Bexhill Museum offers something new to discover with every visit. We have dinosaurs and archaeological treasures, fashion, racing cars and some amazing model railways gifted by museum ambassador Suzy Eddie Izzard.
A proudly volunteer-run museum, we have served the community of Bexhill since 1914 and pay our own way as much as we can.
More than ninety pence in every pound spent on running costs is met by the people who visit us, through admissions, the shop and café and our popular fundraising events. Around 85 local volunteers give 12,000 hours a year to make it happen.
Your gifts are not about keeping the lights on. Every donation makes something happen that would not otherwise happen, or makes it happen sooner and better.
Education sits at the heart of our work. We connect with over 2,500 school pupils a year, and all eight primary schools in Bexhill are repeat visitors; in 2026 we hosted 26 primary schools in total, including children from economically deprived areas and students from Special Educational Needs and Disabilities schools, supported by a travel bursary.
What we give every child is access to real objects for deep learning about the place they live, something they can only find here. Our new park-facing multi-use education room, fitted out through a successful public appeal, now welcomes those pupils alongside families, artists, cubs & brownies, and local history researchers.
The people of Bexhill have shown what their support achieves. Our Merryweather Fire Engine was restored through crowdfunding, with local firefighters organising fundraisers of their own to bring a piece of the town's working past back to public display.
A legacy gift is currently allowing us to reinvent our library and research space, opening the collection to a new generation of researchers and family historians.
There is more within reach. A new work space for archaeology and local history research is planned, with room renovation starting in September. It will give the museum's active research life a proper home and open new ways for people to get close to the evidence of Bexhill's past.
Our collections care fund helps us conserve, document and share more of the 35,000 artefacts in our care, from fossils and photographs to costume and local craft. Each object tells part of the story of this place, and each one deserves to be seen.
You can direct your support where it matters most to you: a named project like the new research work space, the ongoing care of the collection, or a gift in your will that shapes what the museum becomes.
Whichever you choose, you join the people who have kept this museum growing for over 110 years, and who intend to keep growing it through our next century.
Giving Anonymously
If you are a UK taxpayer, do also consider adding Gift Aid to your donation.
If you would like to make an anonymous donation please click YES on the form when asked 'Do you want to leave a message with your donation?' and type 'Anonymous Donation' in the space underneath.
We will still take your details afterwards, but we will not add your name to any public lists. You can still add Gift Aid should you wish. All your details are kept private.