The museum is situated in the Clock House on the quayside of the Royal Harbour at Ramsgate.

It was later altered by John Rennie and is now designated as a Grade II* listed building.

[3] Before closure in 2021, there were four permanent galleries covering the development of the harbour, navigation, fishing, lifeboats and shipwrecks.

A fifth exhibition space houses a 17th-century 32-pounder demi-cannon raised from the wreck of HMS Stirling Castle.

A number of artefacts come from the nearby Goodwin Sands which is responsible for numerous shipwrecks.