Bishop Bonner’s Cottage Museum – Dereham Heritage Trust
Source: https://derehamheritagetrust.org.uk/museum
Archived: 2026-04-23 15:32
Bishop Bonner’s Cottage Museum – Dereham Heritage Trust
MUSEUM
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Step into 400 years of history
Bishop Bonner’s Cottages, a beautiful timber-framed, thatched building, is the oldest surviving domestic building in Dereham. With original sloping ceilings, tiny rooms, twisting staircases and wooden beams, visitors step back in time as soon as they walk inside. The front elevation boasts a fine example of pargeting, the decorative plaster sometimes seen on old buildings in Suffolk and Norfolk.
The row of three cottages survived the great fire of 1679 as well as the Zeppelin Raid of 1915. The Zeppelin passed almost overhead, dropping bombs in Church Street to the East and near Church Farm to the West but missed the cottages and the Church. Today the cottages are owned and maintained by the Town Council and leased to Dereham Heritage Trust for use as a Museum.
Galleries and exhibitions
2026 Coming Soon
Since 1963, the Museum has housed a wide range of exhibits of local interest, with the displays refreshed each year to showcase various aspects of Dereham’s past. Permanent exhibits include
Dereham – An Ancient Market Town
,
Dereham’s Lost Industries
, and
A History of Dereham’s Oldest Cottages
.
Bishop Bonners Cottage Museum
4.5
Based on
20
reviews
Review us on
Very interesting, there was 5 family lived here
Barbara
A wonderful building and fascinating museum
Robena
Small but historic and packed with information
Barry
Great visit.
Fran
A must visit attraction when in Dereham
William
Very interesting historical building in Dereham. Nobody knows the real link between the three two storey cottages and the Bishop Bonner. He served under Henry VIII, his three children, King
… read more
Edward VI, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth I. He supported Henry’s break from Rome. As a result of this he had been in and out of prison several times depending on the monarch’s faith.
This is a little gem to find out more local history. Anyone can easily spend two hours going up and down the cottages reading articles. The cottages are amazing! Although the cottages came up at different times, there is a beautiful plasterwork frieze going across all three cottages at the front.
I enjoyed reading about other monarch’s coronations while Charles III’s Coronation spirit is still around us.
Kumudu
Planning your visit
Getting Here
Bishop Bonner’s Cottage Museum, St Withburga Lane, Dereham, NR19 1ED
Bishop Bonner’s Cottage Museum is in
St Withburga Lane
, close to the Parish Church of St Nicholas and St Withburga’s Well.
Opening Hours
ℹ︎ The Museum is closed from 4pm Saturday 27th September 2025 and will re-open 10am Friday 1st May 2026.
Normal Opening Times (May – September):
Friday: 10am – 1pm
Saturday: 10am – 4pm
Outside of our normal opening hours, we also offer group visits (May-November). For more information, please visit our
Group Bookings
webpage.
Admission
Adult – £3
Child (0-16) – Free
Members
– Free
Under 16s
must
be accompanied by an adult.
Prices may vary on event days and for some activities. Visit our
What’s On
page for more information about upcoming museum events.
Access
The nature of this old building, with its winding, narrow and steep staircases and uneven floors, makes access to the first floor difficult for some visitors. However, the ground floor has two rooms with level access and we will be pleased to admit wheelchair users to these areas free of charge.
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MUSEUM
Home
> MUSEUM
Step into 400 years of history
Bishop Bonner’s Cottages, a beautiful timber-framed, thatched building, is the oldest surviving domestic building in Dereham. With original sloping ceilings, tiny rooms, twisting staircases and wooden beams, visitors step back in time as soon as they walk inside. The front elevation boasts a fine example of pargeting, the decorative plaster sometimes seen on old buildings in Suffolk and Norfolk.
The row of three cottages survived the great fire of 1679 as well as the Zeppelin Raid of 1915. The Zeppelin passed almost overhead, dropping bombs in Church Street to the East and near Church Farm to the West but missed the cottages and the Church. Today the cottages are owned and maintained by the Town Council and leased to Dereham Heritage Trust for use as a Museum.
Galleries and exhibitions
2026 Coming Soon
Since 1963, the Museum has housed a wide range of exhibits of local interest, with the displays refreshed each year to showcase various aspects of Dereham’s past. Permanent exhibits include
Dereham – An Ancient Market Town
,
Dereham’s Lost Industries
, and
A History of Dereham’s Oldest Cottages
.
Bishop Bonners Cottage Museum
4.5
Based on
20
reviews
Review us on
Very interesting, there was 5 family lived here
Barbara
A wonderful building and fascinating museum
Robena
Small but historic and packed with information
Barry
Great visit.
Fran
A must visit attraction when in Dereham
William
Very interesting historical building in Dereham. Nobody knows the real link between the three two storey cottages and the Bishop Bonner. He served under Henry VIII, his three children, King
… read more
Edward VI, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth I. He supported Henry’s break from Rome. As a result of this he had been in and out of prison several times depending on the monarch’s faith.
This is a little gem to find out more local history. Anyone can easily spend two hours going up and down the cottages reading articles. The cottages are amazing! Although the cottages came up at different times, there is a beautiful plasterwork frieze going across all three cottages at the front.
I enjoyed reading about other monarch’s coronations while Charles III’s Coronation spirit is still around us.
Kumudu
Planning your visit
Getting Here
Bishop Bonner’s Cottage Museum, St Withburga Lane, Dereham, NR19 1ED
Bishop Bonner’s Cottage Museum is in
St Withburga Lane
, close to the Parish Church of St Nicholas and St Withburga’s Well.
Opening Hours
ℹ︎ The Museum is closed from 4pm Saturday 27th September 2025 and will re-open 10am Friday 1st May 2026.
Normal Opening Times (May – September):
Friday: 10am – 1pm
Saturday: 10am – 4pm
Outside of our normal opening hours, we also offer group visits (May-November). For more information, please visit our
Group Bookings
webpage.
Admission
Adult – £3
Child (0-16) – Free
Members
– Free
Under 16s
must
be accompanied by an adult.
Prices may vary on event days and for some activities. Visit our
What’s On
page for more information about upcoming museum events.
Access
The nature of this old building, with its winding, narrow and steep staircases and uneven floors, makes access to the first floor difficult for some visitors. However, the ground floor has two rooms with level access and we will be pleased to admit wheelchair users to these areas free of charge.
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