Museums
Explore Yorkshire's rich history
Some of the museums are of world-class and national importance. The National Railway Museum, the National Science and Media Museum and National Coal Mining Museum for England are all in Yorkshire and the major part Yorkshire played in aviation history is explored at the Yorkshire Air Museum.
Many towns and even some local villages also have museums, charting the course of their area, crafts and industries which developed there or famous characters who once lived there. While there are still a great many to choose from, it has been sad to see some towns lose their public display of historical artefacts in recent years as large-scale district local authorities running museums across many distinct towns made cuts in some places.
On this page we've picked a selection of museums we feel are must-see attractions or well worth visiting to see some of the diversity of the Yorkshire region and its past. And for good measure, we've added a few unique museums which cover special interests that you won't find anywhere else but here in Yorkshire.
You will also find many more excellent museums showing Yorkshire and its heritage as you browse through the different towns and cities featured in Yorkshire.guide
20 great Yorkshire museums
Brontë Parsonage Museum
Church Street, More details at the
The Brontë SocietyLocate on map:
Brontë Parsonage Museum Captain Cook Memorial Museum
Grape Lane, Whitby
A fascinating and detailed insight into the great voyages and life of Captain James Cook and his crews as he navigated coastlines and charted much new territory, including circumnavigating New Zealand and building upon the work of other sea explorations and the Dutch explorers who had sailed to Australia before him. Excellently presented information about the explorer is contained in the museum in a 17th century house where Cook lodged as an apprentice and trained as a seaman. The museum is open from February to November with opening by appointment in the winter. More details at the Captain Cook Memorial Museum website.
Captain Cook Memorial Museum Eden Camp Modern History Theme Museum
The museum, just north of the A64 Malton by-pass, is the site of what was established in 1942 as a Second World War camp to house Italian Prisoners of War. It also provided accomodation for Polish forces for a time before returning to use as a prison camp for German prisoners. After a number of post-war uses, a museum was opened in 1987 and has seen a growing number of displays in the original camp huts concentrating mainly on the Second World War but also covering the home front and post-war housing with further exhibits on the First World War and conflicts since the Second World War.
Further details at the
Eden Camp Eureka! The National Children's Museum
Discovery Road, This modern museum near to Halifax railway station is full of interactive exhibits in themed galleries aimed at inspiring younger children to learn.
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Eureka! Jorvik Viking Centre
The centre, owned by the York Archealogical Trust, shows York's Viking history with a journey through scenes recreating its Viking streets. The centre has been fully refurbished after flooding in 2015 and offers a ride through animatronic figures amid the sights, sounds and smells of York's 10th century streets.
More information at
Jorvik Viking Centre Magna Science Adventure Centre
Set in Rotherham's old Templeborough steelworks, Magna offers an insight into the world of steelmaking and much more. It offers a fascinating exploration into the world of science and technology through areas of air, earth, fire and water. Among the highlights are a fire tornado and the chance to operate a JCB. Magna is about 2 miles to the south-west of Rotherham town centre and is on the 69 Rotherham to Sheffield bus route.
More information at
Magna Maritime Museum
Hull's maritime heritage from the 18th century to the present is revealed in this museum housed in Victorian dock offices. Exhibits, including a full-sized whale skeleton and models of ships, tell the story of whaling, fishing and the merchant fleet.
More details at the
Maritime Museum National Coal Mining Museum for England
The National Coal Mining Museum for England is mid-way between
More details at the
National Coal Mining Museum National Emergency Services Museum
The Old Police/Fire Station, West Bar, Sheffield
Three floors of exhibits housed in Sheffield's old police and fire station building provide a fascinating insight into the history of the 999 services. More than 40 vehicles are among items on display. The museum provides learning experiences and activities for all ages and occasional talks by historians and authors who write on an emergency services theme. The museum is usually open each day except Mondays and Tuesdays, but check the museum website for full details and prices. For more information visit the National Emergency Services Museum website.
National Emergency Services Museum National Railway Museum
Huge halls of locomotives and trains feature in this exhibition covering Britain's railway history from early horse-drawn and steam power to modern high speed trains.
More details at the
Railway Museum National Science and Media Museum
The museum near the city centre has galleries on seven floors and three cinemas, including Yorkshire's biggest IMAX screen. Galleries include Wonderlab, which features fun interactive experimentation with light and sound, there's a games lounge featuring retro computer games, hands-on experience of the development of television, a gallery on the history of photography, original models from Wallace and Gromit and Morph in the animation gallery, the chance to discover old films and rare TV programmes and a gallery on the impact of the internet. There are also changing media-related exhibitions. The museum is closed by 6pm each day, but its cinemas are open into the evening.
