York Museums Trust Blog

As the nights draw in, York Castle Museum’s Dave Cree, pictured, is preparing for this autumn’s torch-lit tours in October.

The tours are run after-hours by Dave and fellow senior guide Denise Hamilton and include stories about the museum buildings and their former life as prisons – including a section on infamous highwayman Dick Turpin – as well as fascinating facts about objects on display and the occasional ‘ghost’ story.

Dave says: “We always stress that this isn’t a ghost walk – it’s more a tour which aims to tell visitors things they might not realise or notice during an ordinary daytime visit.

“We enjoy doing it and we don’t use a script. We meet so many people from different walks of life and usually get a good response and a really appreciative audience.”

The tours take place at the end of October to coincide with the Illuminating York festival, as well as the half-term holiday and, of course, Halloween…

They start with a walk around the north side of the museum, a former women’s prison, including a look at Kirkgate, the recreated Victorian street, where grafitti left by former prisoners can be seen on the walls and one section used to be an execution chamber.

Upstairs visitors find out more about childbirth and fatality rates in Victorian times in our From Cradle to Grave exhibition.

A few ghost stories and reported ghostly sightings are thrown in as well, but Dave always stresses he personally doesn’t believe them!

The second half of the tour takes visitors around the south building of the museum, the former Debtors’ Prison, with a look at prison life. There’s a visit to the former shackling area, stories of executions and the cramped conditions and claustrophobia of life in the cells are brought to life.

The tour culminates with a look at the life of former prisoner Dick Turpin and the stories and legends associated with him.

Tickets for the torch-lit tours, on 28 and 29 October, cost £10 and can be booked by telephoning 01904 650333.

There were 13 of us at the first meeting of the new YMT Book Club, which was held at York Art Gallery this Saturday, writes Gaby Lees, acting learning manager. And we all liked the book.

A Japanese print by Hiroshige from York Art Gallery's collection

The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal is somewhat like an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? as it follows four generations of the Ephrussi family through Europe.

The focus of the book is a collection of Japanese netsuke, bought in Paris in the late 1800s, by Charles Ephrussi and then passed down through the family, eventually being given to Edmund (the author) by his uncle Iggy.

Much of the Ephrussi family’s wealth was lost during the turmoil of the Second World War, and this book tells the remarkable story of the nesuke’s survival. We were much taken by de Waal’s eloquence in writing about objects.

As an accomplished, successful ceramic artist he brings a maker’s sensibility to the words he chooses. His descriptions of the tactile quality of objects are really very beautiful.

In writing about the Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries it is inevitable that there are times when this small treasure of a book cannot do justice to the huge political and social changes taking place.

However, by focussing on the story of this set of objects owned by one family, these events take on a different shape. Read it. It’s a work of art. We then looked at a selection of Japanese Prints from the Art Gallery collection.

The YMT book club is led by Vicky Hoyle. Each month we also look at relevant objects from the YMT collections. The next book is Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson We will be meeting at York Castle Museum on Saturday 12 November at 3pm.

For more information visit our website.

Studio ceramics fan Helen Walsh, our assistant curator of decorative arts, found much to admire on a recent trip to Japan, as she writes here:

Hans Coper pots from York on display in Japan

Back in 2009, we sent 15 pots by Hans Coper to Japan, to take part in the first major touring exhibition of his work there. York Museums Trust was the only UK institution to loan works to the exhibition, which has turned out to be a pivotal show, introducing Coper’s work to the Japanese and opening their eyes to the wealth of modern British studio ceramics beyond Bernard Leach.

Hans Coper exhibition, Shizuoka Museum of Art

The tour ended in June at the Shizuoka Museum of Art and I was lucky enough to go to Japan to courier our pots back to York.

Though only there for a week (part of which was spent in a jet-lagged fog), I managed to visit two places that are unmissable for anyone interested in studio ceramics.

The first was the Mingeikan or Japanese Folk Art Museum in Tokyo. Founded by Soetsu Yanagi, a philosopher who in the early 20th century saw that the work of craftsman in Japan was being lost as industrialisation gathered pace and formed a collection to preserve this part of Japan’s heritage.

When I visited, the current exhibition was the best pieces from their collection. I spent quite a few hours wandering round gazing at their treasures and was pleased to spot that some examples of English slipware (similar to pieces currently on display in our Honest Pots show) were deemed important enough to be in this nationally important collection.

Shoji Hamada's studio in Mashiko

My second trip involved six trains and a bus journey to Mashiko, north of Tokyo. Mashiko is a place of pilgrimage for anyone interested in the work of the potter Shoji Hamada, who helped Bernard Leach set up his pottery in St Ives in 1920.

I was a bit apprehensive about what I would find there following the earthquake earlier this year, as I had heard Mashiko had suffered quite a bit of damage, but in fact I hardly spotted any evidence of it apart from some damage to Hamada’s climbing kiln. Mashiko is an amazing place and every other shop seems to be a pottery or ceramic gallery- there are something like 180 potters working in the town. Well worth a visit with an empty suitcase!

I should mention that thankfully all our pots survived the earthquake unscathed and are now safely back in York.

