YORK CASTLE MUSEUM
Kirkgate Victorian Street and Everyday Life
The
York Castle Museum is perhaps a misnomer, neither a museum in a castle,
nor a museum
about
castles. The original castle of York first constructed
by William the Conqueror in 1098 once stood on the spot. Through the middle-ages
the town of York became a fortified city with strong walls (see Walking
York's Medieval Walls) making the entire town a fortress. The defenses of
York Castle suffered
heavily in the English Civil War and fell into disrepair. Parts of the old
castle can be seen in the walls and the remaining medieval icon of the castle
keep, Clifford’s Tower, rests on its hill just across from the museum
courtyard.
The former castle
baily was converted to civil administration with parts of the old castle
converted to a Debtor’s Prison in 1701.
The famous highwayman outlaw, Dick Turpin, was held a prisoner in the castle
for six months until being hanged on York's Knavesmire gallows in 1739 for
horse theft. A Female Prison wing was added in 1780, but by 1935 the old
prisons had seen the end of their days and a local medical man and prominent
citizen envisioned a different purpose.
Dr.
John Lamplugh Kirk was born in Hull, educated at Cambridge and practiced
in hospitals
in London. In 1898, he moved with his family back to the familiar
moors of North Yorkshire, settling in Pickering, quiet the market village
25 miles from the city of York and the southern end of the steam railway
seen in Harry Potter movies (see North Yorkshire Moors Railway). He was
a motor speed enthusiast who raced
on
the sandy
beaches
of Saltburn
(see Saltburn
Smugglers) alongside land speed record legend Malcolm Campbell
(see Lakeland
Motor Museum). He was also an avid collector, gathering
the items of
everyday life which he realized were disappearing with industrial mass production.
By the 1930s his massive collection of the odd and the ordinary needed a
home and the York Castle Museum was born, opening in 1938.
The York Castle Museum is best known for its Victorian Street, Kirkgate,
named for the doctor collector. A recreated street from the Victorian era
entirely indoors with the sights and sounds of British city life circa 1890,
complete with Hansom Cab with horse and driver. The horse drawn cab made
famous from all those Sherlock Holmes adventures was invented in 1934 by
a York architect, Joseph Aloysius Hansom. The cab is surrounded by shops
in stonework arcades moved from other towns around Yorkshire and recreated
within the museum.
The museum’s collections feature thousands of items of social history
and in recreated life-like rooms across the decades. The museum's room settings
include a Victorian Parlor, an 1850s Moorland country cottage, Jacobean and
Georgian era dining rooms, a kitchen from the 1940s and a 1950s living room.
Through the maze of halls can be found of historic toys, workmen’s
tools, printing presses, cooking utensils, and farming equipment. The York
Castle Museum has one of the largest collections of clothing and fashion
from the past 200 years and more than 100 patchwork quilts dating back almost
300 years. The military exhibits feature one the most comprehensive collections
of armor, firearms and sword of the 16th and 17th centuries. In 2009 a new
exhibition opened at the museum to tell the story of the York Castle Prison,
with a journey through the cramped cells accompanied by audio and visual
effects with historic characters like Dick Turpin telling of the gruesome
life and death on the wards.
Visiting York Castle Museum
The museum is open every day from 9:30am to 5pm, except for Christmas and
Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Admission is £8.50 for adults, £7.50
Seniors and Students (Concession). Children under 16 are free. A York Museums
Trust Pass available for £13 Adults and £11 Concession covers
entry to both York Castle Museum and the all-new Yorkshire Museum, plus 10%
discount with all purchases over £5 in both museum shops, plus the
York Art Gallery shop. Tickets are good for one year for unlimited entries.
A York Castle Museum guide book is available for £4. © Bargain
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See Also:
JORVIK VIKING CENTER AND FESTIVAL
