Poole's museums are concentrated on and around the Quay, which is where the history happened.
Poole Museum
On the Quay, covering the town's maritime story from prehistory onwards: the medieval wool and wine trade, the Newfoundland cod fisheries that made Poole rich in the eighteenth century, and Poole Pottery. The Poole Logboat, hollowed from a single oak in the Iron Age and pulled from the harbour mud, is the object people come for.
Scaplen's Court and the Guildhall
The Old Town holds the buildings themselves: Scaplen's Court, a late medieval merchant's house, and the Georgian Guildhall. The Cockle Trail links them on a free, marked walking route.
Galleries
Independent galleries and makers' studios are scattered through the Old Town lanes, and Lighthouse programmes visual art alongside theatre and music.
See history and culture and wet weather fun.