York Castle Prison
York Castle Museum is housed in 18th century prison buildings. Now you can get a flavour of what life was really like in the original cells and see some of the most infamous inmates brought to life in this fascinating exhibition.
Experience a brutal and crooked prison and meet our most notorious prisoner: the legendary highwayman, Dick Turpin. York Castle Prison focuses on the lives of eight former inmates, including Turpin.
The others include the last woman to be burnt at the stake in Yorkshire, a Luddite, a notorious turnkey, a man who was beaten so badly in prison he died and a young tearaway who went on to lead a successful life in Australia.
There is also a database of former prisoners and victims where visitors can check their own family name.
York Castle has been a site of justice and incarceration for almost 1,000 years. William the Conqueror built the first castle in 1068 and we know from written references that it had a prison. The site is still a seat of justice today; the 18th Century Courthouse is now York Crown Court. It still has holding cells and people accused of serious crimes are still tried there as they have been for almost 1,000 years.
Kirkgate is a recreated Victorian street which has become the most iconic part of York Castle Museum.
The street is one of the oldest recreated indoor streets of its kind in the world, possibly the oldest, and the first to be opened in Britain. It was created by Dr John Lamplugh Kirk, the founder of the Castle Museum. Named after him, it formed the centrepiece of the museum when it opened in 1938.
Dr Kirk wanted to create a street scene where people felt that they were transported to a bygone age. When it first opened, many shops and locations were named after people who had helped to found the museum.
In 2012 Kirkgate reopened after a large restoration and redisplay project. The timeframe was narrowed down to 1870-1901, some of the locations were changed, and all the shops and business were renamed. Now, each shop and business on Kirkgate is named after a real business that operated in late Victorian York.
New research means that every single shop on the street is now based on a real York business, all of which operated here between 1870 and 1901. Our costumed guides can tell you more about each shop when you arrive…
The terror of total war and its revolutionary impact on life globally is explored in this major exhibition marking the centenary of the First World War.
From the pre-war golden age of peace and prosperity visitors are sent to the recruitment office and travel via train to the horrors of the frontline – from rats to foot rot, shell shock to gas warfare. Back home, daily life in Britain was changing beyond recognition while around the world millions would die as Europe’s empires clashed in the first truly global conflict.
New technology and research are combined with the museum’s extensive military, costume and social history collections to tell the fascinating and often moving stories of the Yorkshire people who lived and died during the war that they said would end all wars.
The exhibition is the central part of a £1.7 million project at the museum, with the majority of the funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The exhibition opened on 28 June 2014 – 100 years to the day that Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, which then sparked a chain of events which led to the outbreak of war.
Where? Tower St, York YO1 9RY
How Much? Advance prices Adult: £14.50 Child: £8.75 Students: £13
