A Visitors Guide To Cotswold Museums

Athelstan Museum
Town Hall, Cross Hayes, Malmesbury, SN16 9BZ. (01666 829258

This local museum situated in the centre of Malmesbury. The museum displays include lace-making, costume, rural life, local history and old paintings and pictures of the town. Opening times please telephone prior to visit. Admission is free.

Arlington Mill Museum
Bibury, Gloucestershire. GL7 5NL. (01285 740368.

The mill dating from the 17th century traces its history through pictures, photographs and documents and examples of milling and machinery. Open all year. Admission is charged.

The American Museum and Gardens
Claverton Manor, Bath, Somerset. (01225 460503.

The American Museum in Britain has the finest collection of American arts outside of the USA. The museum tells the story of the American way of life from colonial times to the Civil War. Visits may coincide with other events associated with American life.
Opening times March-November- limited times.(closed Mondays except August and bank holidays). Admission is charged.

The Jane Austen Centre
40 Gay Street, Queen Square, Bath, Somerset. (01225 443000.
www.janeausten.co.uk

Jane Austin, famous novelist spent five years in Bath and this time spent here is reflected in the novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. The centre has been created with the help of the Jane Austen Society. Open all year. Admiision is charged.

Banbury Museum
Spiceball Park Road, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX16 2PQ. Contact: (01295 259855.

This is a new museum where visitors can interact with hands on displays and audio-visual screens that tell the storyof the Oxfordshire Canal and the Tooleys boatyard. Visitors can also discover more on the history of Banbury town famous for the nursery rhyme, Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross and Banbury cakes.. Open all year. Admission is free.

Bath Postal Museum
8, Broad Street, Bath, Somerset. (01225 460333

Bradford on Avon Museum
Bridge Street, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire. BA15 1BY. (01225 863280.

The museum displays aspects of the heritage of the town and villages of the former Bradford Hundred. The exhibition includes a complete pharmacy shop which once stood in the town and was removed and rebuilt at the museum. Opening times. All year.(limited times). Admission is free.

Bristol Aero Collection
Hanger A1, Kemble Airfield, Gloucestershire, GL7 6BA. (0117 9080908.

The Broadway Teddy Bear Museum
76 High Street, Broadway, Worcestershire, WR12 7AJ. (01386 858323.

Charlbury Museum
Charlbury, Oxfordshire. (01608 810060.
www.oxfordshirecotswolds.org

Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum
Clarence Street, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
(01242 237431
www.cheltenham.artgallery.museum

Galleries include a nationally important Arts and Crafts Movement collection and changing special exhibitions. Open all year but closed public holidays. Admission is free.(Donations accepted).

Chipping Norton Museum
High Street, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. (01608 658518.
www.oxfordshirecotswolds.org

Cogges Manor Farm Museum
Church Lane, Witney, Oxfordshire, OX28 3LA . (01993 772602.

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Corinium Museum
Park Street, Cirencester, Gloucestershire.
www.cotswold.gov.uk

Cotswold Motoring Museum and Toy Collection
The Old Mill, Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire. (01451 821255.

Cricklade Museum
Calcutt Street, Cricklade, Wiltshire.

This local museum is home to a collection of material depicting the history of the town from the Roman occupation onwards using an archive of 2000 photographs. Opening times February-December.(Limited days and times). Admission is charged.

Holburne Museum of Art
Great Pulteney Street, Bath, Somerset. (01225 466669.
www.bath.ac.uk/holburne

The Hook Norton Brewery Co.Ltd Visitor Centre
Hook Norton, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX15 5NY.Contact: (01608 730294.
www.hook-norton-brewery.co.uk

If you have ever tried home brewing and found it a struggle then you need to visit the brewery to see how the professionals do it. Open Monday-Friday all year.

