About
The Marlipins Museum in Shoreham-by-Sea occupies one of the most remarkable secular medieval buildings in England. The Marlipins itself — a flint and stone chequered building with a magnificent Norman arcaded façade on the High Street — was constructed in the twelfth century and may have served as a customs house or merchant's store for one of the most important medieval ports on the south coast.
Its chequered flint-and-Caen-stone frontage, dating from around 1170, makes it one of the finest examples of Norman secular architecture surviving anywhere in the country.
The museum inside traces the long and dramatic history of Shoreham-by-Sea from its origins as a significant port in the Adur estuary, through its centuries-long contest with the shifting river mouth that periodically blocked shipping access, to its Edwardian reinvention as a seaside resort.
Maritime heritage dominates the collections: ship models, navigational instruments, fishing gear, and photographs document the working life of a Sussex coastal community whose livelihood depended on the sea. Displays explore Shoreham's role in the Hundred Years' War and later conflicts, when the port provided ships and men for royal military campaigns.
The early history of aviation features prominently, as Shoreham Airport — one of the oldest licensed aerodromes in Britain, opened in 1910 — is located just across the Adur. Local archaeology, natural history, and the story of Shoreham's distinctive houseboat community — one of the largest concentrations of historic houseboats in Europe — round out a rich and varied collection housed in an irreplaceable medieval shell.
Categories:
Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
💡 Visitor Tips
- Arrive early in the season as the museum closes at the end of October — check the Sussex Archaeological Society website for the precise opening and closing dates each year
- Spend a few minutes studying the Norman arcaded façade on the High Street before entering — the chequered flint-and-Caen-stone pattern is over 850 years old and extraordinarily well preserved
- The train from Brighton to Shoreham takes under 15 minutes and the station is an easy 8-minute walk to the museum along the High Street
- After the museum, walk down to the Adur footbridge for views across the houseboat colony — it's one of the most unusual and photogenic riverside scenes on the South Coast
- Shoreham Airport's Art Deco terminal building (1936) is visible from the beach road and well worth a short detour for architecture enthusiasts — check if the café is open
- The medieval parish church of St Mary de Haura on the High Street, just steps from the museum, has a magnificent Norman nave and is one of the finest medieval churches in Sussex
- Sussex Archaeological Society members get free entry and can access research resources across the Society's other sites at Anne of Cleves House, Lewes Castle, and Fishbourne Roman Palace
Highlights
The Norman Marlipins Building
The Marlipins itself is the outstanding exhibit. Its chequered flint-and-Caen-stone façade, with Norman arcading at ground level, was built around 1170 and represents one of the most complete examples of Norman secular architecture surviving in England. The building's original function remains debated: it may have served as a customs house controlling trade through Shoreham port, a merchant's warehouse, or a guildhall.
Whatever its medieval purpose, the building's survival through more than eight centuries of change — including the repeated shifting of the Adur estuary and the decline of Shoreham as a major port — is little short of miraculous.
Shoreham Port and Maritime History
Shoreham was one of the most significant ports on the south coast in medieval England, providing ships for the Hundred Years' War and carrying goods across the Channel. The museum's maritime collections document this history through ship models, harbour charts, navigational instruments, and fishing equipment spanning several centuries.
The constant battle between Shoreham's merchants and the wandering mouth of the River Adur — which periodically silted up, ruining trade — is a recurring theme, as is the construction of the canal arm and new harbour works that eventually gave the port more reliable access to the sea.
The Houseboat Community
Shoreham-by-Sea hosts one of the largest concentrations of historic houseboats in Europe, moored along the Adur at Shoreham Beach. The museum documents this distinctive and much-loved feature of the town: how decommissioned vessels from naval craft to Thames barges were settled along the foreshore from the early twentieth century, how residents created a close-knit community with its own social life and traditions, and how the houseboat colony has been protected in recent decades against redevelopment pressure.
Photographs, oral histories, and objects from the houseboat community give visitors a glimpse of this unusual way of life.
Shoreham Airport and Early Aviation
Shoreham Airport — officially Brighton City Airport — opened in 1910 and is one of the oldest licensed aerodromes in Britain. The museum holds collections relating to the early aviation history of the site, where pioneer aviators including Gustav Hamel demonstrated new flying machines to astonished crowds.
The airport's role in both World Wars, its Art Deco terminal building of 1936 — Grade II* listed and one of the finest airport buildings of its era — and its post-war career as a general aviation airfield are all documented through photographs, artefacts, and memorabilia from a century of flight.
Collections
The Marlipins Museum's collections are built around two exceptional assets: the Norman building itself and the maritime heritage of Shoreham-by-Sea. Maritime holdings include ship models spanning several centuries, navigational charts and instruments, fishing equipment, harbour records, and an extensive photographic archive of shipping in the Adur.
Local archaeology is represented by medieval finds from Shoreham town and the Adur valley.
Natural history collections document the wildlife of the estuary and Shoreham Beach. Social history holdings include photographs, personal documents, and objects relating to the houseboat community, wartime Shoreham, and Victorian and Edwardian seaside life. Early aviation material from Shoreham Airport's pioneer years complements the transport history collections.
The Sussex Archaeological Society, which operates the museum, provides access to broader research resources and expertise in Sussex history and archaeology.
The Norman Marlipins
The history and architecture of the building itself, one of the finest surviving examples of Norman secular architecture in England, and its role as a medieval port facility
Shoreham at Sea
The maritime history of Shoreham port from medieval times to the twentieth century, including ship models, navigational instruments, and fishing heritage
Life on the Adur
The houseboat community, natural history of the estuary, and the social life of a Sussex coastal town from Victorian times to the present
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.