Top 10 Specialty Museums in East Sussex, England

Important Update** Announcement to all visitors: August 2020 The Shipwreck Museum Trustees have decided to close the Museum until spring 2021. We have made this decision to spend time focusing on improving exhibitions, and undertaking vital conservation work. We have some exciting projects underway that will improve the visitor experience and modernise the museum. We’d like to thank all visitors for their continued support and look forward to welcoming you back. We will post further information in the near future on our progress.

Seaford Museum is housed in Martello Tower no.74, which is situated at the eastern end of Seaford seafront. The museum not only records Seaford's long history from its days as a Cinque Port but also appeals to all age groups and all members of the family with displays including shops, tableaux and a fascinating collection of material from pre-historic times to the present day. There is a General Store, Dressmakers Parlour, the contents of toy, chemist, ironmonger and photographer's shops as well as Victorian schoolroom, Victorian kitchen and wartime kitchen. There are also collections of domestic appliances covering the first half of the 20th century, office machinery from early typewriters and copiers to computers and a particularly large collection of radios and television sets.

The perfect start to your visit to Rye! The Rye Heritage Centre is the home of the 'Story of Rye' Town Model Sound and Light show, a handmade scale model of Victorian Rye that plays a show that takes you through 700 years of Rye's history. Historic Audio Walking Tours are available for hire, with guided ghost tours available on selected dates during the winter months. The Heritage Centre is also host to a fantastic working collection of Old Pier Penny Arcade amusement machines, and has a wide variety of books and maps on Rye and the surrounding area, as well as exclusive locally made pottery and souvenirs in the gift shop.

Bexhill Museum offers something for everyone from local history & archaeology to fashion & Bexhill’s motor heritage. Our unique collections are housed in a distinctive building combining a traditional Edwardian museum with a modern extension. The Museum runs a wide range of special events, activities and workshops throughout the year for children, families and adults.

Brighton Toy and Model Museum was established over 25 years ago, and since then we've had many thousand happy visitors. Once inside the museum you'll find our foyer, which is also a Tourist Information Point so you can pop in and ask about any local attractions or events. If we don't know the answer, we'll do our best to look it up! Once you're inside the museum proper, you'll find rooms full of different toys, dolls, construction kits and childrens' playthings stretchign back through the generations. But that's not all. Brighton Toy and Model Museum is also a venue for a variety of different events. We have a small, intimate space where we host The Toy Museum Folk Club, and we're also an official venue for Fringe Brighton, Museums At Night and Brighton Science. We take private bookings too, so if you need a space for your corporate event, and you want something completely out of the ordinary, why not give us a try?

Set in the beautiful walled gardens of Battle's Almonry, this charity-based, independent and accredited museum is solely run by volunteers. It offers a tantalising glimpse into Battle's rich history - from dinosaurs, the Roman occupation and the Norman invasion to life in the two World Wars.