Dr John Lamplugh Kirk was a doctor from Pickering and an avid collector of ‘bygones’. His collection was opened as York Castle Museum 80 years ago on 23 April 1938. Over 32 million people have since visited. Dr Kirk wanted the focus of his museum to be on the objects shown in their original context, and the museum became …
York Castle Museum celebrates its 80th anniversary this month, having opened to the public on 23 April 1938. The museum is perhaps most famous for Kirkgate, a recreated Victorian street which transports visitors back in time. Find out more about the man behind the museum and its creation in this blog entry. Dr John Lamplugh Kirk was …
Nearly 300 years ago this month, a seamstress called Elizabeth Grant was one of 40 prisoners taken from York Prison to Liverpool, where they would sent to Antigua as indentured servants. Discover more about her life and fate in this blog entry by our volunteer, Steve Pickard. On 17 December 1745, the Jacobite Army under Charles Edward Stuart (the …
Katie Brown (Assistant Curator of History) and Helen Thornton (Documentation Assistant) from York Castle Museum’s Curatorial Team have written a blog entry on some of our hidden histories. Read on to discover some of the experiences of people in minority or historically disempowered and discriminated-against groups. Their stories have often gone unrecorded or unrecognised …
York Castle Museum volunteer Megan Kilvington is part of a research team investigating different rebel groups that were held in York Prison. Megan has been looking into female Catholic recusants – find out more in this blog entry. During the Elizabethan period, the Statute of Praemunire was brought back into focus; a law which prohibited individuals …
York Castle Museum first opened to the public 80 years ago on 23 April 1938. The museum was founded by Dr John Kirk, a doctor from Pickering in North Yorkshire. He was fascinated by history and vanishing ways of life and began collecting objects that were becoming rare or obsolete. These ‘bygones’ formed the museum’s collection. Visitor …
York Castle Museum Volunteer Steve Pickard is one of five volunteers who have been researching into the role that York Castle has played throughout history. Steve’s brief was all about the Jacobite period – find out what he discovered in this blog entry. A Jacobite was a supporter of the exiled royal house of the …
Welcome to the third and final entry in our mini-series about some of the latest additions to our collection of 18th-century menswear here at York Castle Museum. In this post you’ll find out about a surprisingly sparkly two piece suit from the 1780s – take a look at the photos in the gallery at the …
This year marks the centenary of the 1918 Representation of the People Act, which gave the vote to some women in Britain. York Castle Museum volunteer Emma Flint has been helping to research the history of women’s suffrage, which will be shared with visitors to the museum in regular talks. Find out more in this …
York Castle Museum’s History Team are excited to tell you about the latest historic clothes to come into our collection – a wonderful selection of Georgian menswear. This is the second of three blog posts about these fascinating garments by Dr M Faye Prior, our Collections Facilitator (History). Welcome to the second in our mini …
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