Watchet Market House Museum

The Market House Museum stands in Watchet, a small Somerset town on the Bristol Channel. The present building dates from 1820 and replaced an earlier market house pulled down in 1805. It became a museum in 1979 and is now a Grade II listed structure on Market Street. The museum occupies a single-storey former market hall with a simple Georgian façade. Inside, the focus is on the natural and maritime history of the port and its surroundings. Artefacts range from coins and medals to land transport and science and technology. The collection reflects Watchet’s long connection with the sea. Exhibits include items from the town’s archaeological past and objects that tell the story of local maritime trade. Coins and medals recall the port’s commercial life while land transport displays show how goods moved inland. Science and technology objects illustrate the town’s industrial curiosity. At the back of the building the old town lock-up still stands, a reminder of Watchet’s civic past. Visitors find a compact museum arranged in a single room. The natural sciences section displays local fossils and shells while the maritime area holds ship models and navigational instruments. Coins and medals are arranged chronologically along one wall. Land transport items include carts and early bicycles. The lock-up at the rear has its original heavy door and barred windows, preserved exactly as it was used.