Blog

Ripon Museum Trust is very pleased to welcome Helen Thornton as their new Director. Helen has worked in the heritage and culture sector for 25 years mainly in public sector museums, galleries and government agencies in the North of England including Liverpool, Rotherham, Manchester, Leeds and Bradford.  Most recently, Helen has been Manager of Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Bradford…

April’s Object of the Month is a chair, on display in the corridor of vagrants’ cells at the Workhouse Museum. The chair has been labelled as a “restraining chair”, with interpretation about the treatment of people with mental illnesses within the workhouse system in the 1800s. However, our Curator, Leah Mellors, has her doubts about…

Come to Ripon Workhouse Gardens this Easter to hunt for signs of Spring. In the Vegetable Garden  - spot our heritage vegetable seedlings like Mr James Scarlet Intermediate Carrots and Egyptian Turnip Rooted Beetroot.  - read about how vegetables were used in the Victorian Workhouse and pick up tips on how to grow your own in…

Booklet; Finger Print Clues, 1925 This booklet, entitled ‘Finger Print Clues: Notes on Finger Print Clues Left By Criminals At Places Where Crime Has Been Committed’, was published in 1925 by New Scotland Yard. The preface of the booklet reads: “This pamphlet has been prepared for the information of Police who may have occasion to engage in the investigation…

The award-winning Learning Team at Ripon Museum Trust arranged an educational and exciting session for both staff and volunteers this week when hours of research into stories from the workhouse, house of correction, and courthouse were revealed by museum volunteers Sue Dennison and Christine Price, who told us the hugely compellng stories of ‘urchins, sprogs and guttersnipes’ -…

What would a week without volunteers look like?   For Ripon Museum Trust and many other organisations and services it would be a very different week. The social and economic impact of volunteering across the UK is immense and Ripon is no exception with a wide variety of volunteering opportunities available. Volunteers are the glue that holds our…

James Etherington, Director at Ripon Museum Trust, will be leaving his post on 24th January to take up the position of Director at Kiplin Hall and Gardens. Throughout James’ time at the Trust, he has overseen the building of a strong staff team, and a committed and growing volunteer team.  James commented “It wasn’t an…

December’s Object of the Month is a cigarette tin, dating from World War II, which shows the coat of arms of Leeds City Council and the words ‘Christmas 1944’. This object was donated to the museum in 2004 and was sent to the donor’s father. During World War II, there were various campaigns and collection funds…

From the 12th to the 16th of November it was #Iwill week in which young volunteers across the country made pledges for social action. Within the workhouse young volunteers Poppy and Lucy took over our Instagram; here are some of their experiences volunteering with the the Ripon Museums.... #getinvolved. Studying A Level History at the local grammar school we were…

Development of police hats We’ve been working on a project to clean, photograph, document and re-pack our collection of hats and helmets. We have over 220 helmets, hats and caps in the collection, mostly relating to police forces in Yorkshire and the Humberside. Research Volunteer Emily Ward has been investigating the history of headgear in the police. The police…