Early in the 20th century it was acquired by local antiquarian Herbert Druitt and his collections provided the basis for a public museum that opened in 1951.

[5] The dilapidated building was bought at auction by the Rev Thomas H Bush, the vicar of the nearby Priory Church, who named it the 'Red House'.

Although Herbert Druitt would open the Red House to visitors by private arrangement, his desire that it should become a permanent museum for the town remained unrealised before his death in 1943.

[6] It took the trustees of the new museum three years to get the Red House and its overgrown garden to a state in which it could fulfil Charlotte's legacy and Herbert's wish.

[7] It was intended that the Red House should be more than just a museum and the executors of artist Graham Robertson donated £1,000 towards the cost of an art gallery.

On the first floor there are Archaeology Galleries covering significant local Bronze Age and Saxon burials and finds associated with Hengistbury Head.