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Living History Museums in the UK
Included below are Living history museums in the UK, such as Ryedale Folk Museum. Britain's Finest Living history, open air and working museums depict the lives of our predecessors through demonstrations, interactive displays and re-creations of villages and hamlets.
Ryedale Folk Museum
Hutton-le-Hole
A warm welcome for everyone! As you step through the entrance of the Ryedale Folk Museum you will be transported back in time. Take a walk through the site and learn about the history of North Yorkshire from centuries past. Over 20 buildings on a 5... more
St Fagans: National History Museum
St Fagans, Cardiff
St Fagans: National History Museum opened on the 7th July 1948. Since then, it has established itself as one of Europe´s foremost open-air museums, becoming Wales´ most popular heritage attraction. The Museum shows how the people of Wales lived,... more
Milestones
Leisure Park, Churchill Way West, Basingstoke
Experience Milestones Museum, an award winning living history museum. Explore a network of full size streets set inside an easily accessible purpose built museum. There are period shops, vintage vehicles, a village green and even a working pub,... more
Museum of Hartlepool
Jackson Dock, Maritime Avenue, Hartlepool
The Museum of Hartlepool tells the story of Hartlepool from prehistoric times to the present day using many original artefacts, photographs and models. Fascinating archaeological finds from the stone age and the time of the Saxons give way to the... more
National Maritime Museum Cornwall
Discovery Quay, Falmouth
If you have ever pondered how to stay alive for weeks on end marooned at sea (answer: drink turtle blood) or what lighthouse keepers do when they are not alerting ships to imminent danger, take a trip to the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth,... more
Anne of Cleves Museum
52 Southover High Street, Lewes
Henry VIII and his wives have fascinated the British for generations so it’s little wonder that Anne of Cleves’ House, tucked away in rural Sussex, is such a popular visitor attraction. Anne was given the house in 1541 as part of her divorce... more
Willis Museum
Old Town Hall, Market Place, Basingstoke
At the Willis Museum, discover Basingstoke´s past from the rich archaeological heritage beneath our feet to a tour through the last 200 years. Meet Pickaxe, a 19th century scavenger scraping a living from the streets, and revisit the days of... more
Portland Basin Museum
Portland Place, Ashton-under-Lyne
Portland Basin Museum is housed within the rebuilt historic Ashton Canal Warehouse. A a lively modern museum in a peaceful canal-side setting. Inside is typical Tameside street of the 1920s with a house, school, chapel, pawnbrokers and doctors... more
Geevor Tin Mine
Pendeen, Penzance
At Geevor Mine, walk through 18th century tunnels on a guided tour, see how the extracting and processing of tin actually took place, deep in the ground and far below the sea. Visit the museum with its collection of unusual minerals found underground... more
Elizabeth Castle
St Aubin's Bay, St Helier
Set your sights on Elizabeth Castle and explore this castle named after Queen Elizabeth I by Sir Walter Raleigh whilst he was governor of Jersey. Hear the stories of the gunner, get on the parade ground and find out why the castle is so important to... more
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Latest Events/Special Offers for Elizabeth Castle
Weald & Downland Open Air Museum
Singleton, Chichester
The Weald & Downland Open Air Museum is set in 50 acres of the South Downs National Park. It is a very special place to wander amongst a fascinating collection of nearly 50 historic buildings dating from the 13th to the 19th century, many with period... more
Marlipins Museum
High Street, Shoreham-by-Sea
Marlipins Museum, once a Customs House, now holds artefacts from the long history of the Shoreham area and the maritime past plus a collection of local archaeological material from prehistoric to medieval times. Upstairs are displays on the local... more
Lewes Castle & Barbican House Museum
169 High Street, Lewes
The building of Lewes Castle began soon after the conquest of 1066 and continued for nearly 300 years and is unusual for its two motttes (artificial mounds). From the top, visitors are rewarded with magnificent views of the town and South Downs. Near... more
National Coal Mining Museum For England
Caphouse Colliery, New Road, Overton, Wakefield
The National Coal Mining Museum For England is a 41 acre site with a unique collection of buildings, displays and galleries that reveal the hidden world of mining through the centuries; learn about mining methods and machinery, the miners and their... more
Highland Folk Museum, Newtonmore
Kingussie Road, Newtonmore
The Highland Folk Museum brings to life the domestic and working conditions of earlier Highland People. Visitors to this living history museum can learn in a safe and friendly environment, how our highland ancestors lived, how they built their homes,... more
Streetlife Museum
High Street, Hull
Step back in time with 200 years of transport history and experience the sights, sounds and smells of the past. Walk down a 1940s high street, board a good train and enjoy a carriage ride.
- Veteran cars
- Trams
- Bicycle gallery... more
National Slate Museum
Gilfach Ddu, Llanberis
The National Slate Museum is set among the towering slate tips of Dinorwig Quarry, giving a wonderful insight into the history of Slate-quarrying in north Wales. A living, working piece of history that is sited in the original Victorian workshops,... more
Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse
Gressenhall, Dereham
Gressenhall Farm and Workshouse is a great day out whether you want to learn about the lives of Norfolk people in the past or relax and have a good time with your friends and family. You´ll need a whole day to begin to discover all its wonders. Roots... more
Killhope, the North of England Lead Mining Museum
near Cowshill, Upper Weardale, Bishop Auckland
Explores the life of North Pennine lead mining families. Visitors walk down the original mine tunnel and discover the working conditions of Victorian miners. See how miners lived and worked. Woodland walk & picnic site.... more
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Latest Events/Special Offers for Killhope, the North of England Lead Mining Museum
- Pennine Evolutions Exhibition at Killhope
- To view the full details of all (20) Events & Special Offers for Killhope, the North of England Lead Mining Museum, click here
Bradford Industrial Museum
Moorside Mills, Moorside Road, Eccleshill, Bradford
Bradford Industrial Museum, built in 1875 and the original spinning mill, is alive with magnificent machinery which once converted raw wool into the world´s worsted cloth. Inside the mill, you can experience the sounds and smells of the engines which... more
Acton Scott Historic Working Farm
Wenlock Lodge, Acton Scott, Church Stretton
Acton Scott Historic Working Farm is one of the gems of the Shropshire Hills, close to the market town of Church Stretton, where you can experience a flavour of every day life on an upland farm at the turn of the 20th century. Rare breed farm animals... more
Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre
Amberley, Arundel
Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre is a 36 acre open-air site set in the heart of the South Downs. Dedicated to the industrial heritage of the South-East, exhibits include a narrow-gauge railway and vintage bus service (both provide free nostalgic... more
Chiltern Open Air Museum
Newland Park, Gorelands Lane, Chalfont St Giles
The Chiltern Open Air Museum: Looking for somewhere to go with the kids this summer? Why not take them time travelling?
Join us at the Chiltern Open Air Museum for a hands-on journey through 2000 years of living history. The past is captured... more
Fishbourne Roman Palace
Salthill Road, Fishbourne, Chichester
This site of Fishbourne Roman Palace was discovered in 1960 when a water main was being laid. Evidence suggests that it was developed from three phases of building and dates from the time of the Roman invasion in AD43. The museum is built on the... more
The Canal Museum
Stoke Bruerne, Towcester
The Canal Museum in Stoke Bruerne is situated in a beautiful canal side village with a 'living canal' on its doorstep. The Museum is located in a restored corn mill alongside the Grand Union Canal and you can easily imagine what life was like in the... more
Trowbridge Museum
The Shires, Court Street, Trowbridge
Trowbridge Museum, housed in a former woollen mill, with displays telling the fascinating story of Trowbridge Town and its people. Working looms still produce cloth, which is sold within the museum. Other displays include reconstruction of Trowbridge... more
Museum of Kent Life
Lock Lane, Sandling, Maidstone
Museum of Kent Life is Kent´s award-winning open air museum, home to an outstanding collection of historical buildings, which house exhibitions on life in Kent over the last 150 years. Exhibits include a coal-fired oasthouse, a granary, a working... more
The National Waterways Museum - Ellesmere Port
South Pier Road, Ellesmere Port
National Waterways Museum: Unlock the wonders of our waterways... With its delightful setting, flotillas of historic boats and fascinating displays housed in fine Victorian buildings, the National Waterways Museum is a great day out whatever the... more
Beamish- The Living Museum of the North
Beamish, Chester-le-Street
Beamish, The North of England Open Air Museum, Britain´s favourite open-air museum, set in over 400 acres of beautiful countryside, vividly recreates life in the North of England in the early 1800s and 1900s. Winner of both the British Museum of the... more
York Castle Museum
Eye of York, York
York Castle Museum, housed in two converted 18th century prison buildings, includes reconstructed Victorian and Edwardian streets, shops and merchandise - experience four hundred years of fascinating social history. A collection of rooms have been... more
JORVIK Viking Centre
Coppergate, Coppergate, York
JORVIK Viking Centre: Explore the excavations which first unearthed the Viking-Age city of York and discover the truth about the people that lived there. Built on the very site where archaeologists discovered over 40,000 Viking-Age artefacts, this is... more
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Latest Events/Special Offers for JORVIK Viking Centre
- Looking Back at Hungate
- To view the full details of all (6) Events & Special Offers for JORVIK Viking Centre, click here
Tank Museum
Bovington, near Wool, Wareham
The Tank Museum brings the history of tanks and tank crews to life, supported by the world’s best collection of armoured vehicles and action packed live displays.