William Herschel Museum
New King Street, Bath, Somerset. (01225 311342.
www.bath-preservation-trust.org.uk

The Impossible Microworld of Willard Wigan
4 & 5 Monmouth Street, Bath, Somerset. (01225 333003.
www.TheImpossibleMicroworld.com

The Edward Jenner Museum
Church Lane, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, GL13 9BH. (01453 811690/810631.
www.jennermuseum.com

Discover the birthplace of the famous scientist Edward Jenner. The world is free of the disease, smallpox and the museum is dedicated to the work of the great man. Open April-October. (Limited opening times).

Museum in the Park
Mansion House, Stratford Park, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 4AF. (01453 763394.

Museum of Costume and Assembly Rooms
Bennett Street, Bath, Somerset. (01225 477789.

Nature In Art Museum and Art Gallery
Wallsworth Hall
Twigworth, Gloucestershire, GL2 9PA. (01452 731422.
www.nature-in-art.org.uk

The world's first art gallery and museum dedicated exclusively to art inspired by nature. The collection involves work from over 60 countries spanning 1500 years and covers 600 artists and craftspeople. Open tues-sun and bank holidays.

The National Waterways Museum at Gloucester
Gloucester Historic Docks. (01452 318054

Housed in a splendid Victorian warehouse the museum covers 200 years of our inland waterways and uses touch- screen computers to bring history to life. There is also a working blacksmith's shop and boat trips are available. Open all year. Admission is charged.

Oakridge Village Museum
Stroud, Gloucestershire. (01285 760490.

Oxfordshire Museum
Woodstock, Oxfordshire. (01993 811456.
www.oxfordshire.gov.uk

The museum housed in the former Fletcher's House is an ideal introduction to the history of Oxfordshire. The museum is designed around the rooms of the house and consists of 10 galleries each with a theme. Access for the disable is available with stair lifts to the upper floors. There is a no smoking policy, coffee shop and picnic area in the gardens. This is an enjoyable, well presented day out in the small town of Woodstock. There is an admission charge although entry was free on my visit.

Oxford Bus Museum
Long Hanborough, Oxfordshire. (01993 883617

More than a 100 years of local public transport is on display at the museum at Long Hanborough. The collection began in 1967 and contains over forty exhibits. Open every Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday and every Saturday from Easter 'til October. Admission is charged.

Swinford Museum
Filkins, Oxfordshire. (01367 860209.
www.oxfordshirecotswolds.org

Soldiers Of Gloucestershire
Gloucester Docks, Gloucester, GL1 2HE. (01452 522682.
www.glosters.org.uk

The museum tells the story of over 300 years of soldiering in the Gloucestershire regiments. The courage, stories and sacrifices of the brave men are all brought together in an exciting and colourful exhibition. Open all year tues-suns, public holidays and mons during April-October. Admission is charged.

Tetbury Police Museum JJ
The Old Court House, Long Street, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, GL8 8AA. (01666 504670.

Tolsey Museum
Burford, Oxfordshire. (01367 810294.
www.oxfordshirecotswolds.org

Wellington Aviation Museum
Bourton Road, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, GL56 0BG. (01608 650323. www.wellingtonaviation.org

Winchcombe Folk and Police Museum
High Street, Winchcombe, GL54 5LJ. (01242 609151.

Winchcombe Railway Museum & Garden
Winchcombe, Gloucestershire. (01242 602257.

Witney Museum
Witney, Oxfordshire. (01993 775915.
www.oxfordshirecotswolds.org

World Of Mechanical Music
The Oak House, High Street, Northleach, Gloucestershire, GL54 3ET. (01451 860181. www.mechanicalmusic.co.uk

The museum is a reminder of musical instruments of days long ago. A reminder of what our great grandparents would have listened to before radio became the main source of broadcasting began in the 1920's. Opening times Open daily (except Christmas Day and Boxing Day). Admission is charged.

Wotton-under-Edge Heritage Centre
The Chipping, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, GL12 7AD. (01453 521541.
www.conygres.co.uk

The centre located in the former fire station provides visitors with an insight to the history of the town. Open all year. Tuesdays-Saturdays. Admission is free.