About
Torquay Museum is one of the oldest museums in Devon, founded in 1845 by the Torquay Natural History Society and housed since 1876 in its distinctive Victorian building on Babbacombe Road. For over 175 years the museum has been collecting, preserving, and sharing the natural and human history of Torbay and the wider South Devon coast, building one of the most significant regional collections in the South West.
The museum is perhaps best known nationally for two things: its remarkable prehistoric collections from Kents Cavern — one of the most important cave sites in the British Isles — and its dedicated gallery celebrating Torquay's most famous daughter, the crime writer Agatha Christie. Together these two jewels give Torquay Museum a unique identity that attracts visitors from across the world, though the full breadth of the collections extends far beyond these headline attractions.
Kents Cavern, less than a mile from the museum, has been excavated since the 19th century and has yielded prehistoric remains of extraordinary significance, including some of the earliest evidence of modern humans in northern Europe. The museum holds the key finds from over 150 years of excavation at the site, including animal bones, stone tools, and human remains that place Torbay at the centre of our understanding of prehistoric Britain.
The Agatha Christie Gallery draws fans from around the world to learn about the life and work of the author of over 80 crime novels, many of them set in the Devon landscapes she knew and loved. Born in Torquay in 1890, Christie's connection to the town is celebrated with personal memorabilia, photographs, manuscripts, and interactive displays that bring her world vividly to life.
Beyond these highlights, the museum offers rich collections in natural history, ethnography, local social history, and fine and decorative art, with regular temporary exhibitions, events, and family activities that make every visit different. The museum is a charity run with great dedication by staff and volunteers who are passionate about their collections and the history of their remarkable corner of Devon.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
📅 Best Times to Visit
💡 Visitor Tips
- The Agatha Christie Gallery is exceptional — budget at least 45 minutes here if you are a Christie fan. The personal memorabilia and manuscripts bring her world to life in a way no book can quite replicate.
- Combine your museum visit with a trip to Kents Cavern, just 0.6 miles away. Together they provide the most comprehensive exploration of Torquay's prehistoric past available anywhere.
- Pick up a copy of the Agatha Christie Mile trail map from the museum shop and spend an hour or two walking the sites associated with her early life in Torquay after your museum visit.
- The Ice Age animal displays with woolly mammoth and cave bear bones are a big hit with children. Ask about family activity sheets on arrival.
- Summer can be busy as Torquay fills with holiday visitors. Arrive early or visit on a weekday morning for the most comfortable experience. Spring and autumn are particularly pleasant.
- Several bus routes stop directly outside the museum on Babbacombe Road. From Torquay station, take the Number 22 bus towards Babbacombe and alight at the museum stop.
- Don't rush the natural history galleries — the Victorian specimen cases and the depth of the collections reward careful looking. The bird collection in particular is outstanding.
- The Victorian building's interior is atmospheric and photogenic. The Agatha Christie Gallery has good display lighting that makes for evocative photographs.
Highlights
Discover the unique exhibits and collections at this museum.
Collections
The collections total approximately 100,000 objects encompassing natural history specimens, prehistoric and historic archaeology (principally from Kents Cavern), ethnographic objects, fine and decorative art, social history material, and the Agatha Christie personal collection. The Kents Cavern material is of international significance for the study of Palaeolithic Britain.
Agatha Christie Gallery
The world's finest permanent exhibition about Agatha Christie, exploring the life and work of Torquay's most famous daughter through personal memorabilia, photographs, manuscripts, first editions, and interactive displays.
Kents Cavern — Devon's Prehistoric Past
The definitive collection of finds from Kents Cavern, one of Britain's most important prehistoric cave sites, including some of the earliest evidence of modern humans in northern Europe and remains of extinct Ice Age megafauna.
Natural History of Devon
Extensive natural history collections documenting the birds, insects, plants, and geology of Devon and the Torbay coastline, built up over nearly two centuries by the Torquay Natural History Society.
Victorian Torquay — The English Riviera
The story of Torquay's transformation from fishing village to fashionable Victorian resort, with prints, photographs, and social history objects documenting one of the most dramatic urban transformations in 19th-century England.
Ethnography and World Cultures
A significant collection of ethnographic objects from Africa, the Pacific, Asia, and the Americas, interpreted in the context of Victorian collecting culture and the colonial era.
Themes
Time Periods
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.