Together Again: Museums and Heritage Centres Reopening this August

South West Heritage Trust’s museums and heritage centres are re-opening to the public from the start of August. The sites included are the Museum of Somerset, Somerset Rural Life Museum, Somerset Heritage Centre, Devon Heritage Centre and North Devon Record Office.

To keep visitors safe, and comply with Government guidelines, the Trust has made some changes to the way its sites operate. These include revised opening hours and the need to pre-book visits to museums and heritage centres. Ahead of reopening the Trust consulted the public to seek their views on a range of issues.

Tom Mayberry, Chief Executive of the South West Heritage Trust, said: “We’re most grateful to everyone who responded to our online surveys. The results provided us with some very helpful information to guide reopening and told us what matters to our visitors. We’re now very much looking forward to welcoming the public back.

“We are launching a new programme, ‘Together Again’, which includes enhanced opportunities to engage digitally with heritage. We are working with local partners to open two new art exhibitions, which will be accessible onsite and online. We will also be launching a programme of online talks this autumn.”

The Trust closed its sites on 18 March as the country went into lockdown. During this time it has continued to share the heritage of the two counties by taking part in a variety of online initiatives such as Somerset Day and Devon Day, VE Day, Volunteers’ Week, Archive 30 and the Festival of Archaeology.

New Opening Hours

Museum of Somerset and Somerset Rural Life Museum: Wednesday to Saturday 10.00 am to 5.00 pm (from 12 August.) Admission by advance booking only.

Somerset Heritage Centre and Devon Heritage Centre:  Tuesday to Thursday with two bookable sessions each day, 10.00 am to 1.00 pm and 2.00 pm to 4.30 pm (from 4 August)

North Devon Record Office: Wednesday to Friday with two bookable sessions each day, 10.00 am to 1.00 pm and 2.00 pm to 4.30 pm (from 5 August)

To book go to swheritage.org.uk.