Tourist information – you may find useful Museum of Barnstaple & North Devon -- The Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon is the perfect way to find out more about North Devon. Our collections and displays cover the natural and human history of this beautiful part of the country. Highlights of the Museum include the Tarka Gallery, the Story of North Devon and the Regimental Collection of the Royal Devon Yeomanry. Combe Martin Museum – A new museum to the area. Themed galleries will include Land and Sea, Ship and Shore, Village Life, Business and Trades, The Earl of Rone and a Community Archive Area for local and family history studies.

The Burton Art Gallery & Museum -- The original gallery was opened in 1951. Two men, Thomas Burton, a wealthy local businessman, and Hubert Coop, a successful watercolour painter, combined to commemorate the untimely death of Burton's daughter, Mary. Hubert Coop stated their intentions in a letter to the Bideford Gazette in October, 1949:- "It's a happy chance that two old townsmen have come together to make a last effort to leave the town richer than they found it. The Gallery should be a peaceful haven where one may take a quiet look at beautiful things; a gallery for the enjoyment, education and good of all, old and young, inhabitants and visitors, - everyone - and as far as one can tell, of lasting credit to the living and those to come." The new gallery and museum honours the donors' original intentions, while widening the scope for new activities and providing a better environment for the permanent collection and for visiting exhibitions. The Gallery hosts the Bideford Museum , illustrating local personalities from Bideford's past such as Sir Richard Grenville , Edward Capern the postman poet , John Strange , who assisted plague victims in 1646 when the others had fled , the last Witches to be executed in England , and the first Red Indian to land on English shores . Artefacts include examples of North Devon slipware , the original Town Charter sealed by Elizabeth 1 in1583 , a scale model of Bideford's ancient , Long Bridge in all its stages from 1280 to the present day , and a touch-green photographic record of the town on ' North Devon on disc'. Local Trades , such as a lime-burning , saddlery , glove and collar making are illustrated , and the Bideford Community Archive provides small displays on a regular basis. Barometer World -- is bound to be of interest to all visitors, with an incredible variety of weather predictors from conventional mercury and aneroid barometers, rare and strange instruments from the past to unusual natural weather forecasters including sharks, frogs and leeches! Barometer World invites you to an exhibition with a difference!

Our Exhibition will be open the same time as our showroom from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays plus 1st and 3rd Saturdays. If coming far it may be advisable to confirm, especially if you wish to ask a question of Mr Collins. (please do NOT bring items to us without first contacting us about them) There is a charge of £2.50 per adult and £1 per child (school age) for the exhibition - our showroom remains free to enter.

"The weather plays such an important part in all our lives and the barometer has always been the most important means of predicting the changes which could affect us, whether we are farmers, fishermen or merely hoping for a fine weekend! I had the pleasure along with Peter Negretti and Edwin Banfield, of attending the opening of Barometer World's first exhibition in 1995 Their dedicated team of restorers well deserve their reputation for excellence. Having seen their craftsmen at work and Mr Collins' particular attention to detail and quality, I personally have no hesitation about recommending them." Michael Fish

The Banfield Family Collection of barometers was housed here for 10 years but is no longer on display