Like the Yule Log and the Christmas Tree, Christmas baubles originally came from Germany. They were first made in the town of Lauscha (Thuringia, Germany) in the 16th century. The invention of baubles is credited to a glassblower called Hans Greiner (1550-1609) who made strings of glass beads that could be hung up as decorations. …
Bringing greenery indoors is one of our oldest seasonal traditions. In Europe before Christianity, people decorated their homes with greenery for festivals. We know this because important early bishops gathered to discuss whether Christians should be allowed to do this too. Some thought it was too pagan, but Pope Gregory the Great was in support. …
For centuries, wassailing was a popular part of Christmas and New Year celebrations. The word ‘wassail’ comes from the Old Norse for ‘good health’, and wassailing generally involved drinking to peoples’ health, often while singing about it. Special communal drinking bowls developed. These could be large like the grand sharing bowl on display in our 17 …
York Museums Trust has partnered with the Centre for Applied Human Rights, based at the University of York, to support their work with recording lived experiences of those who have been hardest hit by the pandemic and the UK Governments response to it. Chey’s research worked with people from York’s LGBT community to …
For Black History Month in 2020, we shared a blog about a young Roman woman who was buried in York in the late fourth century. She is affectionately known as ‘Ivory Bangle Lady’, named after the rare ivory bangles found around her wrists. The blog was written as a part of last year’s Black History …
Introducing the new Patricia Barnes Collection Blog by Grace England, York Art Gallery’s MA scholar Gender diversity within the museum world is a controversial topic within the 21st Century. It remains the case that within the vast National Gallery collection, spanning over 2,300 paintings from the thirteenth to the early 20th Century, there are still …
To celebrate Refugee Week, Refugee Action York (RAY) are taking over our Twitter feed to tell us about their work and share artwork created by people seeking sanctuary during the Covid-19 pandemic. RAY works with refugees, asylum seekers and migrants from within and around the City of York. We provide a safe meeting point where …
Hi, we’re Mairi and Jade, and we’re Visitor Experience Team Members at York Castle Museum. You can normally find us on site carrying out guided tours or welcoming visitors at front desk. However, due to the current lockdown we’ve been working from home since January on a project to transcribe the museum’ …
On Thursday 13th May, York Carers Centre will be taking over York Castle Museum’s Twitter account to highlight their work in the city and to share our collections that illustrate their young people’s skills. David, who is a student social worker, is currently doing a placement at York Carers Centre. He has written …
As part of the Yorkshire Museum’s collections care procedures we set and monitor a series of sticky traps at ground–level in our buildings. These traps are designed to capture any invertebrates that walk over them. We regularly check these traps to find out if any museum pests have been caught. A by-product of …
