Dorset County Museum closed until 2020

Volunteers have busily been decanting the Museum in the first stage to realise and deliver their long-anticipated major redevelopment thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund’s (HLF) grant in October 2017 of a monumental £11,349,200.00 – the largest ever made to Dorset.

Reopening in summer 2020, the Museum is set to remain at the heart of Dorset’s cultural community where they will continue to inspire, educate and entertain all generations as part of the Tomorrow’s Museum On Tour programme. Starting close to home, the tour will begin in Dorchester with an exciting collaboration with Brewery Square launching at the end of this month. The Museum will reside in Brewery Square over the Christmas period before hitting the road in late February.

The vision for Tomorrow’s Museum transforms it into a world-class, contemporary cultural and heritage centre fit for the 21st century. Complete with a learning and research centre, improved visitor facilities and five new exhibition spaces to display some of the four million items currently in storage, it is set to become one of the county’s go to destinations for tourists and residents alike.

The new museum will see the Victorian Hall and other existing spaces refurbished, as well as an intriguing new in-fill building sensitively designed by award-winning architects will double the Museum’s floor space.