15 Best Museums In Nottingham For The History Buffs!

If your quest for history has led you to the city of Nottingham, you are in for a treat. Best known for being the cradle of the legend of Robin Hood and its football team, Nottingham Forest F.C.; this town has its roots deep in England’s history. Like its famous rebel, the city has managed to take from its rich past and give to the wanting present by preserving history in its numerous museums in Nottingham. 

Museums in Nottingham

These museums in Nottingham are the foundation of the world-famous lace collection that has made Nottingham famous. We’ve assembled a list of the best museums in Nottingham for you, some of which are free of cost, so there’s no need to stress about breaking the bank. 

1. Newstead Abbey

Top Review: “We explored the house and found the history behind it very interesting. The gardens were the highlight for me.”

Timings: Daily, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Ticket Price: £12.00 for adults

The late 12th-century monastery Newstead is renowned for housing Lord Byron from 1808 to 1814 and frequently serving as the poet's muse. Visitors can explore the Victorian rooms as well as the poet’s former private apartments and relax in the park, which dons the bright colours of the rhododendrons in late spring and Japanese maples in autumn. This is certainly one of the best museums in Nottingham to explore and is just 33 minutes drive away from our world-class student accommodation.

2. Wollaton Hall and Park

Top Review: “Beautiful stately home and fantastic natural history museum! The Titus exhibition is amazing and the skeleton is massive and intimidating.”

Timings: 11 am - 4 pm

Ticket Price: £12

Fans of the DC cinematic universe might recognise this museum in Nottingham as the Wayne Manor from ‘The Dark Knight Rises’. One of the finest Grade I listed Elizabethan structures in the nation, Wollaton Hall is home to Nottinghamshire’s largest dedicated Natural History Museum. A collection of 750,000 items, including fossils, minerals, plants, eggs, invertebrates, vertebrates, shells (molluscs), taxidermy, “spirit preserved” animals, and rare specimens from all over the world are kept in the natural history museum in Nottingham at Wollaton Hall. If you’re a DC fan, you must add this to the top of your list of museums in Nottingham to check out!

Grab a coffee from these cafes in Nottingham to achieve peak aesthetic and some extra energy!

3. Nottingham Industrial Museum

Top Review: “Had an absolutely lovely time here. All the volunteers have so much knowledge that it was so nice talking with them.”

Timings: Weekends, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm

Ticket Price: £4 for adults & £3 for students

One of the best museums in Nottingham, the Industrial Museum in Nottingham focuses on the city’s hugely important industrial past. Situated at Wollaton Hall and Deer Park, the museum displays a fascinating collection of rich industrial history, from Tudor mines to the world’s first video recorder. You can even try using a model spark transmitter to tap out morse code. The Industrial Museum in Nottingham honours Nottingham’s long history as a centre of international trade with five outstanding educational exhibits.

Why stick to just exploring the museums in Nottingham?  The city has a variety of attractions to check out. 

4. National Justice Museum

Top Review: “Absolutely brilliant - a perfect combo of live-actor interaction (which I usually hate and run a mile from!) and a real sense of genuine and spooky history.”

Timings: Daily, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Ticket Price: £17.60 for adults & £15.40 for students

From the past to the present, experience justice and the law like never before at this museum in Nottingham and explore the underground network of amazing spaces to learn more about their hidden existence. In the Grade II* listed Shire Hall, meet fascinating historical figures dressed in costumes. Over five fascinating floors, explore the Victorian Courtroom, Georgian Gaol, and ancient cells. With a fascinating collection and social justice-related exhibitions, the Justice Museum in Nottingham is certainly one of the best museums in Nottingham.

Tired from all this walking? Grab a bite in many famous restaurants in Nottingham.

5. The Haunted Museum

Top Review: “For £8 entry it's well worth the visit. Got to hold a real human skull which I found interesting. If you’re into your odd and strange things I recommend this place.”

Timings: Daily, 11:00 am - 6:00 pm

Ticket Price: £8.00 for adults

The Haunted Museum in Nottingham, which is ranked as the 29th most haunted place in the United Kingdom, is home to evil spirits and has more than a thousand haunted objects, possessed dolls, and a promise to drive every visitor insane. The bravest visitors can accompany a team of professionals for paranormal investigations. If you’re a fan of the paranormal, the Haunted Museum in Nottingham has to be on your list of museums in Nottingham to check out!

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Museums Near Nottingham

1. The Queen’s Royal Lancers Regimental Museum

Top Review: “Some very interesting bits from the regiment's history. Well laid out, I like the reproduction trench. Lots of sets of medals on display.”

Timings: Wednesday to Sunday, 10:30 am - 4:30 pm

Ticket Price: Free Entry

It displays the best objects associated with the regiment as an integrated part of The Soldiers Story gallery. This gallery in Nottingham also features material relating to the Sherwood Foresters and Derbyshire Yeomanry Regiments. The Museum seeks to preserve not only significant historical occurrences but also the individual stories of the soldiers whose valour and dedication to duty shaped these regiments’ contemporary iterations. On Tuesday, July 26, 2011, HRH Princess Alexandra officially opened the museum.

2. West Shed Museum

Top Review: “There are plenty of displays to look at and if you are lucky there may be a steam engine there to admire too.”

Timings: Weekends, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm

Ticket Price: Free Entry

The West Shed is home to The Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust – a Charity formed in 1993 by a group of railway enthusiasts who had already saved and restored several steam locomotives. Since then, the Trust has restored more locomotives and railway carriages and developed a professional base – the West Shed – located at the Midland Railway-Butterley. Visitors are welcome to explore the West Shed Museum’s large collection of locomotives and carriages through displays, films and hands-on activities. 

