Museum of East Dorset facts for kids
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The Museum of East Dorset is a fun place to visit in Wimborne Minster, a town in Dorset, England. It used to be called the Priest's House Museum. You can find it right on the main street, across from the Wimborne Minster Church. The museum is inside a very old building, a hall house built in the late 1500s or early 1600s. This building is so special that it's officially protected as a Grade II* listed building.
The museum shows what life was like for people in a market town in Dorset long ago. Its displays focus on the daily lives of families who lived in the house and people from Wimborne and Dorset. You can also learn about how the building was used for religious purposes and as a home for church ministers. The museum building has been carefully fixed up, so you can still see many of its original features.
Contents
What You Can Explore at the Museum
The Museum of East Dorset has many interesting rooms and exhibits. You can step back in time and imagine how people lived.
Inside the Historic House
The museum building itself is a big part of the experience.
- Main Hall: See the main hall, which is from the 1600s. It shows how people lived and gathered centuries ago.
- Parlour: Explore the parlour, a fancy sitting room from the 1700s. This room was often used for guests.
- Victorian Kitchen: Discover the Victorian kitchen. It has a special old stove called a 'Beetonette' range that used to work!
Old Shops and Community Life
The museum also brings old local businesses back to life.
- Mr. Low's Stationery Shop: Imagine buying paper and pens at Mr. Low's Victorian stationery shop. It was closed for over 30 years before being recreated.
- Coles' Ironmongers: See what Coles' Ironmongers, a hardware store, looked like. Both shops were rebuilt using their original items.
East Dorset Villages Gallery
This gallery gives you a peek into community life in nearby villages.
- Local Life: Learn about different parts of village life, from jobs and shopping to school and church.
- Victorian Schoolroom: There's a hands-on Victorian schoolroom where you can experience what school was like for kids long ago.
Relax in the Garden and Tea Room
Behind the main museum house, there's a lovely walled garden.
- Peaceful Garden: This garden is about a third of an acre and has places to sit and relax. It's open for all visitors.
- Riverside Tea Room: You can also visit the tea room, which used to be a boathouse in the 1920s. It's in the garden, right by the River Allen.
How the Museum is Run
The Museum of East Dorset is managed by a special charity. It gets some help from the local council, but it mostly depends on money from tickets and donations to keep running.
A Close Call in 2009
On July 3, 2009, the museum almost faced a big problem. A fire started in the buildings next door. Several shops and a pub were damaged, but luckily, the museum was safe and avoided the disaster.
