Swaledale Museum is a

local museum A local museum or local history museum is a type of museum that shows the historical development of a place/region (local history) using exhibits. These museums usually maintain a collection of historic three-dimensional objects which are exh ...

in the village of

Reeth Reeth is a village west of Richmond in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England, in the civil parish of Reeth, Fremington and Healaugh. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is the principal settlement of upp ...

, near

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It covers

rural history In historiography, rural history is a field of study focusing on the history of societies in rural areas. At its inception, the field was based on the economic history of agriculture. Since the 1980s it has become increasingly influenced by social ...

including life and work in the local area of

Swaledale Swaledale is one of the northernmost dales (valleys) in Yorkshire Dales National Park, located in northern England. It is the dale of the River Swale on the east side of the Pennines in North Yorkshire. Geographical overview Swaledale runs ...

and Arkengarthdale within the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the 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 rising from the Vale of York w ...

National Park.

History

The museum is in the former

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

school room near ''The Green'' in Reeth. The school was built in 1836 on the site of two cottages that dated from the late 17th or early 18th century. After the Quaker school was built in Reeth in 1862, the building became a Sunday School. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the building was used to billet troops who attended the Battle Training Camp at Catterick. After the Second World War, the building was used as a recreation hall. In 1974, the building was bought from the Methodist Church and opened as a privately owned museum, the Swaledale Folk Museum. In 2004 there was a change of ownership, but the museum remains independently run with a team of volunteers.

Friends of Swaledale Museum

There is a ''Friends of Swaledale Museum'' volunteer group, which helps in the running of the museum and its associated activities and groups.

Exhibits

Among the exhibits at the museum are some photographs of the former lead mine at Arn Gill, and the original engraved keystone from its entrance arch.

References

External links

Swaledale Museum website

Swaledale Museum online archive on the Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Archaeology Group website
{{coord, 54.3888, -1.9410, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Swaledale Arkengarthdale School buildings completed in 1836 Local museums in North Yorkshire Rural history museums in England Agricultural museums in England Museums established in 1974 1974 establishments in England

History

Friends of Swaledale Museum

Exhibits

See also

References

External links