About Us - The Museum of Dartmoor Life, Okehampton, Devon, UK

The museum opened in 1982 when - with a growing collection of local objects to be housed and displayed - a group of volunteers raised funds to purchase the present site and its empty, derelict buildings. Much time and effort was then put in to refurbish the buildings for their new role.

Having opened to the public, over the years further enhancements and additions to displays, galleries and facilities have taken place to win awards and provide the present services and representations of Dartmoor’s history.

• The John Young Gallery offering exhibitions, functions, conference facilities - and has a loop system for those with hearing difficulties

• Museum Shop - offering purchases to complement your visit

• Tea Rooms

• Access: lift between the 3 floors for visitors with a disability; limited blue-badge parking; Braille book about the museum and its exhibits; WC for wheelchair users

• Mint your own medieval coin - unfortunately not now legal tender

• Teachers’ Pack available - (see the Education pages)

Dartmoor is the last wilderness in southern England. It is often regarded as a bleak upland area, home to wildlife and little else. However, its environment has been created through human use and exploitation: from prehistoric settlement to twentieth century mining.

The recently refurbished displays at the Museum of Dartmoor Life feature the home and working lives of people who lived on and around Dartmoor. The museum building itself was a granary built in 1811. Its

picturesque Victorian cobbled courtyard features granite rails on which the wheels of carts would run between West Street and the mill.

In addition to three floors of exhibits, the building also includes a state-of-the-art Gallery where special exhibitions and other events are staged. At the side of the building is a large working waterwheel - which used to be busy in the valley at what is now Roadford Reservoir.