Poole Museum

Poole Museum stands in Poole’s Old Town on the Lower High Street. It occupies a former 19th-century harbour warehouse beside the waterfront. A Grade I listed medieval cellar houses the Local History Centre next door. Scaplen’s Court Museum and Garden lie just beside the main building. The site belongs to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.

The museum holds important maritime collections and has been expanded over time. In 2005 a £1.3 million refurbishment added a terrace, visitor lounge and glass atrium designed by Richard Horden. A £2.24 million National Lottery grant in 2021 supported further work. After a seven-year redevelopment costing £10 million, the museum reopened in 2025 with three new maritime galleries. The Mortar Wreck, a 13th-century shipwreck, is now displayed alongside its cargo.

Visitors find the 2,000-year-old Poole Logboat, recovered in 1964, as the centrepiece. A stone donated by a five-year-old child in 2019 is also on show. A wooden hippopotamus sculpture by Peter Hand, introduced in 1969, welcomes younger guests. The restored buildings and new galleries reveal Poole’s maritime past. The garden at Scaplen’s Court offers quiet space beside the museum.