Seaford Museum facts for kids

Martello Tower on Seaford seafront, where the Museum is located

The Seaford Museum and Heritage Society is a museum that tells the story of the local area. It is found inside a historic building called a Martello Tower in East Sussex, England. The museum opened in 1979. It holds many interesting items, old documents, and displays that show what life was like in Seaford long ago.

About the Museum Building

The Seaford Museum is located in Martello Tower number 74. You can find it right on the Esplanade in Seaford, East Sussex. This tower is the most western of many forts built along the coast of Kent and Sussex. These forts were made between 1806 and 1810 to protect England during the Napoleonic Wars. The tower is round and has two floors. It is surrounded by a dry ditch made of bricks, called a moat.

After its military use, the War Department sold the tower in 1880. For the next 90 years, it was used for different businesses. In the 1930s, the moat area was even a roller skating rink! The tower itself was used as a cafeteria.

In 1976, the local council, Lewes District Council, bought the tower. The museum then moved in during 1979. The museum has a large space, about 465 square meters, for its exhibits. This includes a covered part of the old moat. It also has a visitor center, a place to keep old documents (called an archive), and a museum shop.

The museum is open on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and on Bank Holidays, from November to March. During the rest of the year, it is also open on Sunday mornings and Wednesdays. If you want to look at the old documents in the archive, you can do so once a month with supervision.

The Seaford Museum and Heritage Society runs the museum. It is a registered charity, which means it is a non-profit organization that helps the community. The museum has a wide variety of items. These include many things related to the sea and everyday life from the past. In 2018, the museum made changes to allow easy access for everyone to the main display areas.

How the Museum Helps the Community

British soldiers parading in the Moat during a heritage event in 2006

The museum is a busy place for many local events and activities. Groups like the Round Table and the local model railway club often hold their meetings and events there.

The museum also hosts public talks. It is a starting point for guided tours that explore different places in the area. For schools, the museum offers a special talk and video. This teaches students about a successful project from 1986. This project involved adding sand to the beach to protect the town from the sea. This "beach reclamation" has stopped the sea wall from breaking and prevented floods ever since.