Last year, York Castle Museum embarked on a project to collect objects and stories which reflect York life during the Covid-19 pandemic. This mini-series will introduce the thinking behind this project and reveal the fantastic objects which have been acquired. Stay tuned for more blog episodes from our Associate Collections Curator, M Faye Prior.  

In early 2020 Covid-19 brought the world to a global standstill. This was the first time a pandemic of this scale and magnitude had impacted the UK since the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. A series of lockdowns, prompted by the first one on 23 March hugely affected businesses, schools and services. Many continue to lose loved ones to the virus. 

At York Museums Trust, the repercussions of this hit hard. The museums temporarily closed, and many staff were furloughed. York Castle Museum and the Art Gallery were the first to reopen on 1 August 2020, followed by the Yorkshire Museum in July 2021. 

It became a priority for the Castle Museum to capture local, people-led stories about the pandemic. Since it opened in 1938, the Castle Museum has collected stories about everyday life. Many of the earliest objects were acquired as part of people’s ‘living memory’ to preserve the old ways of life in a rapidly expanding and changing world.  

It was strongly felt, at the outset, that this collecting project should be led by local people. As digital working had become an even more important platform since lockdown, then why not use this as a tool to hear what people have to say? 

An online survey was devised asking people to suggest 5 objects which they felt best represented the universal experience of the pandemic. After a final vote, the 5 most popular objects were acquired for the permanent collection. Alongside this, people also had the opportunity to share their thoughts and reflections about the pandemic, how they were creative during lockdown, and offer anything for donation. This survey was shared on our social media.

Click on the images for a larger view.

The aim of this survey was to trial new ways of collecting, incorporating a greater level of engagement within the process. It was also important to collect objects linked to individual stories.  

The five most popular choices of objects were (in order of preference): 

 

1) Face Coverings

This pink printed cotton facemask was made in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique using traditional capulana fabric. It was gifted to the donor and worn by her during the Covid-19 pandemic in York. 

 

2) Hand Sanitiser 

Alcohol-based hand-sanitiser by Cooper King Distillery, Sutton-on-the-Forest (York). 

Cooper King Distillery, which usually manufactures gin and whisky, switched to making hand sanitiser during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. In response to the national shortage at the time, Cooper King Distillery researched, developed, and produced the first batch of hand sanitiser with a 5-day turnaround. 

 

3) York Social Distancing Signs 

A collection of street signs encouraging social distancing made by City of York Council during the Coronavirus-19 pandemic in 2020. These were designed in May 2020 and had been installed in York by 15th June to coincide with the lifting of the first lockdown. 

 

4) NHS Rainbow Picture 

Paper sign made by an 11-year-old boy (resident of York) and displayed in the window of his family’s home during the Covid-19 pandemic. The sign features a collage of printed drawings of rainbows, stylised rock climbers, suns and doves, and photographs of kittens to make up the word HOPE. The sign was made during the first coronavirus lockdown in 2020. 

 

5) Covid Vaccine Vial 

Empty used bottles of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccine vials.  

 

The next episodes of this mini-series will explore some of these objects in more detail, alongside some of the other Covid-related donations which made it into our collection.  

Thank you to all our donors and people who completed the survey. We have managed to collect a wonderful variety of objects representing various aspects of the pandemic. 

 

Helen Thornton, Curator of Social History.