Porthcawl Museum occupies the town's former police station on John Street, run entirely by volunteers from the Porthcawl Museum and Historical Society since the society's founding in 1972. The collection holds more than 8,000 items covering local history, household objects, military memorabilia and photographs, including material from the Samtampa and Stalheim shipwrecks. Upstairs houses what the museum describes as the second-largest costume collection held by any independent museum in Wales. The building itself, a converted police station, still carries traces of its previous use alongside the display cases. Entry relies on volunteer staffing, so hours are limited compared with a council-run museum, and the collection has grown mostly through donations from Porthcawl families rather than purchase. The museum holds full accreditation status through the Welsh accreditation scheme Cymal.
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