Nidderdale Museum
Entrance to Nidderdale Museum
Nidderdale Museum is located in North Yorkshire
Nidderdale Museum
Location within North Yorkshire
Established1975 (1975)[1]
LocationPateley Bridge, North Yorkshire, England
Coordinates54°05′16″N 1°45′33″W / 54.08787°N 1.75930°W / 54.08787; -1.75930
TypeLocal history museum
Visitors7,000[1]
WebsiteOfficial website

Nidderdale Museum is a local and social history museum in the market town of Pateley Bridge in Nidderdale, one of the Yorkshire Dales, in North Yorkshire, England.[2] The museum is housed in a former workhouse, and is normally open every day from 1.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. from 1 April to 31 October, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 1.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. over the winter. There is a small entry charge for adults. Accompanied children are free.[3]

The museum is run by volunteers.[4] The Nidderdale Museum Society has two hundred members, with an elected Committee, and a Board of Trustees.[5]

Exhibits

The exhibits focus on rural life, with sections devoted to agriculture, local industries, religion, transport and costume, set out across 11 rooms. Displays include re-creations of a Victorian schoolroom, a cobbler's workshop, a lead mining tunnel, a Victorian parlour,[1] general store, a 1930s hairdresser's shop and a kitchen. Other displays include historic costumes, agriculture tools and equipment, local industries and transport vehicles.[6]

The museum also has a reference library of books relating to the local history and life of Nidderdale, and materials for local and family history research.[7]

  • Cobbler's shop
    Cobbler's shop
  • Re-creation of a tunnel in a lead mine
    Re-creation of a tunnel in a lead mine
  • General store from the 1940s
    General store from the 1940s
  • Hairdressing salon from the 1950s
    Hairdressing salon from the 1950s

History of the museum

The museum was established in 1975 by a group of local enthusiasts. Some of the group had been members of the local history class which wrote A History of Nidderdale, first published in 1967,[8] and they invited Bernard Jennings, editor of the History, to become one of the first trustees.[6]: 232  Harrogate Borough Council provided premises for the museum in the redundant offices of the Ripon and Pateley Bridge Rural District Council, originally built as a workhouse in 1863.[6]: xvii 

In 1990 the museum won the National Heritage Museum of the Year Award for "The Museum which does the Most with the Least".[6]: 247–248  In 2017 the volunteers at Nidderdale Museum were honoured with the Queen's Award.[1][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Queen's Award success for North Yorkshire's secret gem". Harrogate Advertiser. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  2. ^ Long, Peter (2004). The hidden places of England (4 ed.). Aldermaston: Travel. p. 618. ISBN 1904434126.
  3. ^ The Rough Guide to Yorkshire. 2019. p. 209. ISBN 978 1 789 19415 9.
  4. ^ "Pateley Bridge - the village with winning ways". yorkshirelife.co.uk. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  5. ^ "The History of Nidderdale Museum". Nidderdale Museum Society. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d Moody, Joanna (2014). Traces of Nidderdale in 40 Years and 40 Objects. ISBN 978 0 9928508 0 7.
  7. ^ "The woman of Nidderdale who left a lasting legacy of wisdom and warmth". The Yorkshire Post. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  8. ^ Jennings, Bernard (1992). A History of Nidderdale. p. 10. ISBN 1-85072-114-9.
  9. ^ "No. 61945". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 June 2017. p. J11.

External links

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