Days Out NI
History Museum · Derry~Londonderry Waterside

The Workhouse Museum

A museum in Derry's Victorian workhouse, telling the honest story of the workhouse and the Great Famine — and the Atlantic Memorial, Derry's part in the Battle of the Atlantic.

4 photos
Check aheadAccess can change
Modest / freeConfirm on the day
Glendermott RoadWaterside, Derry~L'derry
Get directionsOfficial website
1–2 hoursHow long
Older kids+Best for
IndoorRainy-day
On siteParking
ModestCost

A history museum set inside Derry's own Victorian workhouse on Glendermott Road — the real, unflinching story of the workhouse system and the Great Famine, alongside the Atlantic Memorial and the city's remarkable role in the Battle of the Atlantic.

  • What you'll see — the story of the workhouse and the Great Famine told inside the actual building where it happened, and the Atlantic Memorial exhibition on Derry's role in the Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War — the naval story, the merchant convoys and the crews who sailed from the Foyle.
  • How long — allow about 1 to 2 hours to read the displays properly; it's a compact, thoughtful museum rather than a large one.
  • Check it's open before you set off. This museum's access has changed over the years, and the Battle of the Atlantic collection is bound for the new DNA Museum at Ebrington — so a quick call or look at the website first is the surest way to know what's open on the day you come.
  • A genuinely good rainy-day stop — it's all indoors and out of the weather, and a proper, honest slice of history for a wet afternoon in Derry.
  • A moving, honest subject — better for older children. The workhouse and Famine story is told respectfully but truthfully, so it suits older children, teens and adults more than the very young.
  • Cost is modest, and worth it — historically a small admission, sometimes free; confirm the current price when you call, and know that whatever you pay goes toward telling a story that deserves to be remembered.
Plan your visit

Can I just turn up? Call ahead first.

The Workhouse Museum shares the historic building with Waterside Library on Glendermott Road, and its opening arrangements have moved around over the years. The building itself — the library — keeps regular daytime hours, but the museum's own days, times and admission are worth confirming directly before you make a special trip. The clearest way is a quick phone call to the Waterside Library on 028 7134 2963, or a look at the website below. It's a compact museum, so allow an hour or two; older children and adults will get the most from it, and it's a solid choice for a rainy day in the city.

In a real Victorian workhouse Battle of the Atlantic story Great Famine history Good for schools
Worth knowing:

Derry's museum offer is changing. The city's new DNA Museum is being built at Ebrington, and the Battle of the Atlantic and other collections are expected to move there — so the line-up on Glendermott Road may shift. Call ahead or check the website before you travel so you know exactly what's on when you visit.

Before you set off

What to bring

  • 📞The phone in your pocketA quick call to 028 7134 2963 before you leave confirms the museum's days, times and admission — the surest way to plan the trip.
  • 💷A little cash or cardAdmission has been modest, and sometimes free — a few pounds covers the family, whatever the current price.
  • 🧥A coat for the dayThe museum is indoors and comfortable, but Waterside weather does its own thing — a jacket makes the walk from the car park easy either way.
  • 💭An open, curious mindThis is honest, sometimes moving history — a good talking point for older children about how far things have come.
Good to know

Everything before you go

Cost
Historically a modest admission, and at times free entry. It has been a council-run museum, so prices have been kept low. Confirm the current charge when you call, as arrangements change.
Opening hours
The museum's own days and times are best confirmed directly — they have changed over the years. The Waterside Library in the same building keeps regular daytime hours, so a quick call to 028 7134 2963 is the surest guide before a special trip.
Ages
Best for older children, teenagers and adults. The workhouse and Famine story is told respectfully but honestly, so it suits curious older kids and history-lovers more than the very young.
What you'll see
The story of the workhouse system and the Great Famine, set inside the surviving Victorian workhouse; and the Atlantic Memorial exhibition on Derry's role in the Battle of the Atlantic — the convoys, the naval base and the crews who sailed from the Foyle. Displays may change as collections move to the new Ebrington museum.
Getting around
The building is a restored 19th-century workhouse now shared with a modern library, so much of it is on accessible levels. Confirm lift access and step-free routes on the day if that matters for your visit.
Toilets
Toilets on site in the building. Confirm accessible facilities and baby-changing when you call.
Parking
Parking on site at the building on Glendermott Road, with more parking around the Waterside. It's an easy drive from the city centre across the Foyle.
Dogs
As an indoor museum and library, assistance dogs are welcome; check ahead for other dogs.
How long
About 1 to 2 hours to take in the displays; longer if you pair it with a walk along the Waterside or over the Peace Bridge into the city.
Questions

