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All the United Kingdom England Hythe Hythe Library Museum

Hythe Library Museum

This vintage weapons display would be the perfect place for bibliophiles to hold out in a zombie apocalypse.

Hythe, England

Added By
Mictlān Tēcutli
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World War II Lee Enfield rifle and Sten sub-machine gun , bayonets, World War I Webley pistol.   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
World War II Lee Enfield rifle and Sten sub-machine gun , bayonets, World War I Webley pistol.   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
MAG machine gun (Korean War).   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
  David Anstiss/cc by-sa 2.0
World War II-era Sten machine gun, magazine, and bullets.   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
Entrance to museum   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
Musket exhibit   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
Boer war rifle and sword   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
Victorian-era musket and bayonet.   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
  Steve 55 / Atlas Obscura User
World War I Webley revolver and bullets.   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
World War II-era Lee Enfield rifle, bullets, and bayonet.   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
World War I-era bayonet.   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
World War I trench sword and vintage military training manuals.   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The Hythe Library, located in the green surroundings of the town park, may at first glance look like a fairly ordinary feature of an English coastal town. But step inside and you will find a museum that holds a small but deadly arms cache of vintage weaponry.

This small museum chronicles the general history of Hythe and that of the military school of small arms that existed in the town for almost a century. The little town of Hythe, due to its location on the southeast coast of the English Channel, has always played a distinctly military role.

A few decades after the Napoleonic wars, a musketry school for training the army to use these muzzle-loading weapons was built in the town. In the late 19th century it eventually became a school of small arms as technological advances caused bullets to become the standard ammunition. Here, generations of soldiers were trained how to use various weaponry in preparation for deployment in conflicts including the Boer War, First World War, Second World War, Korean War, the Suez Crisis, the Malayan insurgency, and the Troubles of Northern Ireland.

The selection of weapons on display at the museum date from this time period and include a number of firearms such as rifles, sub-machine guns, a heavy machine gun, pistols, and bullets. Here too are a vicious variety of bladed weapons for use in hand-to-hand combat, such as bayonets, knives, and a couple of Boer War and World War I trench combat swords.

In the late 1960s, the location of the school was moved from Hythe to London, but a military training ground remained at the site and is still in use today, as evidenced by the distant sounds of the firing range that can be heard most days. A number of weapons leftover from the days of the small arms school were brought for display in the library museum, where they have remained ever since. 

Related Tags

Weapons War History Museums Libraries Military

Know Before You Go

The museum is located inside the library; you can find it on the right as soon as you enter the building. Entrance is free.

Community Contributors

Added By

Monsieur Mictlan

Edited By

Meg, Steve 55

  • Meg
  • Steve 55

Published

August 5, 2019

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Hythe Library Museum
1 Stade St
Hythe, England
United Kingdom
51.069397, 1.082807
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Nearby Places

St. Leonard's Church Basement Ossuary

Hythe, England

miles away

Saltwood Castle

Kent, England

miles away

Portus Lemanis

Lympne, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Hythe

Hythe

England

Places 2

Nearby Places

St. Leonard's Church Basement Ossuary

Hythe, England

miles away

Saltwood Castle

Kent, England

miles away

Portus Lemanis

Lympne, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Hythe

Hythe

England

Places 2

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