Athelstan Museum is situated in the heart of the ancient town of Malmesbury. This hill-top site has been occupied since at least the Iron Age period, and the museum displays a large range of items spanning the period from that time up to the present day. The museum is run entirely by volunteers and is a registered charity.
Some key exhibits are a fine silver penny from the reign of King Athelstan, a hoard of Roman coins, and a watercolour of Malmesbury by J.M.W Turner.
The museum’s collection is on display in the Town Hall building, which can be found facing the Cross Hayes car park in the centre of town. Entry to the Museum is free and donations are welcomed.
The museum also owns the Julia and Hans Rausing Building, a converted Moravian Church, used for special museum events and can also be hired for other purposes.
News
Artwork produced by primary school pupils from St. Joseph’s School in Malmesbury as part of the Turner project is on display until the end of April.
Art students from Malmesbury School took part in a project to produce paintings of Malmesbury Abbey which were put on show in the Rausing Building in June 2023. There were six paintings by pupils chosen to hang beside the Turner painting in the museum. Pictures of these pupils at the Museum are now available.
Work is well underway in the Museum to mark King Athelstan’s accession in 924 CE as part of the Athelstan 1100 celebration. We have lots of information already about King Athelstan on our Athelstan webpage why not take a look. Our Athelstan Coin is on display in the Museum and replicas are on sale in the Museum shop.
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What’s On
Rausing Building Venue Hire
Our recently refurbished venue, The Julia & Hans Rausing Building (formerly The Moravian Church) is available for hire throughout the year for talks, concerts, workshops, meetings or conferences.
This modern, light and spacious hall provides excellent audio and visual equipment which includes projector, sound (including a loop for the hard of hearing) and variable lighting modes. Tables can be arranged conference, workshop or theatre style for your event. Kitchen facilities are available.