Before you go

Is the Workhouse Museum open to visit?
The museum's access has changed over the years and its collections are linked to Derry's new DNA Museum being built at Ebrington. Rather than risk a wasted trip, call the Waterside Library on 028 7134 2963 or check the website to confirm what's open on the day you plan to come.
What is there to see?
The story of the workhouse system and the Great Famine, told inside the surviving Victorian workhouse, plus the Atlantic Memorial exhibition on Derry's role in the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War. Displays may change as collections move to the new Ebrington museum.
How much does it cost?
It has been a modest admission, and at times free. As arrangements change, confirm the current price when you call ahead.
Is it suitable for young children?
It suits older children, teenagers and adults best. The subject — poverty, the workhouse, the Famine — is handled respectfully but honestly, so it's a stronger fit for curious older kids than the very young.
Is it a good rainy-day option?
Yes — it's all indoors, a genuinely interesting and honest hour or two of history whatever the sky's doing, and an easy hop across the Foyle from the city centre.
What's this about a new museum at Ebrington?
Derry is building a new museum, the DNA Museum, at the historic Ebrington site across the river. Several of the city's collections — including the Battle of the Atlantic story — are expected to move there, so it's worth checking what's currently on Glendermott Road before you visit.
Getting there

The Workhouse, 23 Glendermott Road, Derry~Londonderry, BT47 6BG — in the Waterside, an easy drive across the Foyle from the city centre, with parking on site. The museum shares the historic building with Waterside Library.

Directions on Google MapsOfficial website

Check what's on: 028 7134 2963

See it on our map
Nearby

Make more of the day

Peace BridgeWalk over the Foyle into the city Derry City WallsWalk the historic ramparts Free Derry Corner & the BogsideThe famous murals below the walls Ness Country ParkNI's highest waterfall, near Derry
The story

A hard history, honestly kept

The building on Glendermott Road was built as the Londonderry Union workhouse, put up in 1839–40 to a design by the Poor Law Commissioners' architect George Wilkinson, and it admitted its first residents in November 1840. It was one of many workhouses raised across Ireland under the poor-law system — grim, deliberately austere places where the destitute could turn for shelter and food only by entering and giving up their liberty and dignity in return. Within a few short years, the Great Famine of the late 1840s pushed that system far past what it was ever built to bear, and the human cost of those years is at the heart of what the museum keeps.

The workhouse later served as a hospital, and by around 1990 the surviving building had begun a new life: the main block became home to a public library and a museum documenting the workhouse and the Famine, so the walls that once held that history now help tell it. Set the displays inside the very rooms where the story happened and it lands differently — quieter, and harder to forget.

The museum has also carried the Atlantic Memorial, an exhibition on Derry's outsized role in the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War. The city on the Foyle became a crucial Allied naval base, a haven for the escort ships and merchant convoys that kept the Atlantic sea lanes open — and, at the war's end, a place where surrendered U-boats were brought in. That naval story, and the collections that tell it, are now tied to Derry's new DNA Museum being built at the historic Ebrington site across the river, said to be opening in the years ahead. So this is a moment of change for the city's museums — all the more reason to check what's on Glendermott Road before you visit, and to value the honest keeping of a history that asks to be remembered.