidstoneMaidstoneTransportationCollection of horse-drawn vehicles and transport curiosities
Union MillCranbrookTunbridge WellsMillEarly 19th-century windmill
Upnor CastleUpnorMedwayMilitaryOperated by English Heritage, Elizabethan artillery fort
Walmer Castle and GardensWalmerDoverHistoric houseOperated by English Heritage, built by Henry VIII as an artillery fortress, later residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, exhibits about the Duke of Wellington, gardens
Walpole Bay Hotel & MuseumMargateThanetHistorywebsite, 1914 hotel that includes displays of hotel antiques, history of the hotel, fossils and natural history artifacts, 19th- and 20th-century glass
Westenhanger CastleWestenhangerShepwayHistoric houseMedieval castle and barns under restorations, features a replica of the ship Discovery, one of the three ships that established the first permanent English speaking colony in America at Jamestown, Virginia
West Gate TowersCanterburyCity of CanterburyMilitaryArmaments from the English Civil War to World War II, original prison cells and murder holes
White Mill Rural Heritage CentreSandwichDoverMillIncludes a mid-18th-century windmill, early 20th-century miller's cottage, farming and craft tools, a wheelwright's workshop, and a blacksmith's workshop
Whitstable Museum and GalleryWhitstableCity of CanterburyLocalLocal history, maritime heritage of oysters, diving and shipping, natural history, art
Woodchurch MillWoodchurchAshfordWindmillEarly 19th-century windmill
Woodchurch Village Life MuseumWoodchurchAshfordLocalwebsite, local history, rural life artifacts, culture, trades and professions

Defunct museums

See also
  • Category:Tourist attractions in Kent

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-04-23. Retrieved 2010-04-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Medway Council, Eastgate House
  2. http://www.thamesbarge.org.uk/barges/charter/dolphinyard.html Archived 2010-04-18 at the Wayback Machine Dolphin Yard Sailing Barge Museum
  3. "Farming World will NOT reopen this year despite promises by landowner of popular Kent family attraction in Boughton near Faversham". Kent Online. April 17, 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  4. http://www.romar.org.uk/page489.html%5B%5D Kent Fire and Rescue Service Museum
  5. http://www.highamvillagehistory.org.uk/FireMusm.htm Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine Photos
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2007-11-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Dover Discovery Centre history
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