Ilchester Museum facts for kids
![]() Entrance to the Ilchester Museum in the High Street (Note the hanging "Ilchester Museum" sign above the front door)
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Location | Ilchester, Somerset, England |
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Type | Local museum |
Listed Building – Grade II
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Official name: Town Hall House | |
Designated: | 19 April 1961 |
Reference #: | 1267580 |
The Ilchester Museum is a small local museum located in Ilchester, Somerset, England. It's a great place to learn about the history of this ancient town. The museum is inside an old private house, which is known as the Town Hall House. This historic building is a Grade II listed building, meaning it's officially recognized as important and protected.
Discovering Ilchester's Past
The Museum Building
The building where the museum is located was originally a private house. It was likely built in the 1700s. It stands right behind the Ilchester Town Hall. The house might have been changed a bit when the town hall was finished in 1816.
What You Can See at the Museum
The Ilchester Museum opened in 1989. It was created to honor a local writer named James Stevens-Cox. He wrote an important book about Ilchester's history in 1947. The museum is looked after by the Ilchester Town Trust.
The museum has many cool things that show Ilchester's history. You can see items from the Iron Age and Roman times. Back then, Ilchester was known as Lindinis. The exhibits cover the town's story all the way up to today.
Some of the amazing things you can find there include:
- A complete female skeleton from the end of the Roman period.
- The town's special 13th-century mace or staff of office. This staff has symbols of Richard I and is the oldest staff of its kind in England!
- A full set of Maundy Money. This special money was given by Queen Elizabeth II to a local person in 1993. The museum got it in 1995.
In 2017, the museum even helped with a radio show! Staff from the museum assisted with a program about Ilchester's old jails. It was part of the BBC Radio Somerset show called Treasure Trove.