Athelstan Museum is situated in the heart of the ancient town of Malmesbury. This hill-top site has been occupied since at least the Iron Age period, and the museum displays a large range of items spanning the period from that time up to the present day. The museum is run entirely by volunteers and is a registered charity.
The Museum is named after King Athelstan, first King of all England who is buried in Malmesbury. Much more about Athelstan can be found on our King Athelstan and Athelstan 1100 Exhibition pages.
Some key exhibits are a fine silver penny from the reign of King Athelstan, a hoard of Roman coins, and a watercolour of Malmesbury by J.M.W Turner.
The museum’s collection is on display in the Town Hall building, which can be found facing the Cross Hayes car park in the centre of town. Entry to the Museum is free and donations are welcomed.
The museum also owns the Julia and Hans Rausing Building, a converted Moravian Church, used for special museum events and can also be hired for other purposes.
ATHELSTAN REPLICA SWORD
The Museum is named after Athelstan, First King of all England and on display in the museum is an archaeologically accurate replica of a sword in the Anglo Saxon tradition, such as would have been used by King Athelstan (924-939).
The sword blade was forged by renowned historical weapons blacksmith Hector Cole MBE, the hilt made and decorated by jeweller Tim Blades; both using authentic historical techniques. The design is based on a sword hilt in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
Alongside the sword is a tablet showing a short film of the construction of the sword. This gives a good idea of the effort required to produce a sword ‘fit for a king’, with its beautiful patterning on the blade and detailed silver figuring on the hilt.
Discover more about King Athelstan who was buried in Malmesbury Abbey.
Our Collection
What’s On
Athelstan Museum
Malmesbury & World War Two
Rausing Building
Malmesbury as a Border Town – Limited availability
Rausing Building
History Club – Railways in Malmesbury
Rausing Building
A Career in Ruins – Julian Richards
Rausing Building
Napoleon after Waterloo & Lock of his Hair in our Museum
Rausing Building
Lace Making
For a full list of currently planned events please see our Current Events page
Rausing Building Venue Hire
Our recently refurbished venue, The Julia & Hans Rausing Building (formerly The Moravian Church) is available for hire throughout the year for talks, concerts, workshops, meetings or conferences. The Rausing Building is located at the top of Holloway.
This modern, light and spacious hall provides excellent audio and visual equipment which includes projector, sound (including a loop for the hard of hearing) and variable lighting modes. Tables can be arranged conference, workshop or theatre style for your event. Kitchen facilities are available.