Dimbola Museum & Galleries

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Dimbola Museum & Galleries Dimbola is the former home and workplace of Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron.
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It is now a museum and galleries, shop and Dimbola Tea Room & Coffee House. Dimbola Museum & Galleries:
Julia Margaret Cameron's life, work and legacy
Vintage Cameras
Changing exhibitions program
Workshops, talks and tours
IOW Festival Exhibition
Tea room
Museum Shop

Mission Statement: To provide education to the public on the work of Julia Margaret Cameron, including the history of photography, and an appreciation of modern photography as an art form. To promote and encourage conservation, for the public benefit, of the historical importance of the area known as the Tennyson Mile in Freshwater, Isle of Wight.

02/11/2026
📢 A little update to our opening hours!From this Monday (2nd November), Dimbola Museum (and Dimbola Tea Room & Coffee Ho...
31/10/2026

📢 A little update to our opening hours!

From this Monday (2nd November), Dimbola Museum (and Dimbola Tea Room & Coffee House) will be closed on Mondays.

We’ll also be closing a little earlier, at 3pm, from Tuesday (3rd November).

Our new opening hours will be:

🗓️ Tuesday – Sunday
🕙 10am – 3pm

Whether you're visiting to explore our current exhibitions, discover the work of Julia Margaret Cameron, browse our shop or enjoy a visit to the Tea Room, we look forward to welcoming you!

Thank you for your continued support. 💜

31/10/2026

7 November | Isle of Wight | £40

Be quick - only two places remaining!Follow in the footsteps of Julia Margaret CameronSri Lanka Tour, 31 January - 13 Fe...
29/10/2026

Be quick - only two places remaining!

Follow in the footsteps of Julia Margaret Cameron
Sri Lanka Tour, 31 January - 13 February 2027

Follow in the footsteps of two trail-blazing Victorians, pioneering photographer Julia Margaret Cameron and intrepid explorer and painter Marianne North, whose 850 studies of exotic flora and fauna are on permanent view in her Kew Gardens Gallery.

Explore the culture, heritage, history, biodiversity, beaches, food and people of Sri Lanka, with visits to Colombo, Galle, Sinharaja, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Dambulla, Sigiriya, Anuradhapura and Negombo.

This unique itinerary devised and led by art historian Aneela de Soysa includes both iconic heritage sites and hidden treasures well off the beaten track. Stay in legendary heritage hotels and spas, with talks by experts in colonial studies, historic photography and Buddhism to enrich the journey.

Find full details at:

Julia Margaret Cameron in Ceylon 31 January -13 February 2027 Click to Download Brochure Join the adventure! This tour includes a day of pre-tour activities in Colombo on 30 January 2027. View fullsize Image of the waterfall at the Cameron Plantation at Rahathungoda, Sri Lanka. Scroll down for more....

We're all ready for Halloween! Huge thanks to our volunteers for their help today. 🎃
28/10/2026

We're all ready for Halloween! Huge thanks to our volunteers for their help today. 🎃

27/10/2026
25/10/2026
⚠️EVENT POSTPONED⚠️Unfortunately tonight’s performance of Vibrate has been postponed and will now take place on Saturday...
24/10/2026

⚠️EVENT POSTPONED⚠️

Unfortunately tonight’s performance of Vibrate has been postponed and will now take place on Saturday 5th December.

We apologise for the change of date but look forward to welcoming everyone to Dimbola for what promises to be a fantastic evening.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support.

Tickets can be purchased here:
http://www.trybooking.com/uk/event/122384

24/10/2026

On the Isle of Wight in the 1860s, Freshwater became an unlikely magnet for a very interesting crowd. It started with property: Alfred, Lord Tennyson bought Farringford House to escape fame and Julia Margaret Cameron bought two cottages to build nearby Dimbola. Cameron turned her home into a studio, pulling everyone from housemaid Mary Hillier to G.F. Watts, Charles Darwin and Lewis Carroll into her lens. Joined by muses like Cameron's niece Julia Jackson, mother of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell, this tight-knit circle traded ideas and launched a pioneering movement that echoed worldwide. Little has changed since. Creatives are still drawn to this wild island corner for the very same reasons: an irresistible blend of atmospheric peace, dramatic coastal solitude and magnetic company. Just as it did for Tennyson and Cameron, Freshwater offers both the stillness to dream and the collaborative spark to bring those dreams to life. 📸 Farringford House & Garden RHS Partner Garden Home of the celebrated Victorian Poet Laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 – 1892) and one of the Island’s most important historic estates.

🎄 Join us for Dimbola’s Art & Craft Christmas Fair! 🎄Get your Christmas shopping off to a creative start with a weekend ...
15/10/2026

🎄 Join us for Dimbola’s Art & Craft Christmas Fair! 🎄

Get your Christmas shopping off to a creative start with a weekend of unique gifts, handmade treasures and festive inspiration here at Dimbola.

Following our call for stallholder applications, we’re looking forward to welcoming talented artists, makers and crafters for two days celebrating local creativity.

14th & 15th November
10am–4pm both days

Browse the numerous stalls and find something truly special for your Christmas list! Then take a break from shopping with a warming drink and a tasty treat in Dimbola Tea Room & Coffee House

Shop local, support independent makers and help raise vital funds for the Julia Margaret Cameron Trust.

Save the date, bring a friend and join us for a festive weekend by the bay!

👉 Find event details here: https://dimbola.co.uk/calendar/art-craft-christmas-fair/

Address

Dimbola Museum & Galleries, Terrace Lane
Freshwater
PO409QE

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 3pm
Wednesday 10am - 3pm
Thursday 10am - 3pm
Friday 10am - 3pm
Saturday 10am - 3pm
Sunday 10am - 3pm

Telephone

+441983756814

Website

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