Hastings Museum & Art Gallery

The award-winning Hastings Museum & Art Gallery is free and packed with wonderfully diverse collections. Established over 125 years ago and run by Hastings Borough Council, people have been exploring art, culture and history here for well over a century.

And there’s a lot to get through.  The local history galleries chart the story of Hastings from prehistory to the present day, including its pivotal role in the Norman Conquest. You will also find one of the UK’s most significant Native North American collections here, alongside the story of Hastings-born writer and conservationist Grey Owl.

The magnificent Durbar Hall (built for the 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London) shows off gorgeous Indian-style architecture and decorative arts. And in the natural sciences galleries, interactive dinosaur displays and local wildlife dioramas bring the past to life. There are rotating exhibitions too, showing work by local and international artists, alongside the museum’s permanent collections spanning maritime heritage and seaside tourism.

WHAT WE LOVE

For a free museum, the range is genuinely remarkable. In a single visit you can go from local prehistory to the Plains of North America and the Durbar Hall is so stunning, it alone is worth the trip.

OPENING HOURS:

Monday: Closed
Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday: 11 am – 4.30 pm

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