Athelstan Museum - Malmesbury

Cindy

This town is so much more than expected. Giant beautiful Abbey full of history. The king in this town was the first to unite the kingdoms, mint coinage with his name and exchange to a common currency and name the county England. He is the ancestor of the monarchy of The UK. Ancient village, tons of unexpected history all stemming from this lovely little museum. Which did a very good job of explaining the historical significance. Many little independent shops to explore.

Sean W.

What a great little museum.

Some real gems here. I'm a huge history fan and so anything on Athelstan is enough for me but this place surprised me with other quirky and interesting stories from the past.

From Eimar the flying Monk, a Charles I letter asking for protection during the Civil War through to a local who came a cropper at the hands of a touring tiger - its just a really interesting place. It's also free and has a great car park outside from which to explore the rest of Malmesbury.

Be sure to check out the grave of the poor tiger victim in the Abbey!

Paul M.

Well presented, small museum. Good use of audio visual. You will learn more than you thought you needed to know about Athelstan and the flying monk! Fascinating story of local witch trial too. Well worth visiting.

Anna E.

Got to love a good free local museum, not a large space but loads of local items and great display on king Athelstan when we went. Loved it!

amanda T.

Lovely little museum with some interesting displays featuring local history including the wool industry and lace making. We enjoyed seeing the various ladies bonnets and hats. Also a lovely art gallery at the back with a cafe.

Steve Z.

Great little museum that tells you about the local history of Malmesbury. They even managed to purchase an original Turner watercolour of the Abbey. The staff here are excellent. Knowledgable and informative and friendly. If you visit Malmesbury you need to visit here. Dog friendly and free entry - donation if you want.

fran A.

Small and perfectly formed local museum! In summer-autumn 2024 they have a special Athelstan exhibition with loaned items from the Ashmolean and British Library. Absolutely worth a visit!

The cabinets are arranged chronologically, and give a whistle stop of the history of the town from the Iron Age to the 20th century.

Fabulous volunteers are around to help, and children’s activities available too (to do in the museum, or to use on a walk around the town).

Free entry, a perfect excuse to buy a few things in the gift shop.

Sabella O.

Very helpful and friendly staff as we came in, with lots of answers to questions we had! Lots to read and see here about the history of Malmsbury - which is particularly interesting as it’s the 1st for a lot of things- 1st Burrough, 1st king of all England! Fascinating also to see how lace was made, all the different coins and metalwork found from the time of the Romans. King Althestans half sister’s remains were identified in France from strontium isotopes in her teeth, where they were able to geo locate her whereabouts in the formative years of her life and identify who she was, a whole 900 years later, which is just mind blowing! Highly recommend a visit, it’s free/donation and there’s a lovely, reasonably well priced cafe next door!