Hove Museum & Art Gallery

Wizard's attic

Housed in an impressive Victorian villa, the museum's highlights include

  • a Contemporary Craft collection which is seen as the most important of its kind in the south of England, outside London, and arguably one of the most significant in the country
  • displays celebrating Hove's history as the home of early film-makers
  • galleries for local history and paintings
  • the magical Wizard's Attic filled with toys from the 18th century to the present day
  • a gift shop

We produce information three times a year to publicise the exhibitions, talks and courses at our museums. If you would like to receive email notifications, or be sent a copy of the current leaflets, please email your details to museums.marketing@brighton-hove.gov.uk or telephone 03000 290906.

Hove Museum café closure

Hove Museum café is closing on Sunday 30 April 2017. Brighton & Hove City Council and its Royal Pavilion & Museums (RPM) service are currently exploring new ways of providing refreshments for the museum’s visitors.

The closure follows a review of catering facilities in the light of declining budgets. The council and RPM have been subsidising the café at the rate of around £25,000 a year, which has become unsustainable.

In order for the café to break even (which to date no café operator has been able to do) there would need to be a substantial increase in footfall of around 25,000 a year. The recent proposal to move the provision of Hove Library and increase the public space to the museum would have boosted visitor footfall by an estimated 150,000 visitors a year, which would have enabled the café to raise income to support the running of the museum in the light of council savings.

After the café’s closure the museum’s Pocock Room will be used for functions and education activities, and has already been trialled for children’s birthday parties with great success. The fully equipped kitchen and the existing license to sell alcohol also mean that Hove Museum is ideal for functions.

Councillor Alan Robins, chair of the economic development and culture committee, said: “I’d like to thank the contractor, Hardings Catering, for keeping the café going in recent years.

“This isn’t a decision Brighton & Hove City Council and Royal Pavilion & Museums have taken lightly, but in the current climate of reduced budgets we’re working to find new ways to provide refreshment facilities for local residents and visitors to Hove Museum.”

Contact details and further information

Admission is free. All areas of the museum are accessible for wheelchair users and people with limited mobility.

Opening times: Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm and on Sunday from 2pm to 5pm. Closed on Wednesday.

Address: Hove Museum & Art Gallery, 19 New Church Road, Hove BN3 4AB. Telephone: 03000 290900