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Tiverton Museum is a veritable gem of a museum!
The Museum started, in 1959, in modest and very restricted premises on Angel Hill which it soon outgrew; after a brief period at Chilcott School it moved to a former National School Building (dated 1841) in St Andrew’s Street. This site recently saw major improvement so as to house the important collection in the best possible environment for enjoyment, interest and research, and re-opened in 2001. The entrance, in Beck’s Square, is bright, light and welcoming. There is plenty of car parking (short and long stay) nearby and the bus station is less than 200 metres away; look for the mural of the “Tivvy Bumper”!

The Museum has one of the best social history collections in the South West covering local agriculture, domestic life, industry, and transport in the Mid Devon and south Exmoor areas. Ride the footplate of the “Tivvy Bumper” and hear the sounds of the engine at full steam – just as it did when it hauled the last train to Tiverton Town Station in October 1965.

There is a fine collection of local clocks, domestic and agricultural equipment and a large collection of archives, and several thousand photographs. Children always seem to remember the “bleeding leg” caught in a mantrap! Indeed, there is something of everything to keep an entire family delighted by their visit, as well as resources for researchers of local or family history. Almost every part of the collection is now accessible to the disabled with a lift and easy ramps for wheelchair access, together with Braille panels and sound points.

In the Amory Gallery there is a real gold mine of items and records showing local history, commerce, the war years, shops, toys, sport, fashion and a detailed “time-line” showing the relationship of events in Tiverton and Mid Devon to national and international happenings.

The Museum is a Service Point for the Devon Records Office and can, with notice, give access to the County’s extensive records. Family history researchers can get help and advice on Mondays (2.00 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.) and Wednesdays (10.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.) or at other times by appointment.

One of the features of the present Museum is the beautifully presented interpretation of the exhibits throughout the galleries. The graphics panels are models of clarity and lucid explanation and add hugely to visitors’ enjoyment.

Mention must be made of the quite remarkable success of the Museum’s website (to be found at www.tivertonmuseum.org.uk.) The on-line learning resource “Virtual Victorians” has had millions of “hits” from thousands of “virtual” visitors from all round the world. The Museum Education Service offers a wide range of resource for both formal education and lifelong learning; there are handling collections for schools and special activities and events during school holidays.

The Museum is open (February to December) Monday to Friday from 10.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10.00 a.m. to 1.0 p.m.; there is a shop with many items of local interest, and with cards and photographs to remind you of your visit.