A fascinating museum that spans everything from dinosaurs to recreated medieval street scenes, the Museum of Gloucester & Art Gallery is a two-floor space that celebrates the city’s history. Alongside some stunning Iron Age and Roman artefacts, the museum has plenty of interactive displays which help bring its exhibits to life, including a recreated Roman kitchen and a medieval street scene.
One of the oldest social history museums in the UK, the Gloucester Life Museum is a deceptively large space housed in a gorgeous 17th-century Tudor timber-framed building in the heart of the city centre on Westgate Street. Explore the recreated Victorian classroom, discover the history of the region’s fisheries and see how domestic life has advanced and changed over the last 500 years.
Housed in a huge Victorian warehouse on the docks, the Gloucester Waterways Museum tells the story of the city’s waterways and canals via an excellent collection of boats. These include river barges, a steam-powered dredger and several narrowboats. With hands-on exhibits to the fore and plenty of boats to explore, the museum brilliantly brings the UK’s canal history to life.
Blessed with the most exciting name of the lot, Gloucester’s Jet Age Museum showcases the region’s aviation history, including a number of WWII classic fighter jets like The Gloster and The Hawker Hurricane. The Gloster was the UK’s first jet plane and was flown from the factory airfield halfway between Cheltenham and Gloucester. Located in the Meteor Business Park, the museum is open weekends and bank holidays from 10am-4pm.
Recreating 300 years of military history, the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum follows the renowned Gloucestershire Regiment who are one of the most decorated military divisions in the UK since forming in 1694. Via interactive displays, film and audio recordings, and a large collection of costumes, medals and weapons, the museum charts some of the biggest battles, including Dunkirk, the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic battles.
Finally, Beatrix Potter’s The House of the Tailor of Gloucester is a must for any Peter Rabbit fans. Housed in the building that inspired the Tailor of Gloucester story and just a short walk from Gloucester Cathedral, the museum and shop are open daily and provide a fascinating insight into the children’s writer. The gift shop is also full of great presents and souvenir ideas, including some very cute money boxes.
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