Created by volunteers in 1961, the original museum was based half a mile down the creek at Dolphin Yard, an old Victorian sailmakers loft.
Unfortunately, the original building burnt down in 2008 and the museum moved to the current site at Lloyd Wharf with the new building completed in 2019.
Sited on the Murston side near the banks of Milton Creek stands this little historic gem set in a green oasis of calm and serenity.
Murston Heart is a Scheduled Ancient Monument one of only 2 in Sittingbourne and set in the historic grounds of the 12th century remains of Murston Old Church.
In December 2021 the Trustees at Murston All Saints Trust, the holding charity, took possession of the keys to the fully restored Old Chancel and the purpose built new studio building. Murston now has its own community creative hub.
The site consists of the restored Old Church this is now our Chancel Gallery and is available to hire for creative exhibitions, events, happenings and meetings. Murston Heart also run their own events and workshops throughout the year – check out our Facebook page and website for up-to-date information. The Chancel Gallery is only open when we hold events or by appointment.
Unit 22, The Forum, Sittingbourne
The Museum provides a portrait of Sittingbourne and the surrounding area at various times from the recent past to our earliest history. From before Roman times people have inhabited the area. They worked on the land; they were traders on and around Milton Creek; they worked in the town’s many inns catering for travellers on the busy Dover Road; they were employed in the brickfields and in the paper mills.
The Museum has thousands of artefacts, maps, documents and over 9000 images.
Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway Steam Railway (SKLR) is a unique narrow gauge line built to connect the paper mills at Sittingbourne and Kemsley to Ridham Dock.
The original steam locomotives, coaches and wagons still operate the line. Leader (built 1905), Melior (1924) and Superb (1940) climb out of Sittingbourne Viaduct station onto the century-old, kilometre-long Milton Regis Viaduct and through Milton Creek Country Park to Britain’s largest paper mill at Kemsley Down.
The Friends of Milton Regis Court Hall was formed in early 2011 by a group of people with a common appreciation of preserving our heritage, notably the Court Hall in Milton Regis, a building that still stands proudly as an icon of the streetscape after almost 560 years.
Built as Milton’s civic centre in c.1450 in the reign of Henry VI, its importance is that whilst at one time most towns would have had such a building, today there is only one other surviving example in Kent at Fordwich near Canterbury. This is why it is so important to preserve and maintain this historic building.
