York Castle Museum

Over het museum

York Castle Museum occupies the former York County Gaol, the main prison for the whole of Yorkshire, and there have been prisons on this site for more than seven hundred years. The oldest surviving prison building, which opened in 1705, is known as the Debtors' Prison because it was the first purpose-built prison in the country for people who could not pay their debts. Later the buildings held people awaiting trial, convicted prisoners and sometimes prisoners of war.

The museum was founded in 1938 by Dr Kirk, a medical doctor with a deep interest in the past, who wanted visitors to feel what it was like to go back in time. Its best-known display is Kirkgate, a recreated Victorian street named after him. Many of its shop fronts, lamp posts, carriages and objects are original, and the oldest building on the street is a timber-framed house taken apart in Stamford in Lincolnshire in the 1930s and rebuilt here.

Over the years the museum has added galleries on different periods of everyday life. Visitors can see period rooms, fashion in Secrets of Dress, the 1960s, the toys and clockwork wonders of Art of Motion, and a major exhibition on the First World War that opened in 2014. Kirkgate was refreshed and reopened in 2012. The museum is run by York Museums Trust, a charity that also looks after the Yorkshire Museum and York Art Gallery.

Hoogtepunten

• Kirkgate, a recreated Victorian street with original shop fronts
• Cell blocks of the former York Castle Prison and the Debtors' Prison
• 1914: When the World Changed Forever, a First World War exhibition
• The Sixties gallery with a Lambretta scooter and Mary Quant fashion
• Secrets of Dress and Art of Motion galleries
• Tickets valid for 12 months

Vaste collectie

• Kirkgate – A recreated Victorian street with original shop fronts, carriages and objects, said to be the oldest indoor street of its kind in Britain.
• Debtors' Prison – The oldest surviving prison building on the site, opened in 1705, showing the cells and the story of people held for debt and crime.
• 1914: When the World Changed Forever – A First World War exhibition, opened in 2014, combining military, costume and social history collections with stories of Yorkshire people.

Opgericht

1938

Beheerder

York Museums Trust

Directie

Kathryn Blacker

Bezoekers per jaar

ca. 291.074

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

Every ticket gives free entry for 12 months. Tickets are released in monthly batches and booking online is advised. Free entry also applies to people receiving means-tested benefits (including Universal Credit and their children), MAX Card holders, people seeking sanctuary, Community Participation Card holders, Museums Association and ICOM members, Visit York Pass holders and Blue Badge tour guides, with proof required.

Toegankelijkheid

• Deels rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift
• Aangepast toilet
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
• Hulphonden welkom
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

The main entrance area, ground floor on one side (prison and Sixties galleries) and the Victorian street (via a ramp) are accessible. The upper floors on the left side, including Secrets of Dress, Art of Motion and the period rooms, can be reached only by stairs; a lift serves the upper floors on the right side, including the First World War exhibition, which admits two wheelchair users at a time. Kirkgate has a cobbled floor with a smoother path at the edge, and some doorways in the prison are very narrow. Visitors who cannot reach the upper floors can buy a reduced-price access ticket. A manual wheelchair can be borrowed, mobility scooters are permitted, and handrails and seating are available. Two gender-neutral accessible toilets are in the museum. Cars with a disabled parking permit can park for up to three hours on the road outside the main entrance, and the Castle car park has 30 Blue Badge bays. Communication lanyards and a sensory basket are available, pre-visit guides can be downloaded, and all assistance dogs are welcome.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops
• Speurtocht, doeboekje of kinderaudiotour
• Doe- en voelstations
• Kinderwagenvriendelijk: niet aanwezig
• Verschoonruimte

Hands-on activities, activity areas for playful and sensory learning, and 'Hands on Here' volunteer sessions let children get closer to objects. A sensory basket and pre-visit guides for autistic children are available. Pushchairs cannot be taken into the galleries, but a buggy park and free baby carriers are provided. Baby changing is available in both accessible toilets, and the museum is breastfeeding friendly.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

The museum is in the centre of York, close to Clifford's Tower and the Coppergate Shopping Centre. Satnav users can enter the alternative postcode YO1 9WD. Bicycle racks are to the left of the main entrance.

Service & horeca

• Café
• Restaurant: niet aanwezig
• Museumwinkel
• Garderobe: niet aanwezig

The cafe is run by an independent partner and serves drinks, cakes and cold sandwiches from 10am to 4pm daily. A lunch room is available for own food, subject to availability. There is no facility to hold luggage and large bags are not allowed in the galleries.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

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