As you explore the Museum’s 6 large halls, you will come face to face with tanks that... more
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Latest Events/Special Offers for Tank Museum
- Wartime Christmas Festival and Craft Fayre
- To view the full details of all (7) Events & Special Offers for Tank Museum, click here
Summerlee Industrial Museum
Heritage Way, Coatbridge
Summerlee Industrial Museum's 22 acres are based around the site of the 19th century Summerlee Ironworks and a branch of the Monklands canal. Features are: Scotland´s only electric tramway; A huge exhibition hall with working machinery and period... more
Stockwood Discovery Centre
Stockwood Park, London Road, Luton
The Stockwood Discovery Centre - With interactive display, variety of gardens, children play area, bee gallery and much more, it is a wonderful visitor attraction and museum. Collection highlights include the internationally famous Wenlok Jug, the... more
National Museum of Rural Life
Wester Kittochside, East Kilbride
At the Museum of Scottish Country Life, escape to the countryside and enjoy a great day out at this fantastic working farm and museum. In the award winning exhibition building, find out how people lived and worked in the past and how this has shaped... more
West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village
The Visitor Centre, Icklingham Road, West Stow, Bury St Edmunds
West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village is the site of an Anglo-Saxon settlement occupied 420-650AD. Today there is a unique reconstructed Anglo-Saxon Village built on the original settlement site, giving visitors the opportunity to touch and experience... more
STEAM - Museum of the Great Western Railway
Kemble Drive, Swindon
STEAM - Museum of the Great Western Railway is located in a beautifully restored railway building where seven generations of men and women built the great locomotives. STEAM tells the story of the men and women who built, operated and travelled on... more
Vale & Downland Museum
19 Church Street, Wantage
An ideal starting-point for exploring the area. The Museum tells the story of Wantage and the Vale from earliest times to the present, through objects, films and computer interactives.... more
Normanby Hall Museum & Country Park
Normanby Hall Country Park, Normanby, Scunthorpe
Normanby Hall is a splendid Regency Mansion designed by Sir Robert Smirke and built between 1825 and 1830. On display are examples of fine furniture and also costume galleries. The Farming Museum shows the history of farming and rural crafts during... more
Black Country Living Museum
Tipton Road, Dudley
Black Country Living Museum was established in 1975 to collect, preserve, research and display items relating to the social and industrial history of the Black Country. The collection of well over 40,000 items ranges from hand made nails to whole... more
Callendar House
Callendar Estate, Falkirk
One of Scotland´s finest country houses, Callender House tells the story of over 600 years of Scottish history and architecture. Costumed staff re-create the daily routines of the past, in the working Georgian kitchen, the Printers, General Store and... more
Science Museum
Exhibition Road, London
With more than 40 galleries to explore detailing the greatest scientific break through moments of the last 300 years, the Science Museum is the largest of its type in the world. The museum is fascinating for adults and children alike, thanks to its... more
The Priest House
North Lane, West Hoathly
Built in the 15th century, The Priest House has been open as a museum since 1908. Its furnished rooms contain a fascinating array of 17th and 18th century domestic furniture, needlework and household items. Outside a formal herb garden contains over... more
The Farmland Museum & Denny Abbey
Ely Road, Waterbeach, Cambridge
Find out about the Countess and fighting monks, country craftsmen and local farming in this peaceful setting. Visit the Medieval Abbey, 17th century stone barn and farmworker´s cottage from the 1940s. Interactive exhibits for children and play and... more
Gloucester Folk Museum
99/103 Westgate Street, Gloucester
Gloucester Folk Museum has three floors of splendid Tudor and Jacobean timber-framed buildings along with new buildings housing the Dairy, Ironmonger´s shop and Wheelwright and Carpenter workshops. Displays feature local history, domestic life,... more
Dove Cottage & the Wordsworth Museum
The Wordsworth Trust, Dove Cottage, Grasmere
Dove Cottage & the Wordsworth Museum: Visit the traditional Lakeland cottage and home of the poet William Wordsworth, who in 1799 went on a walking tour of the Lake District and fell in love with Grasmere and Dove Cottage, and within a few months had... more
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'Living History, Open Air & Working' by County: Channel Islands: Channel Islands: Jersey | England: Southern England: Bedfordshire | Buckinghamshire | East Anglia: Cambridgeshire | Northern England: Cheshire | Cleveland & Teesside | South West England: Cornwall | Northern England: Cumbria | Southern England: Dorset | Northern England: Durham | East Riding of Yorkshire | South East England: East Sussex | Central England: Gloucestershire | Northern England: Greater Manchester | Southern England: Hampshire | South East England: Kent | Central England: Leicestershire | Lincolnshire | London: London | East Anglia: Norfolk | Northern England: North Yorkshire | Central England: Northamptonshire | Southern England: Oxfordshire | Central England: Shropshire | East Anglia: Suffolk | Central England: West Midlands | South East England: West Sussex | Northern England: West Yorkshire | Southern England: Wiltshire | Scotland: Central, East & North East Scotland: Falkirk | Highlands & Islands of Scotland: Highland | Edinburgh, Glasgow & Southern Scotland: Lanarkshire | Wales: South & South West Wales: Cardiff | North Wales: Gwynedd
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