Rotunda Museum: Museum of Coastal Heritage and Geology — Attraction in Great Britain

The Rotunda Museum, described as the finest surviving purpose-built museum of its age in the country, was built in 1829 by Richard Hey Sharp of York, to a design suggested by William Smith, the "Father of English Geology".42] Smith's pioneering work established that geological strata could be identified and correlated using the fossils they contain. Smith came to Scarborough after his release from debtors' prison. The dramatic Jurassic coastline of Yorkshire offered him an area of geological richness.

Sir John Johnstone became Smith's patron and employed him as his land steward at Hackness. Johnstone was president of the Scarborough Philosophical Society, which raised the money to build the Rotunda and consulted Smith as to the museum's design. Still in his twenties, Sir John was an intellectual leader in Scarborough in the 1820s and a staunch supporter of Smith and his ideas. He donated the Hackness stone of which the Rotunda Museum is built. Smith had seen a rotunda in London and instructed the architect, Richard Sharp of York, to follow that design. The Rotunda Museum was built to Smith's design suggestion and the original display of fossils illustrated his ideas. The fossils and rocks were arranged in the order in which they occurred, with the youngest in the cases at the top and the oldest at the bottom. The order around the walls reflected the order of rocks on the Yorkshire coast. A section of the rocks on the coast was drawn around the inside of the dome of the building by Smiths nephew, another geologist, John Phillips. The two wings were added to the...

Opened in 1829, the Rotunda Museum is one of the world’s first purpose-built museums and was built to a design suggested by William Smith. The interior, with its fascinating Georgian gallery, features a frieze showing the geology of the local coastline designed by Smith’s nephew, John Phillips.

The original cases tell the history of the museum and they explore the stories of the nineteenth century Scarborough Philosophical Society which brought the collections together.

See remarkable 11,000-year-old artefacts from our Star Carr Collection and come face to face with the wonderful creatures which once called Yorkshire home in the Ancient Seas of the Yorkshire Coast gallery.

The Rotunda Museum is one of the oldest purpose-built museums still in use in the United Kingdom. The curved grade II* listed building was constructed in 1829 as one of the country's first purpose-built museums. Situated in the English coastal resort of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, it houses one of the foremost collections of Jurassic geology on the...

First time been here it's a very interesting place spread over three floors with a staircase and lift to all floors there is plenty of space on each level to look at the exhibits showing what the world looked like million's of years ago to what it looks like now the top floor exhibits are of modern mankind over the years, there are plenty of items on display to look at and a children's section to interact with some of the displays, there are also toilet's for customer use only. The entry fee is £3 for an adult and children under 18 go free the fee covers you for 1year and allows you entry into Scarborough art gallery as well which is a short walk away, the rotunda museum is opposite the P&R bus stop and the underground car park near valley bridge also next to the rotunda is a cafe and the spa complex , seafront/beach is just a short walk away. P s. If you want to see what the world looked like million's of years ago to what it looks like now then pay a visit to the...