York Castle Museum

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York Castle Museum York Castle Museum - the best day out in history! The museum’s name comes from the fact it stands on the site of the former York Castle.

The York Castle Museum was founded by Dr John Kirk, a doctor from Pickering, North Yorkshire, and houses his extraordinary collection of social history reflecting everyday life in the county. One of its renowned displays is the reconstructed Victorian street, Kirkgate, that has been hugely influential in museum displays worldwide. The York Castle Museum is housed in a former debtors’ prison and an adjoining former women’s prison, both of which are Grade I listed. Find out more: www.yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk

Discover Object Encounters! 🕵Curious about the history of our Victorian shops? Join our team to explore an object connec...
25/10/2026

Discover Object Encounters! 🕵

Curious about the history of our Victorian shops? Join our team to explore an object connected to the street’s fascinating past.

Our current object is a scarificator, a medical instrument once used for bloodletting in Victorian times.

📍 Head to the chemist to find out more!

Object Encounters take place in the morning and afternoon. Please ask our front desk team for details when you arrive to find out more.

🌰 Do you know what Nut-Crack Night is?🍂 Find out this half term at York Castle Museum, where History Riot will be shari...
24/10/2026

🌰 Do you know what Nut-Crack Night is?

🍂 Find out this half term at York Castle Museum, where History Riot will be sharing fascinating stories about how people in Yorkshire celebrated Nut-Crack Night (All Hallow’s Eve) during the Victorian era.

👨🏼‍🍳 There's also Soul Cake baking demonstrations in the Castle Kitchens.

🔑 Plus two new immersive Prison Escape Stories experiences in the cells!

☔ A visit to York Castle Museum is a great outing any day, but it's a fabulous indoors option for the wet windy weather forecast over the next few days...

💜 Find all the details over on our blog now - https://york.mumbler.co.uk/york-castle-museum-is-bringing-yorkshires-past-to-life-this-half-term/

Is this the creepiest object in our collection? 👀 This curious automaton is certainly an unusual sight! Automata are mec...
24/10/2026

Is this the creepiest object in our collection? 👀

This curious automaton is certainly an unusual sight! Automata are mechanical figures designed to create the illusion of moving by themselves, powered by hidden clockwork mechanisms.

Turn the handle at the front, like a music box, and watch as a dog (yes, apparently that’s a dog!) plays the violin while the dolls enjoy their tea. 🎻☕

Dating from around 1900–1905, it was made purely for entertainment… but we’re starting to think it might be haunted! 👻

Would you dare to wind this up after dark?

Have you ever heard of Nut-Crack Night? 👀 This October half-term, join two eccentric Victorian characters from HistoryRi...
23/10/2026

Have you ever heard of Nut-Crack Night? 👀

This October half-term, join two eccentric Victorian characters from HistoryRiot for a storytelling adventure on Kirkgate!

Discover the quirky Yorkshire traditions of All Hallow’s Eve – known to the Victorians as Nut-Crack Night – with plenty of silliness, seasonal stories and autumnal fun along the way. 🍂

🔗 Visit our website to plan your visit

📅 Daily performances, 24–31 October

🎟️ Included in general admission

22/10/2026

Turns out, quite a lot… 👀🏛️

One of your five a day… the Terry’s way! 🍏🍫 Today is Apple Day, so we’re sharing a rather unusual fruity find from our c...
21/10/2026

One of your five a day… the Terry’s way! 🍏🍫

Today is Apple Day, so we’re sharing a rather unusual fruity find from our collection, this Terry’s Dessert Chocolate Apple!

Everyone knows Terry’s Chocolate Orange, first produced in 1932, but did you know Terry’s also made a chocolate apple between 1926 and 1954?

Unlike the Chocolate Orange, it wasn’t apple-flavoured. Instead, it was shaped like an apple and designed to be tapped and unwrapped, ready to be handed out at the end of a meal. 🍎

Terry’s experimented with other fruity creations, too, including a Chocolate Lemon in 1979. What fruit would you most like to see turned into chocolate? 🍋

Did you know all of the shops on our Victorian Street are based on businesses that once operated in York? 🤔 Matthew Wehr...
20/10/2026

Did you know all of the shops on our Victorian Street are based on businesses that once operated in York? 🤔

Matthew Wehrly’s clockmaker’s shop was located on Stonegate, in an area known for its silversmiths, jewellers and antique dealers. 🕰️

In Victorian times, clocks were expensive luxury items, meaning many poorer households relied on public clocks to tell the time.

Before alarm clocks were common, workers could pay a ‘knocker-up’ to wake them up in time for their factory shifts by knocking on their windows and doors!

Our walls hold centuries of history — quite literally carved into the stone. Discover some of the graffiti left behind b...
19/10/2026

Our walls hold centuries of history — quite literally carved into the stone.

Discover some of the graffiti left behind by prisoners at York Castle Prison, offering a glimpse into the lives of those who were held here.

What’s on: October Half-Term 🎃 Join us for prison escape stories, Victorian Halloween traditions, live baking and family...
18/10/2026

What’s on: October Half-Term 🎃

Join us for prison escape stories, Victorian Halloween traditions, live baking and family adventures at York Castle Museum.

🎟️ All half-term activities are included with general admission.

🔗 See the full programme under the 'events' section on our website

🗓️ Saturday 24 October – Sunday 1 November 2026

Ever heard of a soul cake? 👀Baking these little round oatcakes, sometimes flavoured with spices or fruit, has been a Hal...
17/10/2026

Ever heard of a soul cake? 👀

Baking these little round oatcakes, sometimes flavoured with spices or fruit, has been a Halloween tradition in the UK for hundreds of years.

This October half-term, find out more about their history, watch a baking demonstration in our Castle Kitchen, try a tasty sample and take the recipe home to make your own!

📅 24, 26, 28 & 31 October
⏰ 10:30am–4pm | Demonstrations throughout the day
🎟️ Included in general admission

🔗 Plan your visit at: https://www.yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk/october-half-term-2026/

Address

Eye Of York
York
YO19RY

Opening Hours

Monday 11am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

01904 687687

Website

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