York Castle Museum Explained

York Castle Museum
Map Type:United Kingdom North Yorkshire
Coordinates:53.9556°N -1.0783°W
Type:Social history museum
Visitors:246,973 (2016)[1]

The York Castle Museum is a museum located in York, North Yorkshire, England, on the site of York Castle, which was originally built by William the Conqueror in 1068. The museum itself was founded by John L. Kirk in 1938, and is housed in prison buildings which were built on the site of the castle in the 18th century, the debtors' prison (built in 1701–05 using stone from the ruins of the castle) and the female prison (built 1780–85).

Museum and history

Foundation

In 1931 John Lamplugh Kirk, a physician and amateur archaeologist based in Pickering, North Yorkshire, advertised for expressions of interest from sites who wished to house his large collection of objects relating to the study of Social History. Although he received responses from sites in Middlesbrough, Wakefield, Batley, Doncaster and York, it was the latter which was ultimately successful.[2] The Female Prison was bought by the City of York Corporation in 1934 and modified to house the Kirk Collection of "bygones", opening as the Castle Museum on 23 April 1938.[3] [4] A major attraction of this new museum was the recreation of a late Victorian street, named 'Kirkgate'; this was the first of its kind in Britain.

Second World War

Violet Rodgers started as the Deputy Curator in 1938. Kirk died in 1940 and Rodgers ran the museum, which remained open, during the Second World War. During this time she expanded the education offer and developed an interactive approach to the collections by allowing visitors to handle objects.[5] She left the museum in 1947 when she emigrated to Poland.[6]

Post-war and 20th century

The debtor's prison was added to the castle display spaces in 1952. The Edwardian 'Half Moon Court' (an annexe to the eastern edge of the debtor's prison) was added in 1963. The Raindale Mill was opened at the back of the site in 1966.[7]

21st century

In 2012, the Kirkgate street was redeveloped to reflect a broader view of Victorian society, including back alleys and a slum dwelling.[8]

A new £18 million redevelopment of the site was announced in 2017 as part of the 'Castle Gateway Project'.[9] A redevelopment team was announced in February 2019.[10]

During the COVID-19 pandemic the museum, along with the other York Museums Trust sites, closed to the public on 23 March 2020.[11] It was announced in July that the museum would reopen on 1 August (Yorkshire Day) 2020.[12] The museum was forced to close a second time from 5 November 2020 as part of new national restrictions in England.[13] It reopened on 2 December 2020 with a temporary 'Christmas on Kirkgate' experience featuring decorations, nutcracker dolls, snow, and music.[14] York was moved into Tier 3 Restrictions on 31 December 2020, forcing the museum to again close.[15] It reopened, on 19 May 2021.[16]

In January 2023 a wall on the outside of the Female Prison was daubed with "offensive graffiti". A 17-year old boy was boy was subsequently arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage and being in possession of articles to commit criminal damage.[17]

On 27 September 2023 the Female Prison part of the museum was closed to the public as a precaution, following the discovery of RAAC in its roof.[18] A report presented to the City of York Council on 9 April highlighted that this partial closure of the museum resulted in a loss of revenue of £400,000.[19] CEO Kathryn Blacker called on the support of local MPs and the UK Government for emergency financial help because the Castle Museum was one of only three museums in the UK to have RAAC and the only listed building.[20]

Buildings

York Castle Museum consists of several individual structures located to the immediate south of Clifford's Tower, within the former castle bailey. It is surrounded by part of the York Castle wall on its southern side, and beyond that the River Foss. In 1969 a gallery was built to link the museum in the Female Prison with the Debtors' Prison.[21]

Debtor's Prison

See main article: York Debtor's Prison. The Debtor's Prison was originally built as the County Gaol in 1701–1705. It is a three-storey building with a central range and clock turret flanked by projecting wings built with Tadcaster limestone and brick walls, and a lead and slate roof. The prison's most notable inhabitant was Dick Turpin, who was incarcerated in the 1730s before his trial at the York assizes. His cell forms part of the exhibition in the current museum.[22]

Female Prison

See main article: Female Prison, York. The Female Prison and yard were built in 1780–83 at a cost of £1,540 and to a design by Thomas Wilkinson and John Prince. The frontage of this building matches that of the Court building on the opposite side of the bailey. The prison was altered and wings added in 1802 with a podium and steps added in 1820–50. The front of the building is constructed from sandstone ashlar with the inside of the portico rendered. The prison was bought by the City of York Corporation in 1934 opening as the Castle Museum in 1938.[23]

Raindale Mill

See main article: Raindale Mill. Raindale Mill is a reconstructed early-19th-century flour mill which was moved from the North York Moors to the grounds of York Castle Museum in the 1960s.[24] It was opened to the public in 1966.

