Science play area at Snibston Discovery Park

Museums in Leicestershire:

Gateways to our Heritage and Sense of Place

Through Leicestershire’s museums we see the history of the county, and the history of the wider world. This begins with the story of Charnwood Forest, and its volcanic roots, at Charnwood Museum, and comes to life through the Treasure displays at the newly refurbished Harborough Museum, where we gain an insight into local life 2,000 years ago.

The only known surviving medieval bridge timbers, which once enabled travellers to cross the River Trent in Norman times, shortly after the Domesday Survey of 1086, are preserved at Snibston. They show us how design, industry and technology worked together even in these early days and give us a glimpse into the lives of people living by the river.

The medieval Manor House at Donington le Heath is the County’s earliest domestic building and the House and traditional gardens give a unique insight into life in the 15th century.

Bosworth Battlefield tells the story which changed the course of history in 1485, when two Kings, Richard III and Henry VII fought over the Crown of England, and Henry established the powerful Tudor dynasty. Remarkable exhibits, unearthed through recent archaeology, tell us more about the famous Battle and its location.

Visit Melton Carnegie Museum for the story of foxhunting, its roots in Leicestershire from the 18th century, and how it shaped the town of Melton Mowbray and the surrounding countryside. The museum houses the only exhibition on fox-hunting in the country.

Leicestershire’s role in the industrial revolution is best seen at Snibston Discovery Museum, whose original colliery buildings (founded by George Stephenson in 1832) are nationally significant scheduled monuments and have shaped the identity of Coalville and the area. Snibston boasts collections of design, industry and technology rooted in Leicestershire and with global reputations – Auster aircraft, costume, engineering and transport, are just a few.

All our museums perform to the highest standards for collections care and are quality assured visitor attractions. Snibston is an accredited ‘Learning Outside the Classroom’ venue and a Science Learning Centre in partnership with Leicester University. We also have collections for study and research, and can arrange visits to our Heritage Resources Centre.

Museum Performance 2009

For further details about Leicestershire museums, see:

For more information about all of Leicestershire's museums , see Leicestershire Museums Guide

Other Museum Resources

For further information see the Museum Resources page.