York Museums Trust Blog

Our new website seems to have been in development for years and years, which is perhaps appropriate for a history site.

But at last its public! have a look: www.historyofyork.org.uk

The idea is that the site will continue to develop for many more years - so if you have any bright ideas for it, let us know.

She seems constantly surprised by how the people of York are attracted to her fame (we do have celebrities in Yorkshire, but the home-grown famous are tainted by too few degrees of separation – heavens, everyone in Leeds knows someone who went to school with a Kaiser Chief and if you experience afternoon tea in Betty’s without glimpsing Alan Bennet, I’d demand a refund.) She’s exotic and glamorous (being American) and defiantly surprising, as she’s here by choice, not the happenstance of birth.  So the people come, as moths to a flame (not that Tracy would ever burn anyone, not even on an off day.)  Last Tuesday they came in hoards, like their Viking ancestors. As we set out her desk with her handwritten ‘the writer is in’ sign, in a corner of the gallery, and she sat with her pen poised, I felt I had led a lamb to the slaughter.  Would she survive?  The crowd were bemused and buzzed like angry bees “When is she going to speak?” “Well,” I suggested, “I’m sure she’ll speak if you speak to her..”  and they buzzed some more.  She did survive…and the Viking bees seemed pleased to have met her.

Things are really hotting up at the Castle this week and the museum is buzzing with activity as we get close to opening our exciting new exhibitions. Our major new exhibition, The Sixties, and our Studio activity spaces will be opening in time for Easter weekend, so everybody is running around making sure it will all be ready on time.

The Sixties is virtually complete and looking fantastic already. Huge brightly-coloured transparent mobiles are being installed hanging from the ceiling, psychedelic-colours are everywhere and our Curators are busy putting objects such as Dansette Record Players, Sindy Dolls and Beatles 45s in the cases. Some of the larger objects are beginning to arrive too. A pristine 1960s Lambretta scooter turned up today and a replica Mercury space capsule is also due. We are also eagerly awaiting a working jukebox so the sounds of the bands and singers of the time will be creating the right atmosphere.

The Kitchen Studio activity and demonstration space is almost finished and looks like a TV Chef’s studio. It has all the modern equipment needed as well as a reconstructed historic range so all aspects of food and domestic life can be demonstrated. A big plasma screen at the back shows closeups of the demonstrations so you can get really close to the action. The Studio will be open over Easter to allow visitors to learn how beautifully-decorated eggs called Pace Eggs were made.

The Military Studio is also taking shape now and will be armed and ready to show off some of our weapons and armour at Easter. You will be able to get up close to the objects and perhaps even handle them. You might even get to try on a real Tudor helmet!

There has been a huge effort by our staff and the designers over the winter period and it is all coming to fruition now. Easter week will be exhausting but fun!

One of the big bonuses of working in a museum is that you accidentally come across all sorts of interesting stuff and get to see it really close up.

This morning I was over at the Castle Museum in the new Sixties gallery and found Josie unwrapping an original Mary Quant mini-dress from the ‘Ginger’ range. Note the upside-down ‘i’ - very Sixties.

Most people would think of this as ‘stained glass’, but would you believe it’s actually painted? It’s one fragment from a collection of pieces acquired from excavations. This medieval glass has survived really well in unfavourable conditions. Much buried medieval glass decays terribly.

Looking at the intricacy of this single piece of glass, you can just imagine the hours of work which must have gone into a whole window. Church windows would have been a truly impressive sight to the vast majority of the population. Most windows would have been a shutter covering a hole in the wall!

Info. by - Katherine

YORYM : 2007.6077