More details at the
National Science and Media Museum National Videogame Museum
Castle House, Angel Street, SheffieldSituated in the heart of Sheffield, the National Videogame Museum has a changing treasure trove of exhibits about the relatively modern but rapidly-evolving phenomenon of computer gaming together with the opportunity to play some of the showcase games. The museum opens each day except Monday and Tuesday in term time and every day during school holidays in Sheffield. Check out the current admissions policy and prices at the museum website.
Further information at
National Videogame Museum Royal Armouries Museum
The Royal Armouries opened a museum in Leeds in 1996 to display some of the large national collection of arms and armour historically based at the White Tower of the Tower of London. Housed in a purpose-built modern building at Leeds Dock, near the city centre, arms and armour from Britain and across the world is exhibited in themed galleries, with a programme of live shows and demonstrations. The museum opens daily from 10am to 5pm with last admisssion at 4.30pm.
More details at the
Royal Armouries Thackray Medical Museum
Interactive galleries show the world of medicine from the Victorian age to modern scientific breakthroughs. The museum also offers a library and resource centre.Further information at the
Thackray Medical Museum The World of James Herriot
23 Kirkgate, This museum pays tribute to vet and author James Herriot and offers a wealth of things to see at his original practice surgery. The writer, whose real name was James Alfred Wight, wrote a series of semi-autobiographical books through the 1970s which were adapted for two films and a popular BBC TV series. Alf Wight continued to write through the 1980s and early 1990s, focusing more on children's books later in his life. The museum presents the house as it would have been in the 1940s and has an air-raid shelter in the cellar. There is a big display of veterinary instruments from the past to the modern day, a farrier's workshop, a massive collection of James Herriot memorabilia and a behind the scenes look at TV's "All Creatures Great and Small" including a restored vintage car used in the series.
More information at
The World of James Herriot Yorkshire Air Museum
The Yorkshire Air Museum is at the former RAF Elvington, about 3 miles south-west of York. During World War II it was an RAF Bomber Command Station used by Allied bomber crews, including French Air Force squadrons. The museum now situated there has a huge range of exhibits taking visitors from the earliest pioneers of aviation, including Yorkshireman George Cayley, through both World Wars and the Cold War era. More than 60 aircraft and flight-related vehicles are on show at the airfield. The museum is also the location of the Allied Air Forces Memorial, commemorating all allied airmen and women.
More details at the
Yorkshire Air MuseumFind
Yorkshire Air Museum York Castle Museum
Set in 18th century prison buildings, the museum shows how York and its castle have been a site of justice for nearly 1,000 years, with stories including the legendary highwayman Dick Turpin and the last woman to be burnt at the stake in Yorkshire. The museum also features a recreation of a Victorian street, a water mill and exhibits from time of change in the 20th century. The museum also has exhibits from the city's chocolate-making past, in particular Terry's, which produced chocolate in York until 2005 and could trace its history in the city back to 1767.
More details at the
York Castle Museum Yorkshire Museum
The Yorkshire Museum features exhibits ranging from dinosaurs to a 11,000-year-old Mesolithic pendant, Roman, Viking and medieval discoveries. The museum is set in botanical gardens also featuring the ruins of the medieval St Mary's Abbey.
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Yorkshire Museum Yorkshire Museum of Farming
Murton Park, about 3 miles east of the city centre, is the location of the Yorkshire Museum of Farming, which has a wide range of historic agricultural machinery and implements, a large photgraphic collection and a gallery deticated to the Women's Land Army. The park is also the home of the Danelaw Centre for Living History and the Derwent Valley Light Railway, where trains are run on Sundays and Bank Holidays on the surviving half-mile of this former 16-mile agricultural light railway.
More information at the
Yorkshire Museum of Farming Zetland Lifeboat Museum and Redcar Heritage Centre
Redcar's original lifeboat 'Zetland', built in 1802, is now the world's oldest surviving lifeboat and well worth a visit. Long before the days of the RNLI, the boat was the 11th to be built by Yorkshireman Henry Greathead. After moving to South Shields, County Durham, early in his life, he built more than 30 life-saving boats. The large open wooden rowing vessel which saved 500 lives in its 78-year service is housed in an old lifeboat station which now charts its history. The boat's historical importance is such that it listed on the National Historic Ship Register. Upstairs is a museum with a fascinating selection of boat models, nautical instruments and displays of past photographs of Redcar's seaside history and the boats that were wrecked on its hidden rocks. The free entry museum is supported by volunteers, donations and fundraising.
More information at
Zetland Lifeboat Museum
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