Red House Museum and Gardens

The Red House Museum and Gardens stands in Christchurch, Dorset, in a red-brick Georgian building first raised in 1764 as the town’s workhouse. The site began in 1745 when churchwardens bought a barn in Church Lane to house the poor. After the workhouse moved north in 1881, the building became a private home called the Red House. Herbert Druitt, a local antiquarian, turned it into a storehouse for his collections of documents, artefacts and art. In 1951 the house opened as a public museum, opened by Sir Donald Bailey during the Festival of Britain. The museum is worth the journey because it preserves local stories that stretch back to Bronze Age burials at Hengistbury Head. Druitt’s collections form the core of the displays, including costume, furniture by Arthur Romney Green and Saxon finds. The opening in 1951 marked the fulfilment of his long-held wish to create a permanent museum for Christchurch. Hampshire County Council now runs the site, supported by Dorset and Christchurch councils. The Grade II* listed building remains a key place to explore the town’s past. Visitors find a Kitchen Gallery and Victorian Bygones Gallery on the ground floor. Upstairs, Archaeology Galleries show Bronze Age and Saxon material, while the Local History Resource Room offers photographs and directories for research. The former stables host temporary exhibitions in the Main Gallery. Outside, a courtyard leads to a Herb Garden and a larger South Garden, all enclosed by the stone wall built by the Rev Thomas H Bush in the 19th century.