When King John granted a royal charter to York almost 800 years ago, in 1212, it marked a pivotal moment in the history of the city, writes Natalie McCaul, assistant curator of archaeology.

Gaining independence from the Crown meant that York could regulate its own affairs, collect its own taxes and even appoint a mayor.  This paved the way for the success that was to flourish here over the following centuries.  In effect; it was the making of the city.

To commemorate the 800-year anniversary of York’s independence, we are planning a new exhibition at the Yorkshire Museum, set to open in Easter next year, called 1212: The Making of the City.

Set amongst the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey, our medieval gallery is perfectly placed to tell the story of medieval York and celebrate the people, places and events that have contributed to the city’s medieval heritage.

A painting of St William's Chapel on Ouse Bridge in York from York Art Gallery

The Yorkshire Museum’s medieval collections will still take centre stage, with the York Helmet, Middleham Jewel, Sapphire Ring and St William’s Shrine all given pride of place.

Original manuscripts and a fantastic array of paintings and works on paper from York Art Gallery will add real richness to the stories we will be telling. 

By flooding the exhibition with colour, sound and film, we hope to capture the vibrancy of the medieval city and celebrate the imagination, creativity and skill of its people.

Exploring the development and performance of York’s Mystery Plays will really help to bring the city’s medieval heritage back to life, and will complement the return of the York Cycle to the city.

These iconic medieval plays will be performed throughout August 2012 in front of the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey, just outside the museum, and, along with our exhibition, are being mounted as part of the City of York Council’s York 800 celebrations.

So it’s all building up to look like another exciting year for the Yorkshire Museum and Museum Gardens, and as project leader for the exhibition, I’m really excited to be part of it.  We hope we can create something really striking and exciting for first-time visitors to the museum as well as providing fresh interest for our ‘regulars’.

More details will be revealed over the coming weeks and months as we finalise what will be going on show so watch this space for more exciting news.

In the meantime you can visit the York Mystery Plays 2012 website for more information on the performances, including booking details for tickets and advice on how to get involved.

Real-life York stories of struggle, hard work, riches and losses are being gathered together for the next stage of improvements to York Castle Museum’s Victorian Street, Kirkgate, writes Gwendolen Whitaker, curator of history.

We’ve been working for several months now on researching the  history of York shops and businesses to see if we can build them into Kirkgate over the next few months.

We wanted to bring real traders’ names into the street and to combine their stories with the vast collections held at York Castle Museum to give a fresh look to the street while keeping its long-held appeal for visitors.

The interior of Sessions' booksellers - photo used by kind permission of Sessions family

An advert for Leak & Thorp

Names familiar to York residents today will be there – such as Robson and Coopers (then Coopers’ Saddlers), Banks’ Music, Sessions’ booksellers and Leak & Thorp drapers. We’ve had a fascinating time talking to the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the Victorian owners of these businesses.

The exterior of Horsley's Gunsmiths

An advert for taxidermist Edward Allen

We’ll also be including names probably forgotten to today’s generation, such as The Little Dust Pan – a shop which sold ‘everything’ (similar to York’s Barnitts’ today), Greenwoods Antiquities (the Victorians loved antiques), Horsley’s Gunsmiths, Kendalls’  Toy Shop and Fancy Repository, Henry Hardcastle Pawnbrokers and Edward Allen the taxidermist.

We’ll be opening up a corridor previously closed to the public and including a Cocoa Room, where people were encouraged to drink hot chocolate rather than alcohol, plus Rymers’ Undertakers.

A group of York people photographed as part of Seebohm's 1901 report on poverty, photo used by kind permission of the Rowntree Society

Another corridor will be doubled in height and will be altered to resemble a back alley, or ‘snickleway’, where visitors will be able to peer into the inside of a poor family’s home, based on how York’s Seebohm Rowntree described living conditions at the time.

Preparations are nearing completion now with building work scheduled to start in the New Year, and we have already started making small changes to the street which sharp-eyed regular visitors will probably notice.

There’s much more planned and we will be updating you via this blog over the next few months as work progresses!

It’s been great to see some of the skilled craftspeople who help run our courses here at York Castle Museum giving demonstrations for visitors in our ‘taster days’ over the weekend, writes Lucy Knock, assistant curator of social history learning.

Lynne Glazzard at one of our taster days

We wanted to give people the chance to see some of the things they can make in our courses which run from now through until next July.

Lynne Glazzard, from Glaisdale, near Whitby, specialises in making jewellery, and was here to show how to make 60s-style rings.

She uses a long cylindrical piece of acrylic which she cuts into chunks. You can choose a style and colour, taking inspiration from our 60s gallery, and then file the ring to your desired shape and add Mary Quant style decorative flowers if you wish.

The result: a unique, groovy ring to take home and wear or simply admire!

A selection of the kind of 1960s rings you can make

Lynne is also an expert in making jewellery from silver clay, which starts out looking like playdough and, once it has been fired in a kiln, ends up looking like solid silver. She’ll be back next year to do a course in this too, making silver pendants.

I can really recommend all our crafts courses, they are a chance to try something new and the bonus is there is always something to take home with you.

