Shipwreck Centre and Maritime Museum, Arreton, Isle of Wight

Arreton Old Village, Arreton, Isle of Wight ..... (on the main Sandown to Newport road).
Telephone 01983 533079 (Museum) - 01983 539360 (main complex) - e-mail museum@iowight.com

Home

The Museum

The museum is presently open from Easter to the end of October each year 10.30am to 4.30pm.
There is also a large giftshop named "Mallishags".

Our move to larger premises at Arreton in 2006 has enabled us to considerably improve and expand our displays, also now including a separate Lifeboat Museum in the adjoining building. The surrounding Arreton Barns Complex has become a very popular and busy attraction over the last few years, and the owners there have shown tremendous foresight with their expansion and improvement plans. As such, we were delighted to be given the opportunity to relocate to this now thriving tourist location. After 28 years in Bembridge (1978 to 2006), we were naturally sad to leave our old location, but the previous premises had become far too small for our needs, with little room for expansion. The advantages of the new premises at Arreton are many, as detailed below;

Unlimited parking and coach trade

Larger visitor numbers

Within an established tourist attraction

Central location

Multi-attraction complex of interest to all age groups

Common multi-admission ticket allowing entrance to the
following attractions in the new back complex of
Arreton Barns Craft Village ....

Shipwreck Centre & Maritime Experience, including audio visual room showing action films.
"Wreck and Rescue" Lifeboat Museum, featuring vintage 1887 "Queen Victoria" pulling/sailing lifeboat and RNLI archive material
Smuggling and Fishing displays
Spectacular collection of agricultural and dray carts and an equestrian tackroom
Vintage Garage, housing many old vehicles in a period workshop
Working Blacksmith's Forge and engineering workshop
Working local brewery
Static simulated milking and sheep shearing displays

The Shipwreck and Maritime Museum was founded in 1978, and had been an ambition of the owner, Martin Woodward, since he first started diving on shipwrecks in the 1960s.