A Historic Building with a Story to Tell

The Radio Museum's current home at 5 Anchor Street, Watchet, is a building with its own rich history. The former Anchor Inn has served the community for centuries, and its transformation into the Radio Museum represents a new chapter in its remarkable story.

History of the Anchor Inn

The Anchor Inn was a traditional Somerset public house that served the people of Watchet for many years. As a coastal town with a working harbour, Watchet has always been a place where sailors, fishermen, and traders would gather, and the Anchor Inn would have been at the heart of that community.

Acquisition and Conversion

In 2014, after more than 20 years at Tropiquaria, Neil Wilson made the decision to relocate the Radio Museum to a dedicated facility. The search for the perfect building led to the discovery of the former Anchor Inn, which was available for purchase.

The building was purchased in 2015, marking the beginning of an exciting new phase for the museum. The former pub's layout, with its multiple rooms and public spaces, was ideally suited for conversion into a museum.

Creating the Museum Space

The transformation of the Anchor Inn into the Radio Museum required careful planning and design. Inside the building, a timeline of radio and television history was created, depicting the development of broadcasting technology through the carefully arranged exhibits.

Museum Layout

The building's rooms now showcase different eras and aspects of broadcasting history:

• Early Radio Room: 1920s crystal sets and early valve receivers
• Golden Age Gallery: 1930s-1940s Art Deco radios and wartime receivers
• Television Evolution: Early television sets from the 1950s-1960s
• Transistor Revolution: Portable radios from the 1950s-1970s
• BBC Broadcasting: Professional equipment including the transmitter
• Technical Archive: Research library and documentation center

Preserving the Building's Character

While converting the building into a museum, great care was taken to preserve its historic character. Original features were retained wherever possible, and the museum's design respects the building's heritage while serving its new purpose.

The result is a unique space where the history of the building itself complements the fascinating stories told by the radio and television exhibits it now houses.

The Perfect Location

The former Anchor Inn's location in Watchet is ideal for the Radio Museum:

A Building Reborn

The transformation of the Anchor Inn from a traditional pub into a specialist museum represents a creative reuse of an important local building. Rather than being lost or demolished, the building has found a new purpose that serves the community and visitors from further afield.

The museum preserves not just the history of radio and television, but also maintains this piece of Watchet's architectural and social heritage for future generations.

From Inn to Museum

Where once people gathered to share stories over a drink, they now gather to discover the fascinating story of broadcasting. The social aspect of the building continues - just as the Anchor Inn brought people together, the Radio Museum now connects visitors with the past and with each other through shared fascination with technology and history.

The former pub's welcoming atmosphere has been retained, making the museum an inviting space where visitors can spend time exploring at their leisure, just as the Anchor Inn's patrons would have done in years gone by.

The Future

The purchase and conversion of the former Anchor Inn secured a permanent home for the Radio Museum's growing collection. The building provides space not only for current exhibits but also for future expansion as the collection continues to grow.

The archive and research facilities housed in the building ensure that the museum can continue its important work supporting historians, researchers, and restorers from around the world.