Museums
The Isle of Thanet’s rich history is collected, conserved and displayed through Thanet District Council’s three museums, each of which specialises in a particular aspect of the isle’s heritage; Margate Museum, Dickens House Museum (Broadstairs) and Ramsgate Maritime Museum.
The core of the collection dates back to the 1920s and the Margate Borough Council library, then situated in the Old Cottage Hospital, which housed notable collections including that of Dr Arthur Rowe, who excavated Margate’s Roman villa in the 1920s.
With the 1972 Local Government Act further unique artefacts came under the ownership of the new Thanet District Council, including a notable collection of Charles Dickens memorabilia and, later, collections of maritime and shipping artefacts, largely centred on the town of Ramsgate.
Thanet District Council Museums Service
Since 2024 Thanet District Council has directly managed its portfolio of museums, which had previously been run by a variety of independent voluntary organisations on the Council’s behalf. The museums are managed on a day-to-day basis by the Museums Manager, under the direction of the Tourism and Culture Manager, and operate within the Council’s Place Directorate.
That strategic aim of the Museums Service is to rejuvenate the District’s museum offer after a challenging period which has seen unengaging storytelling, declining visitor numbers and a global pandemic. Working museum-by-museum we seek to redisplay our collections to full effect by telling the stories that matter to our community. We’ll support our displays with an engaging programme of activities and events that have education and enjoyment at their heart. A key part of our work is to see that each museum is accredited by Arts Council England to ensure we are, and recognised to be, doing the best for our users and collections in the most sustainable way possible.
We are very lucky to have a widely skilled group of volunteers who support the work of the Museums Service across all of our museums, in nearly all areas of operation, from collections care through to meeting & greeting visitors. Collaborative working is also very important to us, we work with local heritage organisations such as Ramsgate Tunnels, Margate Caves and Crampton Tower Museum. We also work alongside academic bodies, two of our museums are currently partnering with Canterbury Christ Church University on the National Lottery Heritage Fund supported ‘Lets do the time walk again’ project.
Our Museums
Dickens House Museum, Broadstairs
Dickens House Museum celebrates Charles Dickens 25 year association with Broadstairs, whose stays in the town totalled more than two years, and where he wrote parts of many of his best known works. The house itself was the home of Miss Mary Pearon Strong, who Dickens came to know during his frequent visits, and would become the inspiration for the character of Betsey Trotwood in David Copperfield.
The museum houses a unique collection of first editions of Charles Dickens works, letters written by him, furniture from his London home and a writing slope used on his 2nd American tour (1867-8). Much of the collection was bequeathed, along with the house itself, by Miss Dora Tattam, an avid Dickens enthusiast, and opened as a museum in 1973.
The collection, of some 600 artefacts, is also supported by a long-term loan from the Broadstairs Dickens Fellowship and occasional loans from the Charles Dickens Museum, London.
Museum details
Opening times: The museum is open April – October, Wednesday-Sunday, 1pm-4.30pm (last entry 4pm).
Email: dickenshouse@thanet.gov.uk
Address: 2 Victoria Parade, Broadstairs, Kent, CT10 1QS.
Telephone: 01843 577950
Margate Museum
Margate Museum is the local history museum for the Isle of Thanet and is located in Margate’s Victorian former Town Hall and Police Station. Opening in 1987 the museum covers all aspects of Thanet’s history, with displays about prehistory through to the 1960s, a particular emphasis is on Margate’s place as the original seaside resort.
The Museum’s collection numbers some 5,000 artefacts, ranging across 4,000 years of the area’s history, this includes the excavation archive of Margate’s Roman Villa donated by Dr Arthur Row, the [George] Parker bequest of painting and lithographs of local subjects and notable pieces of furniture donated by the Cobb family.
The photograph collection is nationally important, its largest component is the Sunbeam Collection, some 30,000 images from the Sunbeam Photographic Co., which records life in the three towns from the 1920s to the 1970s. The artefact and photographic collections are supported by a comprehensive local studies archive.
