Although it is Sefton's only local history museum, the Botanic Gardens Museum has enjoyed a very low profile for many years.
Whilst a popular venue for those in the know, our Museum seems, like a prophet in his own country, to suffer anonymity even amongst the local inhabitants of the Borough, many of whom express delight at discovery the Museum for the first time.
Nestling in the charming surroundings of the Botanic Gardens, it has only recently begun to emerge from obscurity to claim its rightful place among the major attractions of the Borough.

A local museum is a reflection of a town; its origins and development, and can even provide a glimpse into its future. It tells you what shaped the town, who shaped it, and why. It gives an insight into how the future will be shaped.
It is also the last resting place for unique artefacts and relics; representatives of times long gone and provides clear evidence that there is nothing new under the sun. It shows our children things which they would only otherwise learn from books. If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much more so the sight of the actual object?

Our Museum started life over a century ago when the Southport and Churchtown Botanic Gardens and Museum Company was founded in 1874 by group of local men.
Land was acquired from the Hesketh Estate and the following year the Botanic Gardens opened. At the same ceremony the foundation stones were laid for the conservatory and Museum which opened a year later. The Museum was purely a commercial venture which never became more than a showpiece for curiosities and what 'What the Butler saw' type slot machines.
In 1932 the Company failed and the land, museum building and its contents were sold by auction. Southport Corporation purchased the site and buildings from a private developer in 1936. The Museum re-opened in July 1939 and the present collections were established.
Today, as part of the Arts and Cultural Services division of the Leisure Services Department, the Museum is owned by Sefton M.B.C and there are approximately 100,000 artefacts in the wide ranging collections. The Museum has been granted registration with the Museum and Galleries Commission which sets out the high standards under which it must operate.
However, Local Authority funding is limited and we rely on our supporters for their vital contribution.
For this purpose, the Friends of the Botanic Gardens Museum formed in 1988 and continue to assist the work of the Museum both financially and in a practical sense.