Nidderdale Museum is a local and social history museum in the market town of

Pateley Bridge Pateley Bridge (known locally as Pateley) is a small market town in Nidderdale in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies on the River Nidd. It is in the Yorkshire Dales and ...

Nidderdale Nidderdale, historically also known as Netherdale, is one of the Yorkshire Dales (although outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park) in North Yorkshire, England. It is the upper valley of the River Nidd, which flows south underground and then ...

, one of the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954. The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills ri ...

, in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England. The museum is housed in a former

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...

, and is normally open every day from 1.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. from 1 April to 31 October, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 1.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. over the winter. There is a small entry charge for adults. Accompanied children are free. The museum is run by volunteers. The Nidderdale Museum Society has two hundred members, with an elected Committee, and a Board of Trustees.

Exhibits

The exhibits focus on rural life, with sections devoted to agriculture, local industries, religion, transport and costume, set out across 11 rooms. Displays include re-creations of a Victorian schoolroom, a

cobbler Cobbler(s) may refer to: *A person who Shoemaking, repairs, and sometimes makes, shoes Places * The Cobbler, a mountain located near the head of Loch Long in Scotland * Mount Cobbler, Australia Art, entertainment and media * The Cobbler (1923 ...

's workshop, a lead mining tunnel, a Victorian

parlour A parlour (or parlor) is a reception room or public space. In medieval Christian Europe, the "outer parlour" was the room where the monks or nuns conducted business with those outside the monastery and the "inner parlour" was used for necessar ...

, general store, a 1930s

hairdresser A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be refe ...

's shop and a kitchen. Other displays include historic costumes, agriculture tools and equipment, local industries and transport vehicles. The museum also has a reference library of books relating to the local history and life of Nidderdale, and materials for local and family history research.

History of the museum

The museum was established in 1975 by a group of local enthusiasts. Some of the group had been members of the local history class which wrote ''A History of Nidderdale'', first published in 1967, and they invited

Bernard Jennings Bernard Jennings (1928-2017) was an English adult educationist and historian. He was president of the Workers' Educational Association in the 1980s, and was known for his local histories of Yorkshire. Jennings was born in Nelson, Lancashire in ...

, editor of the History, to become one of the first trustees.

Harrogate Borough Council Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa wate ...

provided premises for the museum in the redundant offices of the Ripon and Pateley Bridge Rural District Council, originally built as a workhouse in 1863. In 1990 the museum won the National Heritage Museum of the Year Award for "The Museum which does the Most with the Least". In 2017 the volunteers at Nidderdale Museum were honoured with the

Queen's Award Queen's Award can refer to: * Queen's Awards for Enterprise, formerly The Queens Awards to Industry * Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, an annual award given to groups in the voluntary sector of the United Kingdom * Queen's Award for Forestry T ...

References

External links

Nidderdale Museum web site
{{Authority control Nidderdale Museums in North Yorkshire Local museums in North Yorkshire Rural history museums in England Pateley Bridge