Deal Maritime & Local History Museum Testimonials

Any visitor to Deal and Walmer should make a point of visiting the Deal Maritime & Local History Museum in St George's Road, Deal, one of the only independent charitable trust museums in England who own their site outright. It is probably the last industrial site left in Deal going back to the eighteenth century. It was here that velocipedes were built in the nineteenth century before it became ironmongers. There is a listed building at the bottom of the site.

Open from May - September, in addition to the magnificent collection amassed by the original founders, this museum houses, as one would expect from a maritime museum, a collection of model boats and a lifeboat collection. Here you can see the oldest Deal boat, built in 1891, the sprat punt "Elanor", the Saxon King, a Montague whaler, built by the Royal Marines, and used by sea scouts, and one of the Dunkirk 'little ships', “Tender Two”. Those who attend the annual Trafalgar Day service might like to know that the funeral bier of Captain Parker is on view here, as well as the handsome carved wooden pulpit, from which Charles Wesley preached in St George’s Church.

There are two special exhibitions a year, one of which in 2010, will be of swimming costumes, when some of the costumes from the Doris Salter Collection will be exhibited, as well as others loaned by private collectors.

There is a significant archive collection for local historians to browse through, including the will of Elizabeth Carter, the famous blue stocking, who resided for some time in Deal, and the papers of the late Gertrude Nunns. Visits to the archives can be made by appointment with Judith Dore, (01304) 373684, when a small charge is made.

This is a great little museum absolutely packed with artifacts and works of art, even boats! Everything seems very accessible - not to handle but to understand - and it brings to life Deal's maritime history. There are regular special exhibitions, too, well worth looking out for. Also a great venue for school trips. I believe the Museum is also an excellent source for local genealogists.

I love Deal Museum. Their amazing openings and exhibitions are crowded with interesting people. Many come down from London. The owner of Thames and Hudson, Thomas Neurath, visited the museum and declared it to be a treasure house. One exhibition called All the Fun of the Fair was attended by the families that run Forrest Fairs.

Claire Chapman

The effort the volunteers have put into transforming the Deal Maritime and Local HIstory Museum is phenomenal and anyone interested in Dealʼs past, particularly the Deal boatmen, will find a fascinating collection of their boats and equipment. In the archives there are collections of photographs such as a record of the construction of Dealʼs current pier, construction work on Betteshanger Colliery and Richborough Power Station and a fascinating collection of social history about Deal. Frequent superb quality exhibitions of historical events and figures such as Nelson and the Duke of Wellington and costumes from the Salter Collection.

This museum is just great.I love the pictures of how Deal used to be .Itʼs incredible that so much of the towns history has been preserved.My favourite is the photograph of Winston Churchill taken by Harold Chapman when he was a young boy and who is still taking photgraphs of Deal town today.