Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery
Museum · Dover ·

Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery

Museum · Dover ·

Museum with prehistoric boat, Roman history, and Channel swims

bronze age boat
interactive museum
local history
free entry
taxidermy animals
roman artefacts
wartime exhibition
dover through the ages
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null
Dover Museum and Bronze Age Boat Gallery by null

Information

Market Sq, Dover CT16 1PH, United Kingdom Get directions

Restroom
Family friendly
LGBTQ friendly
Wheelchair accessible entrance
Wheelchair accessible parking lot

Information

Static Map

Market Sq, Dover CT16 1PH, United Kingdom Get directions

+44 1304 201066
dovermuseum.co.uk
@dovermuseum
𝕏
@dovermuseum

Features

•Restroom
•Family friendly
•LGBTQ friendly
•Wheelchair accessible entrance
•Wheelchair accessible parking lot
•Wheelchair accessible restroom
•Assistive hearing loop

Last updated

Jan 16, 2026

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Paula

Google
Pleasantly surprised by the amount of items and information in this museum. We didn't have much time before our parking ran out but decided to take a quick look as it was free to enter. It's spread over several levels which can be accessed by stairs or lift. The bronze aged boat is a true marvel and well preserved. Each floor of the museum is full of interesting things, so much more than we were expecting, even the corridors and staircase has something to look at. We will need to go back and spend more time exploring 20 minutes wasn't anywhere near long enough! The staff are lovely and helpful. There is a gift shop with a range of items. If you are in Dover it's well worth a visit!

Joanne M.

Google
Hugely impressed with this museum. Lots of Roman artefacts, costumes, wartime exhibition, Dover through the ages, channel swimmers etc, but the bronze age boat gallery just blows you away. A lot of work has gone into the excavation and conservation of this 3000 year old boat, and the whole floor is full of interesting information. The museum is free but worthy of a donation.

Lora W

Google
Nice place to visit, has a free access, with 3 floors exhibition, and VR experience on the top floor. Also bronze age Vikings boat is really cool too.

Taha K.

Google
It is a good museum that ellaborates on Dover's Roman and prehistoric history alongside some other exhibits peppered in. There are some fun interactive objects which are fun for children. Perhaps the best presented and most interesting exhibit is the prehistoric bronze age boat which is used to elaborate parts of that time period. I do wish there was some more modern objects and they could have been related back to the older history. However if you want to learn about Dover's history through the millennia than this is a good shout.

Katie

Google
Genuinely enjoyable experience, loads to read and even touch! I love an interactive museum that's suitable for autistic & adhd people. 3 floors & 2 awesome taxidermy animals (i won't spoil the surprise which). The Bronze Age Boat is a must see!

Andrew T.

Google
Interesting museum covering local history in Dover, with the bronze age boat providing a remarkable centerpiece. Believed to date back over 3,500 years, it's the world's oldest known seagoing boat, and is displayed in a custom built exhibition room. Reconstructions, videos and information displays detail its discovery and history. The museum also covers local geology, architectural and military history amongst other things, so there's likely something to interest everyone. Displays are well presented and informative. Entry is free, donations are welcomed and there's a gift shop and onsite toilet facilities. All floors are wheelchair accessible. The opening times displayed on Google Maps were inaccurate when I visited, incorrectly suggesting the museum was closed, so I'd recommend checking the museum's official website.

Richard H.

Google
Fantastic little Museum! See a well-preserved boat that's around 3600 years old, and a comprehensive history from the time the Romans landed in 46ad to modern times. Countless artifacts on display from every era. We'll worth a stop, and admission is free.

Steve L.

Google
We were delighted with the Dover Museum. The first floor is primarily concerned with the history of Dover through the ages, with dioramas and model figures illustrating people’s dress of the time, starting with the Stone Age. Most of the relics on this floor were replicas, with the originals being at the British Museum - something a lot of museums have in common. The second floor was for temporary exhibitions, this one being displays of models, miniatures and some toys from the past. The third floor had more on the history of Dover, and a separate section devoted to the Dover Bronze Age Boat, a wooden boat from about 3000 years ago that was discovered during highway construction. The government didn’t want to pay for proper analysis, so a large team of conservationists retrieved as much of the boat as they could. Having been buried in silt and water, the parts they found looked in reasonable condition, but the wood would disintegrate if any stress was put on it. They cut it into pieces, soaked the wood in a polyethylene glycol (PEG) solution to stabilize the wood, and then sent the pieces to a separate facility that freeze-dried them. Another team decided to reproduce the boat using (mostly) bronze-age tools and methods (I say mostly because they did use a chain saw to fell the tree). This let them learn more about how the boat had been constructed. Both the original and the copy are on display. The museum also has extensive displays on people who swam the English Channel (or claimed to, in some cases.)
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Jonathan V.

Yelp
Free entry and a Bronze Age boat dating from 1550BC, definitely worth a visit in my book. Also some local history of the area.
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Qype User (.

Yelp
The Museum is a fantastic place to visit for all the family. There are interactive displays to catch the young and not so young imagination. There is a detailed exhibition of dover through the ages as well as the bronze age boat. The boat was found not more than 500 yard from the actual museum. There are regular new exhibitions and interactive family days throughout the year. There is car parking a short walk from the museum and it is situated in the market square so there is a selection of fast food and more established eateries. The beach is less than a 10 minute walk from the museum so it is an ideal day out for the family.
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Qype User (.

Yelp
Good museum focusing on Dover's rich prehistoric and Roman past as well as the development of the port and its role in English history up to the present day. The bronze age boat is the world's oldest seagoing vessel and definitely worth seeing, if only to wonder whether you would have crossed the Channel in it!
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Qype User (.

Yelp
Since I live in London and have been to the Natural History Museum and Science Museum, I didn't think the Dover Museum was going to be anything to write home about. But I was pleasantly surprised. Though small, the museum is full of interesting displays and the staff are very pleasant and helpful. The most interesting displays (for me) was a life size stuffed polar bear. I had never realised how big and frightening a polar bear is but this one, displayed casually outside the entrance to the top floor displays it truly frightening. There is also a great stuffed tiger on display as well. But the piece de resistance, which the museum is justifiably proud of is the Bronze age boat, which is the world's oldest known seagoing boat. It's impossible to describe the feeling you get when you look at that boat and think of people crossing the sea on it 3000 years ago. The boat has been restored after an immense conservation project and the short film on it's excavation and preservation is one of the most fascinating things I have ever seen. There are interactive hands-on displays about the boat and plenty of information but trust me, it's worth the visit just to look at the boat. It makes you feel small and insignificant; it really makes history hit home. An absolute must visit.

Qype User (.

Yelp
This is the home of the Bronze Age Boat. It is kept presevered in a glass box. There are interactive exibits to get the children more involved in learning. At least once a month they have special activity days to take the children to.
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Qype User (.

Yelp
it is a nice place to go i went there and enjoyed it x