Purbeck Mining Museum
The Purbeck Mining Museum is dedicated to the history and heritage of Purbeck Ball Clay mining and it’s industrial narrow gauge railways.
The Purbeck Mining Museum is an independent museum which exists to preserve and interpret everything to do with the Purbeck Ball Clay industry and it’s association with the Swanage Railway branch line.
The Mining Museum is housed in the last underground mine building that worked in Purbeck. The collections include mining equipment, as well as images and artefacts of all aspects of associated social and economic history including narrow gauge railways.
The museum was officially opened by Antiques Roadshow’s Paul Atterbury and MP Richard Drax in 2014.
May 2025 Opening Times:
- Sat 3rd to Sun 11th May inclusive
please note that we will be open on Bank Holiday Monday 5 May and all three days of the SR Diesel Gala - Tues 13th to Thu 15th May inclusive
- Sat/Sun 17th/18th May
- Tues 20th to Thu 22nd May inclusive
- Sat 24th May to Sun 1st June inclusive
please note that we will be open Bank Holiday Monday 26 May and every day during the school half term week
June and July 2025 Opening Times
- 11:00 – 16:00 (last entry 15:30) on Tues, Weds, Thurs, Sat and Sun.
Please note: opening times are subject to volunteer availability and times may change.
Find us at Purbeck Park, near Corfe Castle, Dorset. We are just above Norden Station on the Swanage Railway.
Our postcode is BH20 5DW. What3words ///yelled.correct.evening
Address & Contacts
Address
Purbeck Mining Museum, Purbeck Park, Corfe Castle, Wareham, Dorset BH20 5DW
GPS
50.6450613, -2.0615675
Telephone
Similar Items
Swanage Railway Museum is based at Corfe Castle Station. Its main objective is to preserve and restore, for the public benefit, items of historical value in connection with railways and in particular the Swanage Branch Line.
View more
The Blue Pool forms part of the Furzebrook Estate which traces its history back nearly 400 years. Formally a clay-pit, dug by hand and abandoned in the early 19th Century to be naturally filled with rainwater and the colour phenomenon of its waters (caused by light diffracting from minuscule particles…
View more
The Etches Collection Museum of Jurassic Marine Life A unique, modern museum of amazing fossils – the marine life of Jurassic Dorset. Learn about Life and Death in the Kimmeridgian Seas 157 million years ago during the age of the Dinosaurs….
View more
If you are walking across Hartland Moor near Corfe Castle, it's worth visiting the thatched museum and workshop at Scotland Farm. It's home to an amazing collection of horse-drawn wagons, carts and traditional country crafts. A number of items are also for sale, including beautifully rustic oak or ash bird…
View more
The Museum is housed on the ground floor of the smallest Town Hall in England and so it is quite small too, but well worth a visit. Starting with the Iguanadon (dinosaur) footprints, the museum exhibitions offers a glimpse into the local history of Corfe Castle and the Isle of…
View more
The CastleOne of Britain's most iconic and evocative survivors of the English Civil War, partially demolished in 1646 by the Parliamentarians. A favourite haunt for adults and children alike, all ages are captivated by these romantic castle ruins with breathtaking views across Purbeck. Discover 1,000 years of our history as…
View moreUse the Categories below to find what you’re looking for
Corfe Castle offers a wide range of Accommodation and places to Eat, Drink and Shop
