Totnes Museum

Totnes Museum stands in the old town of Totnes, in south Devon. It occupies a Grade I listed Elizabethan merchant’s house built around 1575 for the Kelland family. The building still keeps many of its original features from the 16th century. Totnes Town Council bought the house in 1958 and restored it carefully. In 1961 it opened as Totnes Museum, now run by the Totnes Museum Trust. The museum spreads across two buildings and three floors. It has twelve gallery rooms, a courtyard, and a herb garden. At the rear is the Totnes Archive with books, photographs, and local newspapers from 1860. The collections cover everything from 5000 BC to the present day. Among the exhibits are Saxon coins, Elizabethan objects, and Victorian items. The Babbage Room tells the story of Charles Babbage, who spent his youth in Totnes and invented early mechanical computers. Visitors can walk through the Forehall and the recreated Kitchen exhibition. The herb garden at the back contains plants typical of Elizabethan gardens. The museum is also known for its reported ghosts, including cats, an angry man, a little boy, and a little girl. Paranormal investigations still take place inside. The garden is open all year round and cared for by volunteers.