Museums

Rutland County Museum is a great place to start a visit Rutland, as it gives visitors the perfect introduction to the county.  A “Welcome to Rutland” gallery tells the story of the county, and visitors can see exhibitions of archaeology, history and rural life in the 200 year old Indoor Riding School.  There are traditional local games to play as well as a dinosaur dig area that kids lover! The Museum is also home to a set of Gallows, complete with rope; macabre but a significant part of Rutland’s history. Outside, the Friends of the Museum have carefully created a courtyard garden, which is the perfect place to spend some time.

Opening hours are 10am until 4pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.  Please note the Museum is closed on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Sundays and also closed at Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year and on Good Friday.

Normanton Church Museum, situated at Rutland Water, tells the fascinating story of the reservoir.  Included in the displays are dinosaur fossils, an anglo-saxon skeleton and a video detailing the reservoir’s construction.  It is open from April to October and there is a small admission fee to help maintain the museum.  For more information, contact the Tourist Information Centre at Sykes Lane on 01780 686800.

Rocks by Rail: The Living Ironstone Museum (formally Rutland Railway Musuem) is situated 4 miles from Oakham and tells the story of railways in industry, especially local ironstone quarrying.  It takes visitors back to the days before mass road transport when most freight was carried by rail and factories and works had their own rail system.  The museum's open air steam centre hosts a large collection of steam and diesel locomotives, wagons, vans and coaches, together with related items and artefacts.  There are a number of special events which take place throughout the year, which can be viewed on the Events Calendar; on the weekends leading up to Christmas for example, the Railway Museum runs ever popular “Santa Special’s” for the children.The museum offers free admission, but as it is manned by volunteers, the Museum is reliant on donations from visitors to keep it open.  Visitors are welcome all year round on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.