Digital Museum

 

 

 

Our collections can still be accessed and enjoyed away from the Museum and more fantastic content is being added all the time. See below to explore our videos, oral histories and activities.

 

Discovering Littlehampton Museum

Did you know that Littlehampton Museum has a collection of over 50,000 items?

The Museum's collection covers Archaeology, Geology, Natural History, Local History, Photography, Art and Social History. The collection is an important record of the history of the Littlehampton and it's people. We continue to collect and add to the collection, preserving the history of the Town for future generations.

Research Packs

 

The Museum's Research Volunteers have complied these packs exploring different aspects of Littlehampton' history. 

This work was done as part of Project Time Machine, a National Lottery ‘Unlocking Collections’ grant funded project looking at our Social History Collection.

Project Time Machine logo

Henry Lock  - Henry Lock (1806-1895), lived in Littlehampton his whole life, he was a school teacher and Lay Preacher. He is principally remembered for a 1882 lecture he gave on Littlehampton in the nineteenth century.

The Glasshouse Crop Research Institute - A scientific research centre established in Littlehampton in 1954.

Henty and Constable Brewers - Once the largest employers in Littlehampton.

Boat Building in Littlehampton - An overview of boat and shipbuilding in the town.

The Dyer Family - A look at the prominent local family 1700-1900.

Littlehampton Board of Health - A quick look at the formation of the first governing body of Littlehampton.

Avon House and the Donkeys - The history of this quirky Littlehampton building, and a look into its possible connection with donkey rides on the beach.

Online exhibitions

 

 

Writing around the Kids logo

Creative writing inspired by the Museum's collection.

 

Photograph of the Carnival Queen and her attendants, 1937

 

Click the links below for stories inspired by this Carnival Queen photograph from 1937:

Something or Someone I have Loved by Peggy Denimal

Seaside Flat by Josephine Hallier

Someone You Loved by Rebecca Hudson

Click the links below for more stories by the Littlehampton Writing Around the Kids Group, inspired by various other items in the Museum:

George III Penny by Tracey Chippendale-Holmes

Robert Carver, the Secrets Untold by Karen Suckling

Sales of Poisons Register by Clare Willetts

Ship in a Bottle by Kim Allan

The Jacket by Peggy Denimal

The Ring by Karen Birtles

 

 

Royal Littlehampton

Littlehampton Museum OPEN during COVID-19:

In June 2020 we launched the theme for our OPEN exhibition and invited people to submit work created during lockdown for an extra special exhibition reflecting on the effects this pandemic has had on us all.

We were hopeful for a return to normality by winter, however when it became clear that this would not be the case, we decided to create our very first online OPEN exhibition featuring all work submitted, providing a safe way for everybody to experience all the wonderful pieces of artwork created during this time.

Click on the image to view the work.

Littlehampton Museum OPEN 2020

Virtual Talk

Litltehampton Museum Presents a virtual talk by seaside historian Kathryn Ferry. Kathryn explores the changing fashions of seaside architecture across the country comparing and contrasting Littlehampton's architecture with historic examples from all over the nation. Her new book book Seaside 100: The History of the British Seaside in 100 Objects comes highly recommended by the Museum Team. For more information about Kathryn and her publications please visit: https://www.kathrynferry.co.uk/

Duration: 51 minutes, this talk is pre-recorded using Microsoft PowerPoint

 

VE Day in Littlehampton

Victory in Littlehampton. On the 8th May 1945 the long awaited announcement came. The war was over in Europe. After almost 6 years, the fighting was done and the enemy had been defeated, Littlehampton was ready to celebrate.

The town was decked out with bunting and flags and streets across Littlehampton came together to create street parties full of colour and joy. All the pubs across the town were given permission to stay open late, the cinemas were full of people and some parties lasted for days

The photographic slideshow features images taken from the Museum Archive, The Littlehampton Gazette and some are used with permission of members of the Facebook group Bygone Littlehampton.

Oral History

 

Oral History involves the collection of people's memories of their life, of big events or places, usually through either audio or video recording. For the Museum this has been used to capture people's memories of living in the Town and gives us a unique time capsule of information. Below you can explore some of our wonderful archive of audio recordings.

Please note that these are unedited full interviews, as the content covered includes the Second World War, there may be content that some listeners  find distressing.

More Oral Histories will be uploaded here soon!

 

 

Littlehampton Postcards

The Museum holds a large collection of Littlehampton Postcards dating from the 1900s to the late 1990s. In this slideshow you can explore just some of the thousands that we have in our archive.

Why not then have a go at deigning your own postcard using our activity template.

Design your own postcard thumbnail

Postcard Activities

Have a go at designing your own postcard by downloading the guide and template below.

Design Your Own Postcard - Guide

Postcard Template

Activities

Download some fun crafts and activities inspired by our collection or download some learning resources. From crafts to colouring you can find a wealth of resources here to download and use at at home. Don't forget to share your creations with us on Facebook!

Activity Downloads

Resources