Museum of Communication

We specialise in communications technology from the pre-electric optical telegraph used in the Napoleonic Wars to the latest state-of-the-art webcams and cameras for mobile phones, currently featured in the Guinness Book of World Records!

The Museum has a major collection — over 40 tonnes — of artefacts covering electrostatics, telegraphy, telephony, audio, radio, television and video and IT… as well as some early experimental radar, satellite, photographic and printing equipment plus a technical library of scientific literature and related documentation.

We mount themed exhibitions throughout the summer months, which are designed to stimulate, entertain and educate the public. In order to display the many different facets of our collection, we change our exhibitions at regular intervals

We run a very popular series of monthly lectures on a wide variety of subjects. We are also developing an education programme, aimed at encouraging young people to consider careers in science and engineering.

Shotts Heritage Centre

Cumbernauld Museum

Situated within the town’s main library, the museum tells the story of Cumbernauld and surrounding area from pre-history to the Romans and on through the 19th century, to the development of the new town in the 1960s.

The museum tells the story of Cumbernauld and surrounding area from pre-history to the Romans and on through the 19th century, to the development of the new town in the 1960s. Also featured are stories relating to local industry, sport, community life, wartimes and leisure. A combination of maps, photographs, artefacts and audio-visual material all come together to bring the area’s rich heritage to life. Key objects on display include a blanket woven in the 1880s by master weaver, William Smith from Smithyends and a gold locket presented to Alex Bryce in 1885 by his classmates for saving a child in the River Luggie.

North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre

Due to the relocation of the council archives and records facility, the gallery space has been reduced in size. However, the temporary exhibitions in the foyer exhibition space and in the community art space on the first floor are changed and updated on a regular basis.

The centre is also home to the archives and local history research room, which is open to visitors who wish to research their local or personal history through our reference, media and archive collections. Microfilm, microfiche readers and PCs are also available for use.

There is a fifth-floor viewing tower, a distinctive feature of the local landscape, from which visitors can see right up and down the Clyde Valley, over to the Campsie Fells and even to Ben Lomond – if the weather permits!

Downpatrick and County Down Railway

The railways of Ireland were born in the “Railway Mania” of the 1830s and 1840s, with the first railway opening between Dublin and Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire), a distance of six miles, in 1834, only a decade later than that of Great Britain. The contractor was William Dargan, now known as the founder of railways in Ireland due to his participation in many of the main routes. Fortunately this route is still open to the public, and is part of Dublin’s DART system.

By its peak in 1920, Ireland as a whole had 3,400 route miles of railway. The current status is less than half that amount, with a large unserviced area around the border area between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Railway Preservation Society of Ireland

The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland was formed in 1964 to preserve Irish steam locomotives, carriages and rolling stock and to operate them on the Irish railway network for everyone to see, appreciate, enjoy and travel on. The Society currently has around 1,000 members from all across the world and depends on its volunteers to keep its stock of steam trains operational.

Check out the Train Dates page for a complete list of our planned trains and to purchase tickets.

Our Whitehead Railway Museum is now open to the public. We also offer packages for schools, groups and businesses. Tickets are available to purchase at the Museum.

Eden Valley Museum

The Eden Valley Museum brings the history of the Eden Valley in Kent to life through the stories of its people, buildings and environment.

Located in an atmospheric medieval farmhouse in the heart of Edenbridge, our core collections consist of an extensive photographic and social history collection covering the Eden Valley area, incorporating the historic market town of Edenbridge and its surrounding villages.

Rye Castle Museum (East Street)

The Museum at 3 East Street is the  main exhibition area for Museum artifacts illustrating different aspects of Rye’s history.  This building was once a butchery and then a bottling factory for the local brewery, and it was attached to the shop that is now Help the Aged, in the High Street. The Museum bought the old bottling factory in 1995 and with the help of a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, converted it into a Museum in 1998/9, opening it to the public at Easter 1999.

World Rugby Museum

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has exhibited memorabilia inside Twickenham Stadium since 1979.

An informal museum was created underneath the South Stand in 1983 before the Museum of Rugby was constructed in the East Stand and officially unveiled in 1996.

In 2007 the Museum of Rugby was renamed the World Rugby Museum to reflect its growing collection and to create a focal point for the heritage and culture of rugby around the world.

In 2017 the World Rugby Museum vacated the East Stand and was completely rebuilt in the South Stand with £1.8 Million capital investment by the RFU.

Our collection of over 38,000 objects are displayed within our permanent galleries and supplement a regular programme of special exhibitions as well as formal and informal learning programmes.

We welcome over 25,000 visitors annually.

Tameside Central Art Gallery

Central Art Gallery is a real gem. Located above the library on Old Street in Ashton-under-Lyne, these beautiful gallery spaces host a varied programme of temporary exhibitions and the permanent Rutherford Gallery. There is something to suit everyone’s taste with group and solo shows of artists from the region including paintings, sculpture, installation and textiles.

Central Art Gallery is also a great place to relax and take a break from the world. With lots of comfortable seating and relaxing music this is the perfect place to have a moment to yourself or a chat with a friend. Central Art Gallery runs a programme of adult art courses, a knit and natter knitting group and special events, for more information please contact us below or see our events calendar.

We welcome noise and mess in our galleries and this is a family friendly space. Drop by during the school holidays and make something to take home at our craft table.