Touch screen computers, videos, medals, uniforms and medals representing Devonshire & Dorset Regiments and Yeomanry.
The Keep Military Museum is housed in an impressive Victorian listed building near the centre of Dorchester. 'The Keep' was in active use until 1958 as the guardroom and gateway to the depot barracks of the former Dorset Regiment. Now it houses a collection of artefacts, weapons, medals, uniforms and written records that tell the three hundred year history of nine participating regiments, including the Devonshire Regiment, the Dorset Regiment, the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, the Dorset Yeomanry, the Dorset Militia and the Royal Devon Yeomanry.
Touch-screen computers, videos and creative displays document the part these regiments played in vital military campaigns from the Napoleonic wars, the Boer wars and the first and second world wars to the Falklands and Iraq. A vast array of military campaigns are put into their historical context by means of a video introduction in a bunker.
The Keep Military Museum aims to help schools by developing educational packages directly linked to the National Curriculum. Research services are also available for those wishing to find specific information about any of the regiments and their personnel. An extensive library contains rare books and military journals that can be photocopied upon request.
The Keep Military Museum is open Monday to Saturday in Summer and Tuesday to Saturday in Winter. There is a shop, wheelchair access to all display floors and spectacular views of Hardy's Dorset from the battlements.
