Beck Isle Museum

About the museum

Beck Isle Museum is housed in a Grade II* listed building beside Pickering Beck that began as a watermill. In 1816 it was inherited by William Marshall, a leading agriculturalist, who converted it and hoped to create the first agricultural college in England. He died in 1818 before the plan was finished, and the house passed to his sister Elizabeth Wells. For the rest of the 19th century and much of the 20th it was lived in by a series of doctors, the last of whom, Dr Murphy, worked and lived there from 1916 to 1966.

In 1967 a group of local people who wanted to preserve the history of Pickering opened a small museum and art gallery on the ground floor. It quickly gained support and charitable status, which allowed the whole building to be bought. Over the following decades the museum grew with the help of volunteers, and it is still an independent charity that receives no regular public funding.

Today the museum cares for around 50,000 objects, shown across more than 25 gallery spaces, including recreated shops, a traditional pub, a printing room and a costume gallery, together with outdoor exhibits and outbuildings. Important parts of the collection include a Columbian printing press, the photographs and cameras of the local photographer Sydney Smith, and two wooden Welsh Guardsmen painted by Rex Whistler in 1943.

Highlights

• Columbian printing press and print room with regular demonstrations
• Photographs and camera equipment of Sydney Smith, who recorded rural life in Ryedale
• Rex Whistler's two Welsh Guardsmen from 1943
• Recreated historic shops, a barber's, a traditional pub and a costume gallery
• Blacksmith's forge, shown working on selected days
• Guided walks around historic Pickering

Permanent exhibitions

• The Columbian Printing Press and Print Room – An early 19th-century printing press in the Printing Gallery, with demonstrations in the printer's workshop on most Thursdays.
• The Sydney Smith Collection – Photographs and camera equipment of Sydney Smith (1884-1958), recording rural life in the Ryedale area in the early to mid 20th century.
• Rex Whistler's Welsh Guards – Two 10-foot wooden panels of caricatured Welsh Guardsmen painted by Rex Whistler for a children's Christmas party in Pickering in 1943.

Founded

1967

Operated by

Beck Isle Museum (registered charity no. 1152735)

Admission & discounts

Every museum admission ticket gives unlimited visits for one year from the date of purchase, so visitors should keep their receipt.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum is not fully accessible, but many areas are. The listed main house has a ramp at the entrance, and the ground floor is wheelchair accessible; the upstairs collection can be reached only by a flight of stairs, with five more steps on the upper floor. The outside galleries can be reached by wheelchair lift, and the toilets are wheelchair accessible. Assistance dogs and well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome, and the museum is Dementia Friendly, with front-of-house staff trained by Dementia Forward.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations
• Baby changing facilities

The museum has signed up to the Kids in Museums manifesto and offers holiday activities and hands-on exhibits. Baby changing facilities are available and there is somewhere to park a buggy before exploring upstairs. Large prams, pushchairs and back carriers are not taken into the upper floor. Children aged 5 and under are free.

Getting there & parking

The museum is on Bridge Street, just around the corner from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. From York take the A64 towards Malton and then the A169; from Scarborough take the A170.

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop

There is no on-site catering, but self-service tea and coffee are available and there is a courtyard and beckside area for picnics. The gift shop sells local gifts and products and local history books and photographs.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit