News and Events

Dates for your diary

Events calendar

Special events and family activities

All activities are at The Workhouse Museum and are drop in events (no need to book) unless stated otherwise. Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Some amendments to events may take place - please check our website or telephone for details before coming to any event.

5th-11th April Turn Back Time - Join inmates of the Workhouse as they get out their poss tub and mangle to spring clean. Learn about nasty Victorian bugs and ingenious stain removers with the museum’s own Kim and Aggie! Normal opening times and admissions charges apply..

Saturday 15th May 8.00 – 9.30pm Night at the Museum - bring a torch to explore the Workhouse Museum and garden by night! £3 per person. PLEASE BOOK A PLACE.

31st May – 6th June Heritage Arts Festival – learn about traditional music and crafts from our visiting experts - clog making, spinning, lace making and rag rugging and even try your hand at some! Contact the museum for details. Normal opening times and admissions charges apply.

Tuesdays 27th July – 31st August Workhouse Scarecrows - Dress a scarecrow and display it in our traditional Workhouse kitchen garden while you tour the museum! Bring your own accessories to make a truly original character! Normal admissions charges apply + charge for activity.

12th August 10am -12, 2pm-4pm PRISON AND POLICE MUSEUM Cops and Robbers! -Join in our special activities at the Prison and Police Museum and learn about Victorian cops and robbers. £2.00 children’s activity charge, normal admissions charges apply for accompanying adults.

26TH August 10am -12, 2pm-4pm COURTHOUSE MUSEUM Sherlock Investigates… -Follow in Sherlock Holmes’ footsteps as you interview shady Victorian characters and work out who did what…?! £2.00 children’s activity charge, normal admissions charges apply for accompanying adults.

Sunday 12th September 10am – 4pm Heritage Open Day - FREE -Tours and activities in our reinstated 1890s Workhouse kitchen garden open day! Find other sites open at www.heritageopendays.org.uk.

17th and 20th September 10am – 12, 2pm – 4pm Part of RIPON INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL: Puppets from around the world – puppet making for pre-school children. Workshops in puppet making from around the world for pre-school children and carers. £2 children’s activity charge, carers free. PLEASE BOOK A PLACE.

15th October 10 am–12 (PLEASE BOOK A PLACE) 16th October 10am–12, 2pm–4pm (DROP IN) The Big Draw - Take inspiration from Victorian inventions, Heath Robinson and Wallace and Gromit contraptions to create a giant machine to help around the workhouse! £2.00 children’s activity charge normal admissions charges apply for accompanying adults.

October 27th–31st Shadows of the City - Light and dark explored in the shadowy setting of the Workhouse Museum including a Magic Lantern show, shadow puppets and silhouettes. Contact the museum for details. £2.00 children’s activity charge, normal admissions charges apply for accompanying adults.

11th -12th December 10am – 4pm Christmas Day in the Workhouse -Join the paupers preparing for a special tea with the Guardians: making decorations, chopping fire wood and preparing gruel. ! Normal admissions charges apply.

Live and Learn! Adult Learning Events

Please ring or email to book in advance as tickets are limited. All events take place at the Workhouse Museum, unless stated otherwise.

Monday 8th March 10 am Tour of the Workhouse – including the refurbished museum building, the workhouse site and garden (weather permitting), and tea! £4.00

Friday 19th March 10am – 4pm Art Day school: Starting a Creative Journal - use your surroundings, journeys and dreams, postcards, magazines and found items to kick start your creativity! All Materials and tea/coffee supplied. £20

Friday April 23rd 2pm ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’ - the Victorian obsession with cleaning explored through hints and tips for spots and stains! £4.00 including tea.

Friday May 14th 7pm COURTHOUSE MUSEUM The Work of the Prison Governor – a talk by Gerry Hendry, Governor of Shrewsbury Prison. £4.00 including a glass of wine.

Monday May 24th: 2pm Demonstration: the art of icing inspired by the work of the Victorian lepidopterist, Margaret Fountaine £4.00 with tea.

31 May – 6 June Heritage Arts Festival Many experts will be on hand throughout the week to chat to – lace makers, clogmakers, quilters, spinners… Use your annual pass to pop in and see them! Contact the museum for details.

Thursday 3rd June The Music of Joshua Jackson of Burton Leonard – 18th century miller and musician tunes and dances played by ‘Shepherds Hey’ through out the day around the museum. Normal museum admissions apply.

Monday 14th June 2pm The Victorian Herbalist – Join Dorothy Taylor to explore traditional cures for common ailments and expand your knowledge of useful herbs! £4.00 with tea.

Thursday 24th June 7pm COURTHOUSE MUSEUM "Just a Sentence or Two - the Trials and Tribulations of a Rural Magistrate" talk by current local magistrate, David Uffindall. £4.00 including a glass of wine.

Wednesday 7th July 7pm WORKHOUSE GARDEN A Summer Evening in the Workhouse Garden led by the expert volunteers who have reconstructed our 1890s garden. £3.00

Thursday 8th July 7pm COURTHOUSE MUSEUM Court Room drama! - Watch our volunteers re-enact a Victorian Trial; perhaps even join in yourself! £4.00 including a glass of wine.

19th July 10 am PRISON AND POLICE MUSEUM A tour of the old Liberty Gaol and police station by our costumed guides, looking at Victorian crime and punishment and it the museum’s fascinating collections.

Saturday 11th September 10 am – 4 pm COURTHOUSE AND PRISON AND POLICE MUSEUM Victorian Crime and Punishment day school - Dr Paul Jennings of the University of Bradford will guide you through the grim world of Victorian crime and punishment, visiting the Prison and Police and the Courthouse Museums £20.

Thursday 23rd September 7pm An evening with Charles Dickens - An evening listening to our favourite excerpts including a look at Dicken’s’ attitude to social issues of the time. £4 including a glass of wine.

Friday 8th October 10am – 4pm Art day school: Painting with Coloured Pencils - learn tips and techniques to create beautiful and detailed pictures of your own. All Materials and tea/coffee supplied. £20

Monday 11th October 2pm The Casuals - a talk on the vagrants and tramps of the Workhouse system by our Senior Curator, Anthony Chadwick. £4.00 including tea.

Monday 18th October 2pm Workhouse Waifs - join Workhouse expert Peter Higginbotham to learn about the lives of children in Victorian Workhouses. Check out his marvellous website at www.workhouses.org.uk . £4.00 with tea.

Friday 26th November Cooking for Christmas – Victorian Style! Learn about the originsof some of our traditional Christmas fare - and how to prepare them! £4.00 with tea.

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