Collecting at the
Priest’s House Museum
The Priest’s House Museum’s collections began with objects that
had been collected by a few individuals. It has been expanded
since, with artefacts that tell the story of our local area.
Today, a museum aims to collect, care for, display and interpret
material for the benefit and enjoyment of the public. By
collecting, they make sure that our cultural and natural history is
cared for before it disappears.
Much of the original collection at the Priest’s House Museum, came from the Coles family, including stock from the ironmonger’s shop that they ran in this building from 1872 to 1960 and from the stationer’s shop next door. This was added to by a large donation of objects and photographs collected by local doctor and historian, Sir Ernest Kaye Le Fleming, earlier in the 20th century.
The collections have been added to since 1962. The Museum
collects material from the historic parishes of East Dorset, so
that it can care for objects that tell the story of the people of this
area. We now have over 35,000 objects, only a small percentage
of which you can see on display at any one time.
This display showcases some of
the more unusual items of
curiosity in the collections.