Lyn & Exmoor Museum – The Treasure on our Doorstep

I first visited Exmoor in 1967, at the age of five. I vividly remember the high sunlit cliffs and dark blue sea of that distant holiday, as well as stories of notorious outlaws called the Doones. 

Over the years I have returned many times and I finally came to live here about a year ago. In 1967 my family stayed at Martinhoe Manor and every day my brother and I were allowed to roam freely on the paths in the manor grounds, some of which led down to the sea. Children on holiday half a century ago were often left to their own devices, with adults not worrying too much about them so long as they were home in time for tea! One day my family came to Lynton, went on the Cliff Railway (a few pennies each I seem to recall) and visited The Lyn and Exmoor Museum. It was a fascinating little place, stuffed to the brim with all kinds of interesting things. In those days we did not expect any interactive exhibits but instead, it was very much a case of having to find out and imagine things for ourselves.

What I remember most from that first visit were the cases of stuffed birds and animals (kept at that time upstairs) and a miniature house. I think it was the first time I had seen wild animals of this kind close up and as a five year old, I was very struck, perhaps even a little scared, by their black glassy eyes. The miniature house was of course a dolls’ house but, once again, something I had not come across before. Staring through the windows was like being a time traveller looking into the past. The rooms were full of the furniture and paraphernalia of Victorian domestic life: tables, chairs, beds, carpets, kitchen implements, and children’s toys, all to scale and all set out so that one gained the impression real little people actually lived there.

Since that memorable occasion, each time I have revisited the museum I have found something new to catch my interest – to me it’s a treasure house. Only recently I noticed a ‘Ferret’s Muzzle’ (it is tiny) and in another display case a set of Victorian campaign medals. These need more research but the group show that the old soldier who wore them served in the Crimean War of 1854-56 and then the Indian Mutiny (Revolt) of 1857. What extraordinary events and places he must have witnessed!

The old museum building looks exactly the same as I first remember it, sitting in a white-walled garden, just around the corner from the bottom of Queen’s Street. This ancient house is in fact the largest historical artefact in the collection because it is perhaps the oldest dwelling in Lynton and tells us much about the history of the town: the difficult conditions in which ordinary people had to live and how the town itself, and the villages around it, were virtually self-sufficient.

In fact, although it looks like a small cottage for one family, it was originally divided into two, providing cramped accommodation for two families. By 1962 the building was in such a poor state it had been condemned but a group of townsfolk, passionate about the history of the area, worked to save it for posterity and used it to house the museum collection.

The house and the collection teach us about the hardy, self-reliant people who lived here and how they survived; the flora and fauna of this part of Exmoor; the stories of people who came to live and holiday here; and, of course, the great events which affected the town.