Priest's House Museum
Encyclopedia
The Priest's House Museum is a local museum in the town of Wimborne Minster
in Dorset
, England
. It is located on the high street
, opposite the Church of Wimborne Minster. The museum occupies a historic Grade II listed town house dating from the 16th century.
The museum is dedicated to rural life in a market town in Dorset and the exhibits are based on the daily lives of people within the house and within Wimborne and Dorset. There are also exhibits on the religious use of the building and its home to past ministers of the Minster Church. The building has been restored and many of the original features remain intacted for public appreciation. Notable rooms are the 17th century main hall and the 18th century parlour and Victorian
kitchen with its working 'Beetonette' range. Displays include reconstructions of local businesses that once ran from the building. Mr Low's Victorian stationery shop (closed up for over 30 years) and the Coles' Ironmongers, were both recreated from original shop stock.
In addition to the main museum house, the East Dorset Villages Gallery gives a taste of local community life from industry to shopping, school to church life, with a hands-on Victorian schoolroom. A walled garden, with seating, behind the Priest's House covers one third of an acre and is open to visitors to the house. A tea room, formerly the 1920s Boathouse, also in the garden and on the banks of the River Allen is open to visitors.
The Priest's House Museum is run by an independent charitable trust. It is supported by East Dorset District Council but relies on admission income to operate.
shop and The Albion Inn were all damaged but the museum narrowly avoided disaster.
Wimborne Minster
Wimborne Minster is a market town in the East Dorset district of Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town...
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is located on the high street
High Street
High Street, or the High Street, is a metonym for the generic name of the primary business street of towns or cities, especially in the United Kingdom. It is usually a focal point for shops and retailers in city centres, and is most often used in reference to retailing...
, opposite the Church of Wimborne Minster. The museum occupies a historic Grade II listed town house dating from the 16th century.
The museum is dedicated to rural life in a market town in Dorset and the exhibits are based on the daily lives of people within the house and within Wimborne and Dorset. There are also exhibits on the religious use of the building and its home to past ministers of the Minster Church. The building has been restored and many of the original features remain intacted for public appreciation. Notable rooms are the 17th century main hall and the 18th century parlour and Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
kitchen with its working 'Beetonette' range. Displays include reconstructions of local businesses that once ran from the building. Mr Low's Victorian stationery shop (closed up for over 30 years) and the Coles' Ironmongers, were both recreated from original shop stock.
In addition to the main museum house, the East Dorset Villages Gallery gives a taste of local community life from industry to shopping, school to church life, with a hands-on Victorian schoolroom. A walled garden, with seating, behind the Priest's House covers one third of an acre and is open to visitors to the house. A tea room, formerly the 1920s Boathouse, also in the garden and on the banks of the River Allen is open to visitors.
The Priest's House Museum is run by an independent charitable trust. It is supported by East Dorset District Council but relies on admission income to operate.
2009 fire
The museum was almost hit by disaster on 3 July 2009 when a fire started in the adjacent buildings. Martin's newsagents, Saville Travel, a Thomas CookThomas Cook
Thomas Cook of Melbourne, Derbyshire, England founded the travel agency that is now Thomas Cook Group.- Early days :...
shop and The Albion Inn were all damaged but the museum narrowly avoided disaster.