Torquay Museum
Torquay Museum
529 Babbacombe Road
Torquay
Devon
TQ1 1HG
England
Website
General Enquiries
Marketing
Telephone
01803 293975
Fax
01803 294186
Torquay Museum is Devon’s oldest established Museum still operating, founded in 1845 and still owned and run by Torquay Museum Society, in 2004 the Society celebrated its 160th birthday. The current Museum building was begun in 1874 and within two years the building was in use. The Museum has been extended and revamped many times in its history. In 1894 the Pengelly Lecture Hall was constructed, this is still used today to host weekly lectures. Perhaps the largest revamp came in 2001 when a Heritage Lottery Grant allowed major structural work, including the introduction of a lift, full disabled access, the construction of a café, shop, and refurbishment of the entrance hall and galleries.
Venue type
Museum
Additional info
Services for visitors with mobility difficulties: All galleries of the museum are accessible for visitors with mobility problems. Access to the ground floor is by ramp, while a lift and stair lift will take you to the galleries. ToiletS for people with disabilities are available on the ground and first floors.
Services for visitors with visual impairment: The Time Ark Gallery of Natural history has many items that can be handled. These include tactile birds, fossils and a lion skin. Certain items in this gallery also have Braille labels. The Archaeology gallery has stone tools from the Palaeolithic for handling. The Old Devon Farmhouse has many items that can be handled, including a human yoke, domestic utensils and cream pan, the rooms also have a soundtrack and smells to create an atmosphere of farm life, and at times this gallery also has storytellers. The Museum is always trying to add new services for people with visual impairments, contact the museum to find out about special events and new additions.
Parking: The Museum has one parking space that can be reserved, please contact us for details. A large car park can be found on the Terrace which is only fifty yards from the Museum.
Torquay Museum
529 Babbacombe Road
Torquay
Devon
TQ1 1HG
England
Website
General Enquiries
Marketing
Telephone
01803 293975
Fax
01803 294186
The registered Museum holds collections of natural history, palaeontology, archaeology, social history, ethnography, Torquay pottery, pictorial records, and archives, relating to the Torbay area, as well as from across the world. The collections are exceptional for a Museum of this size, over 300,000 specimens are held in the stores with about one percent on display.
Collection details
Archaeology, Archives, Coins and Medals, Costume and Textiles, Decorative and Applied Art, Fine Art, Natural Sciences, Personalities, Social History, Weapons and War, World Cultures
Key artists and exhibits
- The galleries include displays of Local Natural History, South Devon Archaeology and finds from Kents Cavern, Egyptology, the life of Agatha Christie, John Salter’s Topographical watercolours, the old Devon Farmhouse, Victoriana, Torquay pottery and World Adornment. The Museum has regular temporary exhibitions, and programmes of events for all ages.
Collections services
- General guide to collections available
- Object identification and/or written enquiry service
- Public access available to collections information
- Specialist publications on collections available
- Object study facilities available (enquire in advance)
Torquay Museum
529 Babbacombe Road
Torquay
Devon
TQ1 1HG
England
Website
General Enquiries
Marketing
Telephone
01803 293975
Fax
01803 294186