Lynne’s courses are on 1 October (Sixties Style Jewellery) and 12 May next year (Silver Clay Pendants).  Full details of all the courses running at York Castle Museum are available on our website.

Here’s the second of our new series of  pictures of plants and trees in York’s Museum Gardens by our garden manager Sjaak Kastelijn.

This week’s picture is of a group of Coprinus comatus, the shaggy mane mushroom also known as “the lawyer’s wig”.

This mushroom is one of the easiest to recognise due to to shape, colour and the black ink it produces.

The photo is taken in the compost area where the mushrooms have been growing on a pile of rotting leaves – the perfect place as they like to grow in dung or very rich organic soil.

The mushrooms are self-digesting - after the spores have matured and been released, the gill tissue digests itself and begins to curl up allowing spores above this to be released. As part of this process the whole fruiting body turns into black ink. The ink was used to write with.

In the early growing stage this mushroom is edible but needs to be consumed within a few hours after picking.

Here’s the first in a regular series of  pictures of plants and trees in York’s Museum Gardens by our garden manager Sjaak Kastelijn.

This week the picture is of a Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus nitens ‘Shining Gem’). This tree has been severely damaged by frost/cold winds over the winter, but is now beginning to re-grow with new shoots from the stem.

This tree has his origin from South Eastern Australia,  and grows well in rich moist soil, preferably in a sheltered position. In Summer months Eucalyptus sheds its bark, instantly rolling up in large pieces.  The dead bark is hard and brittle.  This species, unlike other Eucalyptus does not coppice.  However when burnt in forest fires, it will regenerate by throwing out suckers from the main trunk – even from charred remains. 

We’ve seen some great work created at our summer holiday drop-ins at the Yorkshire Museum and York Art Gallery.

 

“At York Art Gallery families have been enjoying making their own statues to take home as well as helping with larger models.

“These will be on display in the Museum Gardens on our ‘Wild Wednesday’, on 31st August. Sessions run at the Art Gallery this week on Tues 23rd , Wed 24th and Thurs 25th.”

Here’s some pictures of some of the many statues that have taken shape over the summer!

 

 

 

 

 

For more details of times and dates of our summer holidays, visit the Yorkshire Museum website or York Art Gallery website.

York Castle Museum recently welcomed back Dr Mary Brooks, a former curator, (pictured below) as part of a scheme run by The Monument Trust, writes guide Natalie Kingston.

She’s been sharing her in-depth knowledge of our textile collection with the staff, so we can share it with our visitors, and we met her for the first training session, focusing on the North Building.

Starting where the visitor does, with the Period Rooms, Dr Brooks pointed out how textile rich the Victorian rooms are, especially the Victorian Parlour. From the samplers on the wall to the lambrequin on the mantelpiece, there’s hardly a surface in the room that doesn’t have some kind of textile on it.

The needlepoint designs on the firescreen, piano stool and footstools could have been purchased complete, but more likely would have been made up from kits by the women of the household. Being wealthy enough to afford servants they would have had plenty of time on their hands.

One of the cushions has a design you wouldn’t see often these days: swastikas!  Before the swastika was adopted by the Nazis it was considered a symbol of good luck, and it’s not unusual to find it being used decoratively in this period.

The Moorland cottage lacks the luxuriousness of the Victorian Parlour, but it’s still a textile-heavy room. Both the rag rug (under the dog) and the bedspread are made up of re-used fabrics, while the spinning wheel in the corner suggests the family also make their own materials. Being able to do so provided an important extra income for the family, especially when there wasn’t a lot of agricultural work available.

 The press in the left hand corner – one of our most asked about artefacts – is a linen press, used to flatten damp fabric. The sharp creases it created were considered a sign of good housekeeping.

By comparison, the Georgian and Jacobean Rooms are relatively bare of fabric, but on the walls nearby is a selection of samplers from our extensive collection. What’s nice about the ones we have on display is several of them are made by sisters. I can’t imagine my sister or I ever having the patience to complete something so detailed!

Moving up to Spotless, Dr Brooks pointed out the antimacassars in the Fifties Room; a Victorian tradition stemming from men’s use of macassar hair oil. The carpet is a throwback to the thirties, as few families could afford to update their furnishings during the war, while the hearth rug was probably made from a kit. Though the Victorian obsession with covering every surface is beginning to retreat, you’ll still notice a little cloth on top of the radio.

The laundry section in Spotless is an interesting look at womanhood through the ages. For example, Norwegian mangling boards like the one on display were used as a way of proposing marriage. I’m not sure if  “I’d like you to do my laundry rather than my mother” would woo me. Then there’s the glass smoother, used to remove creases from linen. Glass smoothers have been around a long time, even being found in the graves of Viking women. That’s just what every woman wants in the afterlife: an iron.

I am glad I live in the twenty-first century; I don’t think I’ve ironed anything in over a year! We actually ran out of time at this point, the guides like myself being needed to open the museum (after all, we’ve got to let the visitors in so we can share this information!). Dr Brooks left us with notes for the rest of the North Building, and a promise to return to show us around the South Building.