Dorset County Museum

Dorset County Museum

Victorian interior of the Dorset County Museum
Established	1846
Location	Dorchester, Dorset
Visitors	47,000 (2016)
Founder	Thomas Hardy and others.
Architect	G R Crickmay and Son

The Dorset County Museum is located in Dorchester, Dorset, England. Founded in 1846, the museum covers the county of Dorset's history and environment. The current building was built in 1881 on the former site of the George Inn. The building was designed specifically to house the museum's collection and is in the neo-Gothic style.

The museum includes information and over 2 million artifacts associated with archaeology (e.g., Maiden Castle), geology (e.g., the Jurassic Coast), history, local writers (e.g. Thomas Hardy) and natural science. There are video displays, activity carts for children, and an audio guide. The collections include fossilised dinosaur footprints, Roman mosaics and original Thomas Hardy manuscripts.

The museum was founded in 1846, and includes two significant collections, the archive of Thomas Hardy's works and fossils from the Jurassic Coast. The total collection extends to approximately four million items. The museum is owned by the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society. Many items in the museum's collection have been stored at the nearby All Saint's Church. The museum was receiving approximately 45,000 visitors each year in 2014, which had increased to 47,000 visitors each year in 2016.TripAdvisor has awarded its Certificate of Excellence Award to the museum for four years in a row.

In 2016, the museum unveiled plans for a £13 million extension which would include a learning centre, cafe, library and shop, allowing the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society's full collection to held together in one building. Three quarters of the funding for the extension would be put forward by the Heritage Lottery Fund, allowing much more of the collection to be viewed. Without the extension, less than two percent of the museum's collection is on display.