Dover Museum


Uncover thousands of years of history in the heart of Dover

Dover Museum is an Attraction. Area Dover

Where

Market Square
Dover
Kent
CT16 1PH

What3words location

handbook.developed.surpassed

Useful info

  • Available: Accessible toilet/s
  • Available: Baby changing
  • Available: Blue badge/ accessible parking bay/s
  • Available: Coach parties welcome
  • Available: Family-friendly
  • Available: Guide dogs, Hearing dogs and Registered assistance dogs welcome
  • Available: Off-site parking (charges may apply)
  • Available: Public transport nearby
  • Available: Visitor toilet/s
  • Available: Wheelchair user friendly
  • Not available: Dog-friendly
  • Not available: Food and drink on site
  • Not available: Parking

Admission

Free entry

Contact

Much more than just a local history and archaeology museum!

Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery tells the story of the town and port since prehistoric times, with four galleries over three floors behind the building's original Victorian façade.

The ground floor gallery traces Dover’s history from the Stone Age to the Saxons, including the building of Dover’s Roman forts, and displays of local archaeological finds and outstanding Saxon jewellery from the British Museum’s collection. 

The story continues in the first floor History Gallery, the largest in the museum. Scale models chart the development of the growing town and port, surrounded by cases of the best of the museum’s collection – see armour, art, and dioramas of Dover’s past. A section of this gallery covers Frontline Dover and the town’s vital role in wartime Britain. 

Temporary and stairwell exhibitions

The mezzanine gallery and front stairwell host annually changing exhibitions covering all aspects of the district’s history. Past subjects include The Dover Pageant, Operation Dynamo, Smuggling and The Goodwin Sands.

The back stairwell displays a permanent exhibition about channel swimming, with tales of this amazing feat of endurance from Captain Matthew Webb in 1875 to the present day.

Visitors unable to access the stairs can borrow copies of the exhibition panels from the front desk.

The Dover Bronze Age Boat

In September 1992, archaeologists in Dover made a remarkable discovery – a prehistoric wooden boat thought to be some 3,600 years old. The boat is an internationally significant archaeological discovery: the world's oldest-known sea-going vessel.

After nearly a month of excavation, 9.5 metres of the boat was successfully recovered and preserved. Following seven years of research and conservation, the boat came back to Dover and is now proudly on display in a specially constructed chamber on the museum’s first floor.

The award-winning Bronze Age Boat Gallery tells the story of this important find and its implications for understanding the Bronze Age. Visitors can see a large collection of treasures from the Bronze Age and view a short film describing the excavation and conservation of the boat.

Schools and Education

Dover Museum offers a wide range of cross-curricular workshops for Key Stage 1, 2 & 3 pupils throughout the school year. Please see their website for full details.

Visitor Information and Gift Shop

The Visitor Information Centre and shop are situated at the museum entrance. Here you can find out about other attractions and activities, book coach and ferry tickets and buy a memento of your visit. Books, maps, cards, homeware and gifts for all occasion can be found here, along with souvenirs of Dover and Great Britain.

Museum visitors browsing souvenirs in the gift shop
The museum shop