3. Charnwood Museum

Top Review: “What a locally themed museum should be!”

Timings: Wednesday to Saturday, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Ticket Price: Free Entry

Situated in the former Victorian swimming baths, Charnwood Museum showcases the rich heritage of the local area. The building held a swimming pool, which was quite popular due to the lack of indoor plumbing in most houses in the area. People would visit for their weekly bath, and the pool had to be emptied and refilled each day, taking about 70,000 gallons of water each time.

4. Derby Museum and Art Gallery

Top Review: “There is a rather good selection of Derbyshire artists. A pleasantly educational way to spend a couple of hours.”

Timings: Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm; Sunday, 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Ticket Price: Free Entry

A new exhibition of portraits from the museum’s extensive art collection, a busy schedule of travelling exhibitions, and a dedicated gallery of works by internationally renowned artist Joseph Wright of Derby are all featured in the museum. At the Museum and Art Gallery in Nottingham, the works of Joseph Wright of Derby are the crown jewels of the collections. Wright’s paintings and sketches embody a spirit of discovery stimulated by the 18th-century Enlightenment.

5. Pickford’s House

Top Review: “It was just pleasantly busy. We got a good long look at all the exhibitions without feeling rushed at all.”

Timings: Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Ticket Price: Free Entry

Every time you visit this wonderful 18th-century home, there will be a new discovery to pique your curiosity and stimulate your imagination, from period room settings to toy theatres. The Georgian architect Joseph Pickford’s personal residence and workplace now feature period room sets that depict various facets of domestic life from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Visitors are welcome to step into a set to act out their own performance and toy around with the theatre's sound effects. After visiting this museum, head on to Ocean Nightclub nearby for a good time! Not just this, there are several clubs in Nottingham to choose from.

6. National Civil War Centre - Newark Museum

Top Review: “We found this museum fascinating and very good value for money. The staff were welcoming and very helpful, and above all the displays were clear and informative.”

Timings: Wednesday to Saturday, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Ticket Price: £8.00 for adults, £7.00 for students

The National Civil War Centre cordially invites you to learn more about one of the most fascinating periods in British history by immersing you in a fascinating tale of superstitions, intense sibling rivalry, and seismic change that has shaped the nation in which we now reside. Visit one of the most beautiful galleries in Nottingham to see the realities of life in the 17th century through the eyes of those who lived it, and enjoy a fantastic range of interactives, including the beloved dressing-up closet!

7. The National Tramway Museum

Top Review: “The trams were great to see, and the workshop view shows how much work goes into them. Lots of interesting exhibitions and the woodland walk was an excellent way to see some of the countryside.”

Timings: Weekdays, 10:00 am - 4:30 pm; Weekends, 10:00 am - 5:30 pm 

Ticket Price: £20.00 for adults

From 1860 to 1960, the exhibition takes you on an intriguing journey through a century of tramway development, including horse trams, steam trams, and electric trams. The exhibition now includes new interpretive panels, audio sounds to represent each decade of the timeline, and interactives thanks to funding from the Wolfson Foundation and Derbyshire Economic Partnership. 

Nottingham’s tram system and well-connected public system is one that makes living in Nottingham quite affordable. 

8. Melton Carnegie Museum

Top Review: “Gem of a museum. There's shop displays for a pie maker, a Stilton cheese maker and a chemist. The History of Melton Mowbray is covered with very useful information boards.”

Timings: Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 am - 4:30 pm

Ticket Price: Free Entry

These museum galleries in Nottingham are located on the ground floor and depict Melton’s history as well as the inhabitants and workers who have called Melton home from the Bronze Age to the present. The Marquis of Waterford allegedly staged a riot in 1837 with a group of friends in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, painting the town’s toll booth and several other structures red. Melton Museum’s “Painting the Town Red” gallery honours the telling of this historical tale. 

9. The National Holocaust Centre and Museum

Top Review: “Well worth a visit. Thought provoking and a reminder of the true horror that took place.”

Timings: Monday to Friday & Sunday, 10:00 am - 4:30 pm

Ticket Price: £9.00 for adults

Both exhibition spaces are rich with testimonies and artefacts of Holocaust survivors, offering a human and intimate perspective on pre-war Jewish life in Europe, the rise of National Socialism, the survivorship of the Holocaust, and post-war justice. Leo, a fictitious German-Jewish boy, living in Berlin in 1938, is the protagonist of The Journey, Europe’s first and only Holocaust exhibit designed specifically for primary school students. 

10. Newark Air Museum

Top Review: “You don't have to have aviation experience or knowledge to fully appreciate this collection.”

Timings: Daily, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Ticket Price: £10.00 for adults

More than 90 aircraft and cockpit sections make up its diverse collection, which spans the history of aviation. The museum houses more than thirty aero engines in addition to the aircraft. It also holds the yearly Cockpit-Fest event, which draws visitors from all over the UK and occasionally from Europe; biannual reunion gatherings like Tribute to the V-Force; three times a year, it hosts Aeroboot / Aerojumble aviation and avionics sales; and unique open cockpit days.  

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These museums in Nottingham are definitely worth a visit - whether you're a history buff or just looking for a fun day out. With so many different museums in Nottingham to choose from, you're sure to find one that interests you. And, best of all, most of them are free to enter! So what are you waiting for? Go explore the best museums in Nottingham today. If you want to explore more of Nottingham, do check out our guide to Nottingham city and if you’re interested in moving to this city, check out our Nottingham housing guide.