9 Museums in Canterbury That You Shouldn't Miss

The Beaney House of Art & Knowledge is an Art Gallery, Library and Visitor Information Centre situated in the heart of historic Canterbury. This award winning facility provides state-of-the-art exhibition galleries, excellent educational facilities and a varied programme of events for all ages. The building takes its name from its benefactor, Dr James George Beaney, a Canterbury-born man of modest background who studied medicine before emigrating to Australia, where he found his success. Upon his death in 1891, Dr Beaney left money in his will to the city of Canterbury to build an ‘Institute for Working Men’ with amenities for men from poor backgrounds such as his own. His patronage was fundamental in building the Beaney Institute: a new home for the Canterbury Royal Museum and Free Library, now known as The Beaney House of Art & Knowledge. A cultural hub in East Kent, praised for its welcoming atmosphere, providing a range of services under one roof, uniting art, heritage, books, ideas, information and collections. Whether you are a frequent Library user, a teacher on a Schools Workshop, a parent enjoying the perfect cup of coffee in our Cafe or an inquisitive explorer studying our treasures from the Ancient worlds; The Beaney is a building for everyone.

Open to all and located in the heart of Canterbury's tourist route, you will find the Kent Museum of Freemasonry close to the Westgate Towers and a five minute stroll from the Cathedral. Entrance is free of charge, although voluntary donations are welcomed. The Museum is an Accredited Museum, meeting the nationally agreed standards of the Arts Council on collection care, museum management and the provision of information and services to visitors. The museum is a hidden treasure which boasts a rare collection of exhibits of national and international importance. Its collection of Masonic material is probably the finest in the UK outside of London.

Canterbury Roman Museum’s story began on what appeared to be a rather unremarkable day in 1868. When workmen, digging trenches for a new drainage system, reached eight feet below street level they unwittingly unearthed a beautifully preserved Roman floor mosaic. Fast-forward to the aftermath of the Second World War, when excavations began under the cellars of shops destroyed by bombing, and another startling discovery was made. Archaeologists had just revealed an under-floor heating system, wall paintings, and a dazzling mosaic corridor. The site was no longer an isolated floor mosaic, but the remains of a very large, and no doubt very costly, Roman Town House. Over time a museum arose to encompass the remains and preserve what is now known to be one of the UK’s only remaining in situ Roman pavement mosaics and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Canterbury Roman Museum is Kent’s only Roman Museum; providing a fascinating and family-friendly insight into life in Roman Britain. Visitors can explore Canterbury’s history, wander through the marketplace and discover hidden treasures as they step back, and down, to the streets of Roman Canterbury…

A free exhibition about the lives and works of three world-famous writers; Christopher Marlowe, Aphra Behn and Joseph Conrad. Explore their connections to Canterbury and the very different worlds in which they lived, through objects and immersive activities (including the chance to dress-up as an Elizabethan actor and use a typewriter from Conrad’s time).