Tours on the hour Tuesday – Saturday:
10 am to 5 pm
and Sunday:
1 pm to 5 pm
Offices open
Monday – Friday:
9am to 5 pm
Bellamy Mansion
503 Market Street
Wilmington, NC
910-251-3700
The Carriage House Visitor Center is where we greet our many visitors and start all tours. The outside appearance is deceiving; this is not the original building of 1860 with horse stalls and a hayloft but a recent reconstruction of that building to house visitor services and offices. Inside, rafters are exposed and salvaged pine planks are underfoot. Need something to read on your way home or a keepsake of your visit? The visitor center offers a gift shop with a wide range of books and gift selections.
The museum is open for tours Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Guided tours are given on the hour with the last tour beginning at 4:00 p.m. Self-guided audio-tours are available at other times with the last audio-tour at 4:00 p.m.
The museum is closed for tours on Mondays.
Office hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Admission: Adults $10, Children (5-12) $4, Group tours $8 (20 or more persons with required advance reservations). Friends of the Bellamy Mansion Museum, Preservation North Carolina and members of the National Trust are admitted without charge.
A Young Person’s Guide handout to the Bellamy Mansion Museum and a Welcome to Caroline's House describing our slave quarters are both available for our younger visitors.
Advance reservations are required and a minimum notice of three working days is required in order to schedule a group tour. Groups of twenty or more persons qualify for a group tour admission fee of $8.00 per person. A non-refundable $20.00 deposit will secure your reservation.
Our trained guides will lead your group through all five levels of the mansion following our 12-minute introductory video.
If you would like to schedule a group tour, please leave us a message that includes your name, telephone number and a convenient time that we can return your call. Or you can email your request to us at info@bellamymansion.org.
Advance reservations are required for school groups with a teacher and a minimum notice of three working days is required to schedule a group tour. School groups qualify for a group tour admission fee of $3.00 per student. Teachers and bus drivers accompanying the school group tour are not charged for admission. Chaperon admission fee is $8.00 per person. A non-refundable $20.00 deposit will secure your reservation.
Our trained guides will lead your group through all five levels of the mansion following our 12-minute introductory video.
If you would like to schedule a school group tour, please leave us a message
that includes your name, school, telephone number and a convenient time
that we can return your call. Or you can email your request to us at info@bellamymansion.org.
The Bellamy Mansion Museum enjoys a large on-site parking lot and offers free parking with paid admission. The parking lot is large enough to accommodate a school or church bus.
Visit three historic homes at a discounted admission price with a purchase of a Passport ticket.
The Passport ticket price is $24.00 per person; regular admission is $10.00 at each individual house. Tickets are good for one week from date of purchase and may be purchased at any of the sites. Individual historic house schedules may vary without notice in which case this ticket will not be made available.
126 South Third Street
This Victorian house recreates the opulent life of Wilmington before the Civil War.
Tours: Monday-Friday 10-3:30 P.M and Saturday 12-5:00 P.M. Last tour commences at 3:00 P.M.
224 Market Street
Step back in history to 1770 and see this beautifully restored townhouse
furnished with period pieces.
Tours: Tuesday-Saturday 10-4 P.M. Last tour commences at 3:00 P.M.
503 Market Street
Learn about the fascinating history and restoration of Wilmington's grandest antebellum home and historic site.Tours: Tuesday-Saturday 10-5:00 P.M. and Sunday 1-5:00 P.M. Last guided tour and self-guided audio-tour commence at 4:00 P.M.
Bellamy Mansion Museum
503 Market Street
Wilmington, NC 28401
Take Highway US-17 South, which will continue into Wilmington as Market Street. Continue towards the historic downtown district after passing under the I-40 East overpass. Many landmarks are along the way but watch for the Kenan Fountain in the intersection of Market Street and 5th Avenue. The Bellamy Mansion will be on your right before you reach the fountain and our parking lot is just before you approach the Mansion. A sign identifies the museum at the parking lot entrance. Turn right into the parking lot. You may park anywhere in the lot. Enter into the yard and walk around to the rear of the mansion following the oyster-shell pathway to the Carriage House Visitor Center located behind the Mansion.
