From March 2018 A new series of displays commemorating the centenary of female suffrage. In February 1918, Parliament passed the Representation of the People Act, which gave the vote to (some) women in Britain for the first time. The Act was a significant milestone in female emancipation, widening the sphere within which women were able to exercise …

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5 June – 5 November 2017 York Castle Museum’s 1960s pub was transformed into an LGBT bar brimming with tales of love, struggle and pride in the exhibition York Out of the Closet: 50 Years of LGBT History. Visitors were able to discover the stories of York’s first ever lesbian and gay protest march, the festival that brought …

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York Castle Museum’s Community Room is a space for community groups and organisations to create their own displays based on York Castle Museum’s exhibitions. Latest Exhibition: Museum of Broken Relationships 22 March 2019 – 22 March 2020 York Castle Museum brings together a collection of stories and symbolic objects about the ways we fall out of love. Find …

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1 April 2017 – 1 April 2018 Delve into the delicious history of some of the world’s most iconic chocolates and sweets as York Castle Museum takes you on a chocolatey tour of sweets galore. Start your chocolate journey from the museum’s Period Rooms to discover how the Georgians, Victorians and the Jacobeans satisfied their sweet tooth. Then …

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Shaping the Body’ (fashion gallery) will be closed for repainting for three weeks from Monday 16 September. We plan to reopen this space on Saturday 5 October. An iron corset, crotchless pantaloons from the time of Jane Austen, bum rolls and a killer dress are a few of the items featured in our latest permanent exhibition which …

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Please note this exhibition has now closed. 23 May – 30 September 2015 This exhibition showcased the recently rediscovered Napoleonic scenes of war along with swords used in the battle and the military jacket of a Yorkshire man who guarded Napoleon on his death bed. The exhibition marked the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. The intricate wood …

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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 …

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Please note this exhibition has now closed. Closed 31 December 2004 Our Spotless exhibition explored the many ways people kept themselves and their houses clean in the past. Items on display included vacuum cleaners, baths, toilets, mangles, washing machines, soap and cleaning products. The Victorians believed you had to be clean to be respectable, but this became …

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Please note this exhibition has now closed. April 2000 – April 2016 This exhibition focused on the history of three rites of passage: birth, marriage and death. On display were examples of many of the nursery and childcare items used during the last three hundred years including cradles, christening gifts and some superb christening gowns. Outfits from our …

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The Sixties exhibition aims to recreate the spirit of this exciting decade which saw momentous change in so many areas of public and private life. The gallery uses fascinating and iconic objects from our social history, art, fashion, military and astronomy collections to bring back the atmosphere of change which swept over the country during …

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