Kelham Island Museum

20/09/2026

📢We're unable to run the River Don Engine at present due to a fault in one of the pipes that serve it📢

We're sorry if you were hoping to see it in steam at Kelham Island Museum, we're working to resolve the issue and have the engine back in action as soon as we can.

03/09/2026

📢The River Don Engine is currently out of action due to a boiler leak so won't run today or this weekend.

We’re sorry for any disappointment if you were hoping to visit over the next few days. Our Historic Engineering team are working to repair this and we hope to have the engine back in steam as soon as possible.

26/08/2026

The River Don Engine will not be running on Thursday, Saturday or Sunday this week. We’re sorry if you were hoping to see it in steam then.

We're carrying out some essential maintenance on the boiler burner on Thursday 27 August and we’re unable to run the engine over the upcoming weekend due to staff illness.

The engine will run as normal on Friday. We look forward to welcoming you soon.

08/07/2026

Hot weather update about the RDE this week 👇

The forecast hot weather sadly means we’ll be unable to run the River Don Engine this week due to the extreme temperature we experience in the engine room and its impact on visitors and staff.

The scheduled engine runs on Thu 9, Fri 10, Sat 11 & Sun 12 Jul are unable to go ahead – we sorry if you we’re hoping to experience it then, we hope you’ll be able to enjoy the engine in steam again from Thu 16 Jul.

25/06/2026

👇Heatwave visiting info updates👇

We're currently unable to run the River Don Engine due to the extreme temperature in the engine room caused by the hot weather, and its impact on visitors and staff. The scheduled engine runs on Thu 25, Fri 26, Sat 27 & Sun 28 Jun have been cancelled and we’re sorry if you we’re hoping to experience it then – you’ll be able to enjoy the engine in steam at Kelham Island Museum again from Thursday 2 July.

The Graves Gallery is closing early on Sat 27 Jun due to hot weather. There is also currently no step-free access to Graves Gallery while essential maintenance is carried out with the back of house lift in the Central Library building. We're sorry if it impacts your visit - we'll update when the lift is fixed and we look forward to welcoming you as soon as we're able.

24/05/2026

📢 Kelham Island Museum will be closed today, Sunday 24 May, due to staff illness.

We're sorry if you were hoping to visit, we look forward to welcoming you again soon.

Joni and the Millowners Arms, will be open as usual.

12/03/2026

👀 Behind the scenes at Kelham Island Museum today! 👇

11/03/2026

👇 The River Don Engine boiler is being stripped for its annual and five yearly inspection, so it will be out of action for one week from Thu 12 Mar. If all goes to plan, it will be back in steam on Thu 19 Mar. More detail below! 👇

20/02/2026

Due to staff illness we're unable to run the River Don Engine on Sun 22 Feb - we're sorry if you were hoping to see it in steam then, we'll have it back in action as soon as we can.

21/11/2025

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