Curtis Museum — Attraction in East Hampshire

First visit (we are not local) and we were very impressed. The staff at the reception desk were very welcoming and enthusiastic. The museum itself has a very good collection indeed for a relatively small local museum, with the highlight being the outstanding early Anglo-Saxon belt buckle, a priceless treasure that is displayed beautifully. One thing we really liked is the way the museum tells an honest story about the ups and downs of the history of Alton - industries come and go, but the town always seems to bounce back. There was a wonderful little reference to the 1970s re-development in Alton, which was not the town's finest hour! We thoroughly enjoyed reading about the 1830s agricultural revolts, the brewing industry and hop picking by the traveller community, and the story of "Sweet Fanny Adam", among many interesting stories. Perhaps I shouldn't say this, but we returned to the museum a bit later in the same day to re-visit some of the items, it was nearly closing time but the lovely staff let us stay on for a few minutes after closure whilst they tidied and cleaned - a wonderful gesture, they are great ambassadors for the museum and the...

An historic museum in an historic building occupying two floors of treasure of information and display of the historic Alton and the surroundings. The staffs at reception are helpful and knowledgeable. Unfortunately the entrance does not give the impression of a museum as you enter but more like a stationary shop! I couldn’t imagine what a wonderful display of history was behind that ‘shop’. Does it have to be to give importance to cheap looking souvenirs instead of making it look like a proper museum reception? The reception area should be enlarged with a larger reception desk to look more professional and more design changes should be...

This seems like an ideal place to spend some time.

I did not go into the museum because of my significant foot pain and the walking became a bit much. I also think that it was lovely to see the woman at the front desk knitting because that is something that you do not see on a regular basis. It was really nice to see and she was very friendly.

The nearby War Mememorial is also worth seeing. People have taken the time to decorate stones and it is a beautiful job and effort. Please see the photos I took of them because I think that they are...