Curators

Curators of the York Castle Museum! Name !! Title !! Dates in Post !! Image
John KirkCurator and founder1934–1940align=center
L. R. A. Grove[25] Curator1936–1939
Violet Rodgers[26] Deputy Curator1938–1947align=center
John H. Scholes[27] Curator1949–?
Robert Patterson[28] Curator1950s
Florence Wright[29] Education Officer1950–?
Cyril Maynard MitchellCurator?1950s
Peter Brears[30] 1975–1978
Graham NicholsonCuratorc.1981
Mark Suggitt[31] Curator1980s
Clare RoseKeeper of Textiles1983–1988
Josie Sheppard[32] Curator of Costume and textiles1988–c.2010
Gwendolen Whittaker[33] Curator of Social History?–c.2013
Alison Bodley[34] Curator of History2013–2016
Janet Barnes[35] CEO of York Museums Trust2002–2015
Reyahn KingCEO of York Museums Trust2015–2022[36]

Galleries

Current exhibitions

Past exhibitions

Awards

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Trustees Reports and Financial Statements, Year Ended 31 March 2016 . 2016 . York Museums Trust . 15 February 2018.
  2. Exhibiting the countryside: A post-colonial study of museums in North Yorkshire . Srisinurai . S. . 2013 . University of York . 47–49. 16 July 2019.
  3. Web site: Dr John Kirk – founder of York Castle Museum . York Castle Museum. 16 July 2019.
  4. News: Inside the Yorkshire museum founded on one man's obsessive collecting . 21 April 2018 . Yorkshire Post . 14 November 2018.
  5. News: 100 years after votes for women, these are the women who have helped change York... . 14 December 2018 . Lewis . S. . York Press. 8 October 2019.
  6. News: Inside the Yorkshire museum founded on one man's obsessive collecting . . 21 April 2018. 8 October 2019.
  7. Book: Nicholson, Graham . The Castle Museum York . 1981 . York Castle Museum . 0900264136 . 1.
  8. Gann and Padgett . 2018 . Understanding the Victorians Through Museum Displays . Journal of Victorian Culture . 23 . 2 . 170-186.
  9. News: Multi-million pound vision for York Castle Museum expansion . 18 January 2017 . York Press . 9 November 2020.
  10. News: Team appointed to restore and redevelop York's Castle Museum . 19 February 2019 . York Press . 9 November 2020.
  11. Web site: YMT ATTRACTIONS ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED IN LINE WITH THE GOVERNMENT ADVICE ON CORONAVIRUS . York Museums Trust . 10 June 2020.
  12. News: Date announced when York Castle Museum and Art Gallery will reopen . YorkMix . 7 July 2020 . 9 November 2020.
  13. News: 'We intend to keep York Museum Gardens open': Museums bosses . York Press . 2 November 2020. 9 November 2020.
  14. News: PICTURES: New 'magical' festive display to open at York Castle Museum . 29 November 2020 . 1 December 2020 . Northern Echo.
  15. Web site: Guidance: Full list of local restriction tiers by area . 31 December 2020 . gov.uk . 5 January 2021.
  16. News: Castle Museum needs your help: what memorable Covid objects should it keep? . 13 May 2021 . York Press . 16 June 2021.
  17. Web site: Arrest made after York Castle Museum daubed with offensive graffiti . 16 January 2023 . North Yorkshire Police . 18 January 2023.
  18. News: York Castle Museum partly closed over concrete fears . 27 September 2023 . BBC News . 28 September 2023.
  19. News: York Castle Museum loses £400k after Raac find sparked closure . 3 April 2024 . BBC News . 8 April 2024.
  20. News: York Castle Museum asks for more help after RAAC discovery . York Press . 11 April 2024 . 12 April 2024.
