Ilfracombe Museum
The front entrance of the Ilfracombe Museum, house within the old laundry building of the Ilfracombe Hotel.
The Ilfracombe museum is a great place to go if the weather isn't great. It is located close to the Landmark Theatre, on a pedestrian path just behind Runnymead gardens. There is a small charge for adults, but children go free. The displays are eclectic but largely relevant to the town, and there are quite a few hands on exhibits for younger visitors.
The building used to be the laundry house for the Ilfracombe Hotel, which stood on the current site of the Landmark Theatre. There was a tunnel linking the two buildings. As you go in, there is the gift shop and the museum exhibits spread out to left and right from there.
Children can take a quiz which costs just 20p and then they can have fun searching for plastic dinosaurs or pictures of butterflies secreted amongst the displays. On completion they get given a sticker.
To the right there are all sorts of fossils and collections of butterflies in a mass of drawers. There are also several drawers with hands on items as diverse as fossils, and old cameras. There is also a 3D photograph viewer called a "Stereoscope" with a selection of special stereoscope photographs which children are encouraged to use.
In the next room there are displays of old tools and a Victorian printing press as well as Victorian room settings and an intricate and detailed dolls house. Beyond this there is a large collection of stuffed animals particularly birds common to the area, and a case full of preserved bats.
Here you can also see a collection of Victorian dresses and accessories. Ilfracombe grew substantially during Victorian times with the coming of the Railway to the town and most of the buildings in the centre of town date from this period.
(There has been a big annual Victorian Week, celebration in Ilfracombe since 1987, when locals dress up in Victorian costume, and there are parades, and other events organised.)
Selection of brasses for brass rubbing. Paper and crayons are avaialable from the museum staff for a small extra charge.
In this room there are also a collection of brasses, depicting Kings and Queens, dragons and Skeletons, and other images, and these can be used by children (or adults if they feel that way inclined) for a small extra fee. The museum staff will provide you with paper and crayons in gold, copper, silver, black, etc. to do your brass rubbing.
Another display shows all sorts of artifacts that would be familiar to those of an older generation. Common household items, toys, etc, labelled as "Granny's Attic"
There is also a section with African beads, and such delights as a shrunken head for those with a delight for the gory.
Back through the museum to the other wing, you will find the popular Morse code display where children can write their name in Morse code, and then send the message using the buzzer. Donning the headphones and flicking the switches is a must for busy hands.
Other displays include military uniforms, and a drum that was used to warn the people of Ilfracombe of a pending invasion. There are model ships including models of lifeboats used by the Ilfracombe lifeboat crews, and a section devoted to the Ilfracombe Hotel.
Further in, there is a room devoted to Lundy Island including a stuffed Puffin and a video about the conservation of the island and marine environment.