Curtis Museum

The Curtis Museum in Alton stands in the quiet market town of Alton, Hampshire. Dr William Curtis founded it in 1865 to preserve the area’s past. Hampshire Cultural Trust now runs the museum after taking over in 2014. The building holds local stories in glass cases and on walls. Visitors step inside to meet artefacts that tell of lives long gone. The museum holds objects from every major period in Alton’s history. A Roman bowl and a cup from Selborne sit beside an Anglo-Saxon buckle. Artefacts from the 1643 Battle of Alton recall the English Civil War. The Jane Austen Trail links the writer’s connections to the town. A darker tale follows Sweet Fanny Adams, whose 1867 murder became a grim local legend. Tools from prehistoric times and displays on hop picking and brewing show everyday life. Inside, rooms are arranged to guide visitors through time. Prehistoric tools sit near Roman bowls and an Anglo-Saxon buckle. A case holds relics from the Battle of Alton, while another tells the story of Sweet Fanny Adams. The Jane Austen Trail leads past letters and objects linked to the novelist. Cases on brewing and hop picking show how the town once thrived. The museum keeps Hampshire’s past alive for anyone who walks through its doors.