  21. Book: An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in City of York, Volume 2, the Defences. . THE DEFENCES OF THE CITY OF YORK: AN INVENTORY . RCHME . 1972 . 57–86.
  22. News: Dick Turpin's old haunt in York in line for a makeover . York Press . 18 January 2017 . 16 July 2019.
  23. 536712 . Female Prison. 16 July 2019.
  24. News: York Museums Trust inviting volunteers to help restore Raindale Mill . York Press . 1 July 2009 . 15 May 2011 .
  25. Web site: Dr Kirk the Collector – Celebrating 80 Years of York Castle Museum . 23 July 2023.
  26. Web site: CELEBRATING 80 YEARS OF YORK CASTLE MUSEUM – VIOLET RODGERS, OUR FIRST FEMALE CURATOR . York Castle Museum . 8 October 2019.
  27. THE DEMISE OF CLAPHAM . The Journal of the London Underground Railway Society . 12 . 138 . 6 June 1973 . 86.
  28. Web site: Animal, Vegetable, Mineral? . BBC Genome (Radio Times 1923–2009) . 8 October 2019.
  29. Web site: Florence Wright . HerStory.York) . 9 March 2022.
  30. News: The historian with a taste for the flavour of times past . Yorkshire Post . 3 September 2007.
  31. Web site: Suggitt, Mark 1956 – 2019 . Science Museums Group . 8 October 2019.
  32. Book: O'Connor, Sonia A. . X-radiography of Textiles, Dress and Related Objects . Mary M. . Brooks . Routledge . 2007.
  33. News: Kirkgate at York's Castle Museum is expanded . Lewis . Stephen . 12 May 2012 . York Press . 8 October 2019.
  34. Web site: 1914: When the World Changed Forever at York Castle Museum . Museums and Heritage . 4 August 2014 . 8 October 2019.
  35. Web site: Janet Barnes to retire as chief executive of York Museums Trust . 23 July 2023.
  36. Web site: York Museums boss to join National Trust for Scotland . 23 July 2023.
  37. Web site: Kirkgate Victorian Street . York Museums Trust . 11 June 2013. 11 June 2013.
  38. Web site: Toy Stories . York Museums Trust . 30 September 2019.
  39. News: Playing with toys from the past at York's Castle Museum . York Press . 16 February 2013. 11 June 2013.
  40. Web site: The Sixties . York Castle Museum . 8 October 2019.
  41. Web site: York Castle Museum to mark World War I in 1914: When the World Changed Forever. Culture 24. 15 April 2015.
  42. News: Killer fashion: Lethal dress laced with arsenic to be unveiled at York Castle Museum . 3 March 2016 . Culture24 . 30 September 2019.
  43. Book: Brooks, M. . Cane . S. . 1994 . ‘Stop the rot’, York Castle Museum: creating an exhibition on museum conservation. . Sage, J. . Exhibitions and Conservation . Edinburgh . SSCR . 35–44.
  44. Web site: Previous Exhibition: Spotless . York Museums Trust . 30 September 2019.
  45. Web site: Previous Exhibition: From Cradle to Grave . York Museums Trust . 30 September 2019.
  46. Web site: CHOCOLATE: YORK'S SWEET PAST . York Museums Trust . 30 September 2019.
  47. Web site: A PERSONAL COLLECTION OF VIVIENNE WESTWOOD SHOES . York Museums Trust . 30 September 2019.
  48. News: Brexit parallels abound as Museum of Broken Relationships opens in York . Yvette . Huddlestone . 22 March 2019 . Yorkshire Post . 30 September 2019.
  49. News: York's best pubs, restaurants and attractions win 2015 tourism awards . YorkMix . 4 June 2015.
  50. Web site: 2017 WINNERS! . Little Vikings: York for Kids . 8 January 2019.
  51. Web site: LITTLE VIKINGS AWARDS 2019: THE WINNERS . Little Vikings: York for Kids . 8 January 2019.
  52. Web site: York Castle Museum . Visit York . 8 January 2019.

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