Beck Isle Museum
A small, but fascinating, museum recording rural and small town life with an emphasis on the North York Moors area
This museum was founded in 1967 by a group of local people who were intent on preserving the history of Pickering and the surrounding rural area in North Yorkshire. The building was once owned by a famous agriculturalist William Marshall, who inherited it from his brother in the late 18th century. He immediately started to develop the building to form what would have been England’s first agricultural college but he never brought the project to fruition before he died in 1818. In the 19th up to the mid 20th century the building was used to house a series of of doctors who also used part of the building as their surgery. The last was Dr John Findon Murphy who had won the Military Cross in WW1. He operated his surgery from the building until 1966. In 1967 the building was converted to a museum and art gallery and the rather eclectic collection has been growing ever since. In the outside area is a collection of machinery, mainly agricultural and horticultural. Within the buildings are a series of displays of historic themed installations including a Pharmacist’s shop, a printer’s, a wheelwright, a cobbler’s shop, a gent’s hairdresser, a men’s outfitters etc. alongside more generally themed displays such as the childrens’ room and a room dedicated to fashion. One of the most impressive displays is a replica of the bar in Pickering’s former Station Hotel. The blacksmith’s shop display area is operated as a real smithy a couple of days per week.
There are also displays relating to local notables including photography pioneer Sydney Smith and artist and soldier Rex Whistler.
Overall the collection may seem to be an eclectic accumulation of mid-late 19th century and early 20th century artifacts but the themes and local connections are cleverly maintained. The museum is a real tribute to the group of volunteers who run it.
Know Before You Go
Standard admission is £8.
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