Wareham Town Museum evolved from the Wareham Pictorial Museum, a private collection owned by Mr and Mrs Broughton and opened in 1960 in their home in North Street. Harry Broughton was a former mayor of Wareham.
When this museum closed, Wareham Town Council acquired the collection and established a museum in St John’s Hill in 1974. This moved to the present premises in the Town Hall building in 1984.
In 1998 Wareham Town Museum was refurbished and expanded with a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
