Deal Maritime and Local History Museum

This bijoux museum is hidden down a side road and is often overlooked. But as soon as you step over the threshold and breathe in that delightfully musty aroma, history buffs will know they’re in for a treat.

Deal’s maritime history is explored, including Admiral Horatio Nelson’s stay here and his liaisons with Emma Hamilton, alongside the fate-changing dangers of the “ship-swallowing” Goodwin Sands. There are cannonballs, anchors, boats, flags, and figureheads aplenty, plus details of the nefarious pursuits of the local smugglers, including a diagram of a coat made to hide just about any contraband.

Model boats, a replica of a World War I bunker and history of the Royal Marines are housed in an adjacent building. The local history section is a mix of the marvelously mundane—plates and dishes from old Deal establishments—and wonderfully eccentric, including a stuffed rat playing the flute and a shoe large enough to fit a giant.

You’ll also see not one, but two Hooden Horses. Hoodening is an old folk custom found specifically in East Kent, southeast England. A wooden hobby horse on a pole is worked by a man under a sackcloth, its jaws making a distinctive “clack clack” noise that terrifies children. Originally, the horse collected money in its mouth, but now it generally clacks along to accompanying folk music.