Swaffham Museum
Swaffham Museum
4.5
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
About
We are a small, independent social history museum for Swaffham and the surrounding villages in Norfolk from the Stone Age to the modern. Explore our history both by visiting the Museum and walking the circular trail. Home of the Symonds collection of figures based on characters from literature and history. Local heroes include Howard Carter the archaeologist, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Knyvet Wilson VC, Jem Mace prize fighter, W E Johns author of the Biggles books and the Swaffham Pedlar. In 2022 we celebrate Howard Carter who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922. The Carter Gallery has been updated and refurbished for this. In 2019 we opened the new Conflict and Consequences gallery, full of information about Swaffham's involvement in wars and conflicts.
Suggested duration
1-2 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingFull view










Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience nearby attractions
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
30 within 3 miles
Attractions
14 within 6 miles
Contribute
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
53 reviews
Excellent
33
Very good
14
Average
5
Poor
1
Terrible
0
JuliaMeopham_Kent
London, UK29 contributions
Sep 2022
Excellent little museum. The highlights for us were the Mary Jeffery diary illustrations on the 2nd floor. These are really funny and charming illustrations from a young girl's diary from the 19th century. And, of course, the Carter family Gallery and the discovery of the Tutankhamun's tomb. Also includes some artifacts on loan from the British Museum.
Written 11 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Margaret H
Cambridge, UK30 contributions
Sep 2022
A very interesting town museum. I particularly liked the items found by a metal detector. Everything was well labelled. There’s even a room devoted to Tutankhamen
Written 2 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
loveshopping102
London, UK10 contributions
Jun 2022 • Couples
Wonderful work done by the staff. There is general local information plus a separate section for Howard Carter (discoverer of the tomb of Tutankhamen on 1922) as his family were resident in Swaffham. This year celebrates the centenary.
Written 27 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Otanronic
Welwyn, UK50 contributions
Jun 2022 • Couples
Had a really informative time at the museum where I attempted to reconstruct a statue as a restoration expert would have done. All of the exhibits were interesting and well laid out. Loved the Tutankhamen Carter exhibition that had a great screen show of the tomb being discovered.
A great morning used well
A great morning used well
Written 4 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tony C
Dumfries, UK554 contributions
Jun 2021 • Couples
This little town museum surprised me with its link to Howard CARTER. I learnt a few things about Egypt I did not know. Worth a stop if you are in town
Written 30 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
HertfordshireHedgehog
12 contributions
Aug 2020
Very good local museum. Particularly interesting section focused on Howard Carter (due to his local connections to Swaffham) and Tutankhamun. COVID-19 arrangements were well thought through and it was nice to find the museum open at this time. The staff were helpful and knowledgeable. There is also an interesting section on local archaeology. The museum told the story of Swaffham well.
Written 21 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dan M
Bramhall, UK246 contributions
Aug 2020 • Family
It’s what you would expect.
The archeology room is interesting. The best bit is the carter stuff. The link is he is local. Some of the rooms really don’t have a lot.
If you are in the area it’s worth an hour.
The archeology room is interesting. The best bit is the carter stuff. The link is he is local. Some of the rooms really don’t have a lot.
If you are in the area it’s worth an hour.
Written 21 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Steve M
Redcar, UK727 contributions
Aug 2020
We discovered Swaffham Town Museum when we parked almost outside its front door. The half dozen display rooms are each assigned a particular topic - local artefacts, the extensive finds of a local metal detectorist and of course the Howard Carter displays - that's the Howard Carter who opened the tomb of the boy king Tutenkamun in the 1920s.
Everthing is well displays, the captions are succinct yet informative and every room has an interactive or video screen. The staff appear to be volunteers who are thoroughly enjoying their role and engaging with visitors. It was a fascinating and rewarding hour.
Everthing is well displays, the captions are succinct yet informative and every room has an interactive or video screen. The staff appear to be volunteers who are thoroughly enjoying their role and engaging with visitors. It was a fascinating and rewarding hour.
Written 17 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Juz69
Leeds, UK2 contributions
Jul 2019
Good museum if you need to learn about Egyptians and they had a dressing up box so you can look like an ancient egyptian
Written 16 April 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Janet H
Ellesmere Port, UK888 contributions
Aug 2019
A small free (donations welcome) social history museum. There are 5 different rooms to visit over several floors. The gentleman volunteer who greeted us was most friendly and very well informed about the museum. The first room, on the ground floor is the Ben Emerson Room which has items that explain some of the town’s history. A short flight of steps up takes you into the Monique Slaven Room which displays the many archaeological finds that she found in and around Swaffam over many years. You then go up the main staircase and can read the tale about ‘The Swaffam Pedlar.’ Another room at the top of the building has artefacts which explore the effect that the two world wars had on the town. In the final room downstairs there is a collection of exhibits relating to local man Howard Carter who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun. There is also the Symonds collection of figures based on characters from literature. It is a very interesting museum which takes about 90 minutes to go around. Well worth a visit. Nearby is a free car park.
Written 6 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listingSWAFFHAM MUSEUM: Tickets, Tours & Tips (with Photos)
Frequently Asked Questions about Swaffham Museum
- Swaffham Museum is open:
- Mon - Fri 10:00 - 16:00
- Sat - Sat 10:00 - 13:00
- Hotels near Swaffham Museum:
- (0.06 mi) The Red Lion
- (0.07 mi) The Greyhound Inn
- (0.18 mi) Strattons Hotel
- (0.12 mi) The Barn
- (0.16 mi) Best Western George Hotel
- Restaurants near Swaffham Museum:
- (0.01 mi) The White Hart
- (0.02 mi) The East Garden
- (0.02 mi) Shelly's Bistro
- (0.03 mi) Nelson's Nest of Swaffham
- (0.03 mi) Nelson's Nest of Swaffham