Things to do · Wotton-under-Edge
Wotton Heritage Centre
The Wotton-under-Edge Historical Society's museum, archive and information point in the old fire station on The Chipping, open four days a week.
Rainy days · Walker-friendly
A small volunteer museum and the best place in Wotton to start: local displays, leaflets on the town and the area, and a library for family historians. The Chipping car park is right outside.
- Good: Chipping car park outside the door
- Good: Disabled access through the main entrance
- Good: Local history library and archive
- Good: Leaflets on the town and gifts
- Worth knowing: Closed Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays
- Worth knowing: No toilet or café; both are a short walk away
About
Wotton Heritage Centre is the museum and archive of the Wotton-under-Edge Historical Society, in the converted fire station on The Chipping in Wotton-under-Edge. The town first set up a museum in 1937, in the Town Hall; after spells in the Tolsey and a converted pram porch, the collection moved here in 1994.
It is small. The trustees put on themed displays from the society's own collection and from loans, drawn mostly from a collection of more than 12,000 objects, on subjects as different as the wool industry, brewing, forestry and the Home Front in the Second World War. There is a local and family history library and archive, open to the public for a small donation, and a wide range of information and leaflets about the area, with books, DVDs and gifts for sale. The society also runs up to nine lectures a year, free to members and £5 to non-members; the autumn 2026 talks take in William Tyndale in south Gloucestershire, the Clevedon Pier story and a Gloucestershire Christmas.
It opens from 10.30am to 3.30pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. On other days the museum can be opened by appointment for a donation, and groups should arrange their visit ahead. The website gives no admission charge for the museum itself. Allow half an hour, longer if you are researching.
The centre says it has disabled access through the main entrance, and the Chipping car park, which it describes as free, is right outside. There is no toilet or café in the centre, but both are a few minutes' walk away in the town. It makes a good first stop before the walk to the Tyndale Monument.
Opening hours and season
| Monday | 10:30 to 15:30 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 10:30 to 15:30 |
| Wednesday | Closed |
| Thursday | Closed |
| Friday | 10:30 to 15:30 |
| Saturday | 10:30 to 15:30 |
| Sunday | Closed |
On closed days the museum can be opened by appointment, for a donation.
Facilities
- Car park outsideThe Chipping, short and long stay; the centre calls it free
- Disabled accessThrough the main entrance
- Gifts and local books
The details
- Time to allow
- Half an hour to an hour
- Features
- Shop · Parking
- History
- Museum founded 1937; in the old fire station since 1994
- Parking
- The Chipping car park, short and long stay, is immediately outside; the centre describes it as free. The short stay is limited to 3 hours between 8am and 6pm.
Location
Accessibility
- Step-free access
- Parking within 50 metres
The centre says it has disabled access through the main entrance. There is no public toilet in the centre.
Places to stay nearby
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The Swan Hotel
Hotel · Wotton-under-Edge
A Grade II listed coaching inn on Market Street in the middle of Wotton-under-Edge, with 18 en-suite rooms, a restaurant and bar, and dogs welcome.
Dog-friendly · Walker-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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Hunts Court Huts
Glamping · North Nibley
Two glamping pods and a shepherd's hut for two, each with its own wood-fired hot tub, on a working farm at Forthay, North Nibley, by the Cotswold Way.
Hot tubs · Walker-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
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Forthay Bed and Breakfast
B&B · North Nibley
A late seventeenth-century farmhouse B&B with four rooms for two in the hamlet of Forthay, below the Tyndale Monument at North Nibley, on the Cotswold Way.
Dog-friendly · Walker-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- The Swan Hotel 0.1 km away
- The Star Inn, Wotton-under-Edge 0.1 km away
- The Electric Picture House, Wotton-under-Edge 0.1 km away
- The Royal Oak, Wotton-under-Edge 0.2 km away
Sights nearby
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Hugh Perry Almshouses, Wotton-under-Edge
Sight · Historic building · Wotton-under-Edge
The Hugh Perry Almshouses on Church Street in Wotton-under-Edge were built in 1638 from the bequest of a London alderman from the town, and extended for Thomas Dawes's charity from 1723, round a courtyard with a small chapel. Grade II; still homes.
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The Ancient Ram Inn, Wotton-under-Edge
Sight · Historic building · Wotton-under-Edge
The Ancient Ram Inn is a late medieval house at Potters Pond in Wotton-under-Edge, by the church, with a jettied timber-framed gable. Often dated to 1145, its timbers were felled in 1495 to 1496. Grade II*; private, with booked paranormal events.
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St Mary's Church, Wotton-under-Edge
Sight · Church · Wotton-under-Edge
St Mary's is Wotton-under-Edge's Grade I parish church, with late thirteenth-century arcades, a six-stage fourteenth-century tower, the brasses of Thomas, Lord Berkeley and his wife, and an organ bought in 1800. Open daily.
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Jubilee Clump, Wotton Hill
Sight · Viewpoint · Wotton-under-Edge
Jubilee Clump is the walled ring of trees on Wotton Hill above Wotton-under-Edge, replanted in 1888 for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee on a spot said to have been first planted after Waterloo: a landmark and viewpoint on the Cotswold Way. Free.