Blog

On Sunday 11th September, with the kind permission of the Dean & Chapter of Ripon Cathedral, Ripon Museum Trust opened the (long disused) cell below the Courthouse.

Known as the holding cell, this is where, in the early years of this building, prisoners were brought from the Liberty Gaol in St Marygate. He, or she, was then escorted up the stone steps into the courtroom for their trial.

Although today it houses the central heating boiler, it has great atmosphere.

The event was a huge success and our volunteers clearly enjoyed getting into the role of  prisoners waiting sentencing...

We love kids in our museums and constantly strive to do our best for visiting families. We're proud to sign up to the Kids in Museums' manifesto.

Put mum and dad in the Dock… What does it feel like to be a witness?... Explore our new Family Trail around Ripon’s Georgian Courthouse and decide who’s guilty and who’s not, which Victorian crime was the most serious and learn what a magistrate actually does!

We have just completed our new displays for the Courthouse Museum. Our very popular Transportation exhibition (which was only intended to be on display for a year and stayed for more than five years!) has not been completely removed - we are producing booklet that will contain all the information from the old display.
 

After last year’s first full season in the Workhouse Garden we can only anticipate the flavoursome delights of authentic Victorian varieties such as Purple Podded Peas, Dog’s Snout apples, Fellside Hero potatoes and Fat Lazy Blonde lettuce! Let’s hope the weather gives us a bumper crop in our second year and continues to delight our visitors.