The Museum is housed in a building which was formerly Lymington's first national school, built in 1835. The museum was opened in its current form in 1999 and is fully accessible.
St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery's collections cover primarily the social history of the New Forest coast area, including Lymington, New Milton, Milford-on-Sea, Barton, Boldre, Sway and Hordle. This comprises a large photographic collection, prints and drawings and a collection of items reflecting the people, events, places and businesses of the Solent shore.