Take I-40 East and go pass the Martin Luther King Boulevard intersection. Turn at the next exit ramp. At the bottom of the ramp, turn left on Market Street going towards the historic downtown district; this is also US-17S / US-74W. Many landmarks are along the way but watch for the Kenan Fountain at the intersection of Market Street and 5th Avenue. The Bellamy Mansion will be on your right before you reach the fountain and our parking lot is just before you approach the Mansion. A sign identifies the museum at the parking lot entrance. Turn right into the parking lot. You may park anywhere in the lot. Enter into the yard and walk around to the rear of the mansion following the oyster-shell pathway to the Carriage House Visitor Center located behind the Mansion.
After crossing over Holmes Bridge, turn right onto Third Street; also business US-17 South. To avoid having to make a U-TURN on Market Street in order to enter the Mansion’s parking lot, stay on Third Street until you reach Princess Street then turn left. Stay on Princess Street until you reach Sixth Street and then turn right. At the end of the block, turn right onto Market Street. Your next right turn will be into the Mansion’s parking lot. A sign identifies the museum at the parking lot entrance. You may park anywhere in the lot. Enter into the yard and walk around to the rear of the mansion following the oyster-shell pathway to the Carriage House Visitor Center located behind the Mansion.
From SC-9 S, take US-17 North/Wilmington ramp. Turn left onto SC-90 east, which will become US-17 North (after approximately 47 miles). Merge onto US-74 East / US-76 East toward Wilmington. After crossing over the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge, turn left onto Third Street; also business US-17 North. To avoid having to make a U-TURN on Market Street in order to enter the Mansion’s parking lot, stay on Third Street, crossover Market Street and then turn at the next right onto Princess Street. Stay on Princess Street until you reach Sixth Street and then turn right. At the end of the block, turn right onto Market Street. Your next right turn will be into the Mansion’s parking lot. A sign identifies the museum at the parking lot entrance. You may park anywhere in the lot. Enter into the yard and walk around to the rear of the mansion following the oyster-shell pathway to the Carriage House Visitor Center located behind the Mansion.
We want you to enjoy your visit to this architectural treasure. To assure that others will also a memorable visit, we have a few requests of all our visitors.
Treat our furnishings and the Mansion itself gently. Ours is a house furnished with history; however, we value the household furnishings that have remained. In general, most things will last longer and stay cleaner if left untouched.
Enjoy our formal gardens from oyster-shell pathways that encircle the Mansion and wind through the garden. We can’t provide you with cuttings or blossoms but we will be glad to identify the plants that catch your eye.
Please do not take food and drink into the Mansion during the tours. And please, discard chewing gum before coming onto the mansion grounds.
We recycle. Receptacles provided on the grounds and in the Visitor Center for your convenience.
You may photograph or videotape as much as you want inside and outside our buildings and in our gardens. We do have restrictions on commercial photography or portraiture; please inquire at the Carriage House Visitor Center regarding fees for these.
Absolutely no smoking is allowed in the Mansion or in the garden. Smoking is permitted only on the first floor porches and in the yard. Smokers must dispose of cigarette butts properly in ash cans provided on the porches or in the yard.
Please turn your cell phone off during tours.
Thank you and enjoy your visit!
The first floor of the Carriage House Visitor Center –gift shop, orientation room and rest rooms– is fully handicap accessible. A brick ramp is conveniently located in front of the visitor center from Fifth Avenue.
The mansion, built according to mid-nineteenth standards, is accessible only by stairways.
This exhibit explores the lives of the free and enslaved African-American artisans and builders who worked in the building trades in North Carolina before the Civil War. Citing specific buildings constructed by African Americans, the exhibition investigates the living conditions, contractual arrangements and building methods of these artisans. The exhibit also explores how African building design influenced the architecture of both European Americans and African Americans in the South. The twenty-five panel exhibit weaves into these themes the fascinating stories of many black North Carolinian artisans whose stories help us better understand this little known aspect of southern culture.