Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery

Exeter’s world-class museum has stunning new displays and galleries, fabulous exhibitions and modern amenities. Its spectacular Victorian building links the modern commercial city centre bustle on Queen Street with the city’s historic past.

The displays reveal Devon and Exeter’s rich history and global connections. Exotic animals, birds and insects delight children and the world cultures galleries display stunning items from all over the world.

The busy programme of exhibitions and events means there is likely to be something different to see on every visit.

RAMM cares for a wonderful and diverse collection consisting of over one million individual objects and specimens from all over the globe. They are divided into the following curatorial departments: antiquities; ethnography; natural history, decorative and fine arts. The collections contain items of local, national and international importance, and many are of outstanding historical or cultural significance.

Decorative and Fine Art

The Decorative Arts collections, of great variety, comprise the following areas: West Country silver (500 items); Costume and textiles (15,000 items); Ceramics (2000 items); Glass (500 items); Horology (300 items); Firearms (300 items); Musical instruments (50 items). Of these, the silver and costume and textiles collections are considered pre-eminent.

World Cultures

World Cultures is our name given to traditional communities who live outside the European continent. Items relating to these cultures were mostly acquired in the 19th century by those individuals who had served abroad as British soldiers, colonial administrators and traders.

Natural History

The Natural History collection is one of the largest in the country. There is an astonishing variety of material, ranging geographically from Antarctica to the Arctic, through the Antipodes, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. The subject areas are equally diverse. The continued development of the collection has resulted in a range of specimens of local, national and international importance.

Decorative Arts

From precious silver to intricate watch movements, the decorative art collections have something to suit many tastes and interests. The largest collections include Exeter silver, ceramics, glassware and clocks and watches.

Local Archaeology

RAMM has a rich collection of archaeology from Exeter and Devon. People have lived in the area for at least 350,000 years, leaving behind them traces of their dwellings, clothing, possessions and the food they ate.