Wakefield 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 ...

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, north

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 ...

, covering the history of the city of Wakefield and the local area from prehistoric times onwards.

History

From 1955 Wakefield Museum was housed in a 19th century

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. Wakefield Museum has been in its current home, the Wakefield One civic building, since 2013. The relocated museum was officially opened by Sir David Attenborough in March 2013.

Overview

The museum covers the story of Wakefield, looking at the Manor of Wakefield in the Tudor period,

HM Prison Wakefield His Majesty's Prison Wakefield is a Prison security categories in the United Kingdom, Category A men's prison in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. The prison has been nicknamed the "Monster Mansion" du ...

, Wakefield as the

West Yorkshire Police West Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. It is the fourth largest territorial police force in England and Wales by number of officers. History West Yor ...

Headquarters,

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, betw ...

, The Battle of Wakefield, Wakefield's writers and theatres and more. There is a dedicated area to

Charles Waterton Charles Waterton (3 June 1782 – 27 May 1865) was an English naturalist, plantation overseer and explorer best known for his pioneering work regarding conservation. Family and religion Waterton was of a Roman Catholic landed gentry family de ...

- a pioneering Victorian eco-warrior, explorer and Yorkshireman. Waterton developed a nature park (arguably the first in Europe) at his home,

Walton Hall Walton may refer to: People * Walton (given name) * Walton (surname) * Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer Places Canada *Walton, Nova Scotia, a community ** Walton River (Nova Scotia) *Walton, Ontario, a hamlet United Kingdo ...

near Wakefield. His collection of preserved animals some made up from different animal parts can be seen. The

caiman A caiman (also cayman as a variant spelling) is an alligatorid belonging to the subfamily Caimaninae, one of two primary lineages within the Alligatoridae family, the other being alligators. Caimans inhabit Mexico, Central and South America f ...

which Waterton rode ashore in South America is displayed under the floor, allowing visitors to get a unique view of this special object. The collection belongs to Stonyhurst College which has loaned the collection to the museum since 1967. The loan is planned to end at the end of 2022. Other exhibits include an 1809

post box A post box (British English; also written postbox; also known as pillar box), also known as a collection box, mailbox, letter box or drop box (American English) is a physical box into which members of the public can deposit outgoing mail inten ...

believed to be the oldest example in Britain, a pair of boots which belonged to

Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

player,

Don Fox Donald Fox (15 October 1935 – 21 August 2008), was an English rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and coached in the 1970s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England and Yorkshire, and at clu ...

, and a medieval posy ring from

Sandal Castle Sandal Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Sandal Magna, a suburb of the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, overlooking the River Calder. It was the site of royal intrigue and the setting for a scene in one of William Shakespeare ...

References

External links

Wakefield Museum

The collections of Wakefield Museums, Galleries and Castles

Wakefield Museums and Castles Blog
{{coord, 53.6838, -1.5007, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Museums established in 1955 Local museums in West Yorkshire Buildings and structures in Wakefield Education in Wakefield History of Wakefield Tourist attractions in Wakefield Grade II listed buildings in West Yorkshire 1955 establishments in England

History

Overview

See also

References

External links