Bourne Hall Museum

Bourne Hall Museum is on the first floor of a listed 1960s building in a Victorian park set in the heart of Ewell village, half an hour from London. For fifty years we have collected artefacts, photos and memories that tell the story of Epsom and Ewell. Henry VIII had a palace at Nonsuch, the well on Epsom Common was the site of the first English Spa, and Epsom Downs have seen two hundred years of the Derby, the most famous horse race in the world. After your visit, you can enjoy lunch or coffee in the restaurant, or buy a souvenir in the museum shop. The park around Bourne Hall is an oasis of tranquillity in a busy world. Stay for a while to watch the swans glide on the lake, while children play on the grass and under the branches of the old cedar tree.

Opening Times

Mon-Sat 9am-5pm

Location details

Bourne Hall Museum,
Spring Street
Ewell
Surrey
KT17 1UF

020 8394 1734

Facilities

toilets

accessible toilets

accessible site

accessible parking

cafe or restaurant

train nearby

bus nearby

free entry

gift shop

space for hire

guided tour

baby changing

Go to museum site

Children & Families

The museum is open-plan and family-friendly with models, hands-on displays, brass rubbing and interactive displays to keep little hands busy and spark the imagination. We also run a Kids Club for children who love history and like to have fun while learning about it.

We travel back through time to discover the past and its people, encompassing all periods of history from the deepest Stone Age to the Home Front in Epsom during World War 2. Through a combination of hands-on experience, visiting experts, many of whom have worked in television, including Horrible Histories, and a coming together of enthusiastic minds we aim to have fun and learn together. The club meets on the second Saturday of each month at Bourne Hall, between 1.00pm and 2.30pm.

Schools & Teachers

We offer a range of free services to schools, colleges and home educators, complementing all the key stages of the national curriculum. These include talks by museum staff at schools and colleges and guided walks around the Borough. We will provide a themed day out at the museum and around historic Ewell Village for up to three classes of 35 pupils

Our loan-box service illustrates historical topics studied within KS1 and KS2. Boxes include a combination of original artefacts and reproduction items covering Prehistory, Romans, Tudors, Victorian and World Wars 1 and 2. Boxes may be borrowed free of charge for up to half a term at a time. We also work with teachers to prepare digital packs of images from our collections illustrating local views for your neighbourhood and social history from the last 200 years.

Students & Young People

We welcome Work Experience from secondary schools as well as undergraduate internships. We are a small, active and inclusive museum, offering young people an opportunity to experience display, documentation, public interaction, and design & build. Some of our placements have gone on to a successful career in the heritage sector.

Adult & Community

If you’d like a talk or tour for your group we’d be happy to help, with topics including Mrs. Beeton, Derby Day, Epsom Spa, The Horton Hospitals and Nonsuch Palace. At half-terms and holidays we run a popular series of guided walks revealing the secret history of the neighbourhood, from Celtic gods to wicked peers, with the odd ghost thrown in.

Research into the history of Epsom and Ewell is our driving force and we work in conjunction with our colleagues in the Local & Family History Centre and the Historical & Archaeological Society to help people find out about their families, houses, businesses and neighbourhoods. The Museum Shop holds copies of all local history publications in print.