Topsham Museum

Topsham Museum is one of the town’s biggest attractions for residents and visitors alike – and with good reason!

We provide a typical Topsham Merchant’s house of 1680 to 1750 overlooking the Exe estuary, encouraging visitors to explore the Topsham backstory. Displays give a timeline of the town’s history with the focus on Topsham’s maritime background as a trade port and ship building centre. Exhibits also include unique historic river craft, local trades and organisations and wildlife of the Exe Estuary.

You can also see memorabilia of the film star Vivien Leigh and discover why these can be found in Topsham Museum.

For community-minded residents we are a magnet for volunteers – and we always want more! We have 200 local people giving their time to make the Museum what it is today… a collection for historians, a shop for perfect gifts marking a visit to Topsham, plus a garden with plenty of space for traditional cream teas and soaking up estuary views.

2023 has two special attractions.

Firstly an exhibition inside the Museum on Dick Pym, a Topsham man who became known worldwide as The Fisherman Footballer. Dick was the premier English goalkeeper of the 1920s, gaining winner’s medals in three FA Cup finals without conceding a single goal. The first was the 1923 ‘White Horse’ Final, the first to be played at Wembley.  If you’re keen on football – or even if you’re not – you’ll enjoy this amazing, heart-warming story.

Secondly, please make a date for Topsham Museum’s Secret Gardens event on June 11. This attracts visitors from far and wide to explore Topsham and admire gardens around the town, hidden down alleyways and little known streets. The event offers an opportunity for visitors to see behind walls and into hidden corners of the town where they will be surprised and, we hope, delighted to discover a great variety of gardens, an opportunity to buy plants, and, of course, cream teas

Details of all these events plus the Museum’s opening times, virtual tours, lectures, shop and so much more, can be found on

Call us here 01392 873244

Registered Charity No: 1185943

Topsham Secret Gardens
Dick "Pincher" Pym exhibition