Museum details
The Museum is currently closed for refurbishment. However research enquiries may be forwarded to the Museum Manager, likewise any offers of potential acquisitions for the collections.
Ramsgate Maritime Museum (The Clock House)
Ramsgate Maritime Museum officially opened in 1984 as a joint initiative between the East Kent Maritime Trust and Thanet District Council. The Museum is housed in the Clock House on the East Cross Wall of Ramsgate Harbour, the building, completed in 1817 to a design by Samual Wyatt, was built as a harbour watch office, with the clock allowing ships crew to set the marine clocks accurately. The collection includes 2,000 artefacts, nearly all have a local link, either directly with Ramsgate, East Kent or the English Channel, particularly the Goodwin Sands.
The largest artefact is the 1883 Ramsgate built wherry ‘Queen Mab’, which is believed to have been used during the Dunkirk Evacuation. Other artefact relate to boat building, the finishing industry, navigation & time, World War 1 & World War 2 and various maritime wrecks & rescues.
The Clock House is currently undergoing conservation, the first major work since its initial restoration in 1983, this work has been enabled by the UK government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Levelling Up Fund. In the meantime the collections have been removed to a temporary facility elsewhere in Ramsgate, with further research and cataloguing taking place which will inform the content of new displays when the Museum reopens in 2027.
Museum details
While the Museum is closed for conservation research enquiries may be forwarded to the Museum Manager, likewise any offers of potential acquisitions for the collections.
Further information and collections
For further information or to make a booking please contact each venue directly where details are given (if no contact details are given for a venue we are currently unable to provide public access). For general enquiries about Thanet District Council’s Museum Service, including volunteering, please contact the Museum Manager via email: museums@thanet.gov.uk or telephone 01843 577646 and leave a message.
Access to the collections, research, donations and loans
Research
We are able to undertake limited research for enquiries, based on our collections, and will acknowledge your enquiry within 5 working days and aim to reply fully within 20 working days. Where possible we will endeavour to facilitate access to specific artefacts, however due to the building works taking place at our venues this cannot be guaranteed in which case we will supply relevant details and photographs.
Please forward your enquiry to the Museum Manager, with as much contextual information as you have, you may also wish to check the local studies sections in Margate, Broadstairs or Ramsgate Libraries or visit the Kent History and Library Centre in Maidstone.
Donations to the collection
We are actively seeking material for our collections, however we do this in line with a collections development policy for each of our museums. The policy outlines our priorities for collecting, including such things as provenance, condition and duplication. Please note we are unable to accept items as a ‘permanent loan’, we also cannot guarantee when an item may be displayed as this relies on each venue’s exhibition programme.
In the first instance please contact the Museums Manager as we are unable to accept unsolicited donations as walk-ins for safety reasons. In particular please give prior notification if you wish to donate any sort of firearm or potentially explosive containing wartime memorabilia, items containing chemical or radioactive materials, biological & natural history specimens including (non-archaeological) human remains that may contain toxic preservatives.
If you have an archaeological discovery made on your own property or with the permission of the landowner, if elsewhere, we urge you to register the find with the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The contact details for the PAS Kent Finds Liaison Officer can be found here. Please note that under the 1996 Treasure Act it’s a legal requirement to register the discovery of anything more than 300 years old that is made of more than 10% gold or silver.
Loans
Unfortunately we are unable to accept unsolicited loans into our museums. In general we only borrow material for a defined purpose, such as a themed temporary exhibition or for use in permanent displays where we do not hold an example in our own collections.
We welcome approaches from other organisations to borrow material from our collections. Requests should be made at least six months in advance, ideally 12, this allows us to properly consider your request, assess the object for any conservation prior to display, insurance requirements etc., in most cases costs relating to the loan must be borne by the borrower. Contact our Museums Manager for further advice concerning our loan condition; please note we are unable to loan to individuals.
