http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/ See Craven Museum and Gallery's latest news in our 'What's New' area. en http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification PHP/5.3.24 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/craven-and-the-first-world-war Craven and the First World War We need your help! The year 2014 will mark one hundred years since the outbreak of the First World War (1914-1918).  To mark the occasion we are asking people from throughout the area to share their time, ideas or personal objects and memories to commemorate how the war changed this district for ever. The project will be organised by 'Craven and the First World War', a collection of community-focused groups who have come together to arrange various commemorative events to mark the centenary. The group has devised a project that aims to build a greater understanding of life in Craven during the First World War, whilst honouring those who lost their lives and loved ones during the years of fighting. We are interested in hearing any ideas people or groups have to commemorate the centenary. We would also like to know about any objects people have relating to the First World War. Stories and memories too would be a great contribution; we would love to hear personal stories or recordings made of friends or relatives about the war. No contribution will be too great or too small. If you would like to contribute, complete the Craven and the First World War 'How can I be involved?' form and submit it to any library in Craven or Craven Museum & Gallery, Skipton. Alternatively you can email it to museum@cravendc.gov.uk Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/craven-and-the-first-world-war http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/working-your-view Working Your View Be a part of the Working the View exhibition As part of Craven Museum & Gallery's Working the View exhibition starting in 16 May 2013, Working Your View is a side project that gives you the chance to get involved. We would like members of the public to send us a photo of the view from your workplace along with a short description about what the view means to you. All pictures sent will be displayed on our digital Working Your View display within the gallery, along with your explanations of the view, your name and photo location. You don't need to be an accomplished photographer to submit, and the photo can be taken on a Smart Phone or any other device. The aim of this small project is just to get a record and to share the range of views and workplaces people have. The view doesn't need to be beautiful, in fact we hope to gather together as wide a range of pictures, from as wide a field as possible. Also, if you work from home, are a student or are unemployed, any view you feel you have a particular connection with can also be submitted. If you would like to see examples of the type of thing we are looking for, see our facebook album. If you would like to get involved, you can email your photo along with your description to museum@cravendc.gov.uk or post the photo on our facebook page (Craven Museum) or tweet @CravenMuseum #YourView. Make sure you give us your first name, age and location along with a short description of your view. We look forward to receiving your submissions! Note, we intend to show the photo you submit in a public gallery. Once submitted, Craven Museum & Gallery can use the image for any other future projects, displays or endeavours. Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/working-your-view http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/artists-workshops Artists' Workshops Due to the snow, we have rearranged our great workshops to the below dates. Make your own automaton On Wednesday 10 April March 2013, make your own mechanical sheep with artist Lisa Slater. Drop in any time between 11.00am and 4.00pm. £3 per automaton kit. Inspiring sketchbooks On Saturday 20 April 2013 (10.00am - 3.00pm), join artist Roo Waterhouse, creator and curator of the 'ReCollection: Playtime Memories' exhibition, for a day of creativity and learn more about how she creates and uses her sketchbooks. Working with Roo you will explore how to build up your own sketchbook full of inspiring observations from the world around you; a unique tool for recording and developing your own creative style. Find out more information and book a place. Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/artists-workshops http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/m-s-donate-to-craven-museum-gallery Marks & Spencer make donation Retailer M&S donate £1000 to Craven Museum & Gallery Retailer Marks & Spencer has generously donated £1000 to Craven Museum & Gallery to update the museum's Notable People display case. Craven Museum & Gallery is extremely grateful for this donation. Thomas Spencer (one half of the duo who founded the company in 1884) was born in Skipton in 1852 and currently features in the museum's Notable People display. This donation will go towards renovating the case so more objects can be displayed and more notable Craveners can be represented. Work will begin on the case after further funds have been secured, but this £1000 donation has gone a long way to ensuring the renovation of the display. Thank you Marks & Spencer! Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/m-s-donate-to-craven-museum-gallery http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/visitor-services-assistant-vacancy Relief Visitor Services Assistant Closing date 1 March 2013 Craven's Museum and Arts Service is looking for customer focused, reliable and enthusiastic staff to join the team based at Craven Museum & Gallery and Skipton Tourist Information Centre. If you are interested in the position visit the Craven Distric Council website for more information. Tue, 19 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/visitor-services-assistant-vacancy http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/christmas-wishes-and-opening-times Christmas opening times 14 December 2012 We will close at 4pm on Saturday 22nd December and re-open at 10am on Monday 14th January. Craven Museum & Gallery would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Fri, 14 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/christmas-wishes-and-opening-times http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/talking-treasure Museum celebrates £3,400 Heritage Lottery Fund grant 10 December 2012 Craven Museum & Gallery is one of the first groups in the UK to receive a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) All Our Stories grant, it was announced last week. This exciting project, Talking Treasure, has been given £3,400 to digitise the Museum's oral history collection which is currently held on 64 cassette tapes. The recordings were made in the 1980s and 90s and relate to all aspects of life in Craven, including farming, schooldays and World War II. Museum volunteers will receive training from Leeds University staff and students to transfer the tapes into digital format to preserve the stories for the future. A new audio display will then be developed for the museum. All Our Stories, a brand new small grant programme, launched earlier this year in support of BBC Two's The Great British Story - has been designed as an opportunity for everyone to get involved in their heritage. With HLF funding and support, community groups will carry out activities that help people explore, share and celebrate their local heritage. The popular series presented by historian Michael Wood and supported by a programme of BBC Learning activities and events got thousands of us asking questions about our history and inspired us to look at our history in a different way through the eyes of ordinary people. The programme and HLF All Our Stories has proved a real hit and now Talking Treasure is one of hundreds of successful projects around the UK to receive a grant. Craven Museum & Gallery already has a group of dedicated volunteers who help in all aspects of Museum life. This funding will enable them and new volunteers to learn additional skills as they work on something completely different. Members of the public will be able to find out about what the tapes reveal in an open day that will be arranged at the end of the project. Mon, 10 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/talking-treasure http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/museum-receives-grant Museum receives £50,000 from the Arts Council 17 October 2012 The Museum has been successful in a bid to the Arts Council for £50,000 from the Strategic Support Fund. The grant will pay for Heritage Consultants to develop a business plan to support the Museum through the change of governance from Craven District Council to a Trust. A Project Officer will also oversee improvements to the temporary exhibition gallery to improve the quality of exhibitions. Wed, 17 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/museum-receives-grant http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/new-team-member New team member 30 August 2012 We are delighted to welcome Martin Wills as our new Collections and Engagement Officer. Martin is coming to help cover some of Amy's duties while she is in maternity leave, and to help organise events and school visits. We are very grateful that he is leaving his current role working for UNESCO in Indonesia to come and join us. He will be working at the museum from September until at least March 2013. Thu, 30 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/new-team-member http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/local-artist-in-london-for-the-summer Local artist in London for the summer 30 May 2012 Helen Peyton, artist printmaker and Craven Museum & Gallery's artist-in-residence, has been chosen for the second year running to exhibit at the 244th Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Held annually since the Royal Academy's foundation in 1768, the prestigious Summer Exhibition is a unique celebratory showcase for art of all styles and media. Historically, the exhibition has also provided an opportunity for Royal Academicians, many of whom are internationally renowned, to show their work. This year around 12,000 works were submitted for consideration. From this selection 1,500 were chosen to be exhibited, with only 600 of the successful pieces by non-Royal Academicians. Helen is exhibiting the reduction linocut print 'Ecko Radio' alongside some very well-known artists including Tracey Emin, Michael Craig-Martin and Norman Ackroyd (a Royal Academician from Grassington). Last week Helen attended the exhibitions private preview 'Varnishing Day'. It is so-called because it was originally an opportunity for artists to touch-up and varnish their paintings before the exhibition opened to the public. It is said that J. M. W. Turner often had to spend time completing his masterpieces on Varnishing Day. Today it is now an opportunity for artists to clean their work, check the labels and rearrange anything if required. Whilst in London Helen also took part with the Artists Procession. Each year all entrants in the Summer Exhibition process from The Courtyard at the Royal Academy, down Piccadilly to St.James' Church, accompanied by a steel band. The 'Service for Artists' is held at the church, a tradition which dates back to the mid 1700s, and then all the artists go back to the Royal Academy to attend the private reception. Helen said 'Being accepted into the Summer Exhibition last year was a wonderful surprise, but to be exhibition here for a second time is truly overwhelming. I feel honoured to be placed alongside such talented and well-respected artists.' The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition runs from 4 June to 12 August at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London. Find out more about Helen's work. Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/local-artist-in-london-for-the-summer http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/another-rave-review Another rave review 16 May 2012 Following a recent 'mystery' inspection from the Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme (VAQAS), Craven Museum & Gallery has received its best ever report from Visit England. The museum was assessed on the full visitor experience including telephone and email enquiries; social media posts; displays; exhibitions and staff interaction. A huge thank you is needed to the museum and Tourist Information Centre staff who all work so hard to ensure that visitors feel welcome and informed, and that all displays are seen looking their best. The assessor was particularly impressed with the First Folio exhibition, saying 'This Museum of the Craven Dales is a hidden gem for Skipton. The local history aspect is very good, and the forward looking Shakespeare's First Folio is a delight for visitors.' Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/another-rave-review http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/museum-changes-for-2012 Museum changes for 2012 9 March 2012 Many visitors to Skipton Town Hall may have noticed a few changes over the past couple of months. The Tourist Information Centre is now at the front of the Town Hall building giving it a fantastic high profile location on Skipton's bustling High Street. The museum's gift shop has moved from the entrance of the museum into the Tourist Information Centre, creating one large shop with a wonderful array of souvenirs, gifts, maps and local history books. The museum has also decided to extend its opening hours and not change them seasonally. Craven Museum & Gallery is now open: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday: 10.00am - 4.00pm The first Sunday of every month (April to December): 10.00am - 4.00pm Closed Tuesdays. For information about events at the museum in 2012 see the What's On area of the website. Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/museum-changes-for-2012 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/museum-artist-becomes-tv-star Museum artist becomes TV star 28 February 2012 After the hugely successful first series, ITV's 'The Dales' has returned with Adrian Edmondson exploring more parts of the Yorkshire Dales and the characters who make it such a unique place. The museum's artist in residence Helen Peyton shot to fame in 2011 when she had two pieces accepted into the exclusive Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Helen was then approached by 'The Dales' to appear in the second series of the programme to discuss her printmaking and all the other work she does locally. She was filmed at work in the museum, as well as judging artwork at a local festival and giving Adrian Edmondson a drawing lesson. Helen will appear in two episodes towards the end of the series. For more information about the new series of 'The Dales' visit Welcome to Yorkshire's website. Tue, 28 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/museum-artist-becomes-tv-star http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/happy-new-year-from-craven-museum-gallery   Happy New Year from Craven Museum & Gallery 5 January 2012 All the staff at Craven Museum & Gallery would like to wish our visitors a Happy New Year. The museum reopens at 12pm on Monday 16 January 2012. 2011 was another busy year. We unveiled the Shakespeare First Folio display and discovered it is one of only four on permanent display in the world, welcomed over 700 visitors to the Autumn Festivals fun day, finally displayed the whole Roebuck art collection together for the first time in many years in the 'Articulate' exhibition, had a visit from Shakespearian legend and Hollywood superstar Sir Patrick Stewart, and many more exciting projects, exhibitions and events. We hope to see you all in 2012 as the Olympic Torch passes our front door, as well as at lots of exhibitions, events and workshops for all the family. Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/happy-new-year-from-craven-museum-gallery http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/job-vacancies-at-museum   Job vacancies at museum 19 December 2011 CRAVEN DISTRICT COUNCIL Museums and Arts Ref No:- 237 Casual Museum Assistants x2 £14,733 pro rata Craven District Council's Museum and Arts Service is looking for customer focused, reliable and enthusiastic staff to join the team based at Craven Museum & Gallery, Skipton. We are looking for team players with excellent communication skills and an awareness of customer care and equal opportunities. You will be expected to meet and greet visitors and be responsible for the safety of visitors and collections. You will need to maintain basic financial records regarding the sale of Museum souvenirs and be able to respond to customer enquiries. Required on an ad hoc basis to cover staff absence The successful applicants to these posts will be subject to clearance from the Criminal Records Bureau. For an information pack please contact Human Resources (01756) 706210 quoting  Ref No 237 or download the job description and personal specifications. Completed applications should be returned to Human Resources, Craven District Council, Belle Vue Square, Broughton Road, SKIPTON, North Yorkshire BD23 1FJ Closing date: Friday 30th December 2011 Interviews will be held on Friday 13th January 2012 We are an equal opportunities employer Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/job-vacancies-at-museum http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/sir-patrick-visits-first-folio   Sir Patrick visits First Folio 5 October 2011 Hollywood actor Sir Patrick Stewart, who has spent most of his career performing the plays of William Shakespeare, visited the museum last week to the see the Shakespeare First Folio display which open in March 2011. Sir Patrick had already provided the voice over for the display's audio-visual presentation but on seeing the new display for the first time remarked that being in the presence of a First Folio always "gives him goosebumps". During his visit Sir Patrick was also able to see the museum's Britannia printing press in working order and museum volunteer and print expert Brian Aldred explained the process of printing the First Folio nearly 400 years ago. Find out more about Skipton's Shakespeare First Folio Learn about the Shakespeare Lottery: Donate and Decide Craven Museum & Gallery would like to thank Innsight TV for filming Sir Patrick's visit. Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/sir-patrick-visits-first-folio http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/museum-features-in-national-journal   Museum features in national journal 2 September 2011 Craven Museum & Gallery is thrilled to have appeared in the UK's most important museum and heritage magazine; the Museum Association's 'Museums Journal'. Each month the journal includes a feature which focuses on smaller museums that rarely get the opportunity to appear in other articles in the magazine. Entitled 'The Museum of...', it gives a brief overview of all aspects of the museum from highlights of the collection to visitor figures and survival tips. Below is a copy of the full article... Louise Gray hears what links London, Stratford-upon-Avon and Washington DC, to Craven Museum & Gallery Where Inside the Victorian town hall building in Skipton, north Yorkshire. The gallery is on the ground floor and the museum is upstairs. What 'The museum is like a lot of other local ones - an eclectic mix of archaeology, art, social history and costume,' says the museum's acting curator Amy Ball. She is also the assistant curator of archaeology. Opened 1930s. It moved to the town hall in 1973. Collection The museum owns many artefacts relating to local heritage and the area's ancient past, taking in neolithic tools, Roman remains and an iron age/Roman weapon known as the Flasby sword. Its Clement Roebuck art collection features 145 pieces, including one painting that the museum thought might be a Rembrandt. 'It wasn't,' says Ball. 'It was actually quite a relief.' In 2003, the museum found that it had a Shakespeare First Folio. It was put in a safe until grants and bequests allowed the museum to put it on permanent display earlier this year. Help at hand One manager, two curators and five part-time front-of-house staff. 'A core group of 20 volunteers and 40 Friends are invaluable,' says Ball. Budget The museum is run by Craven District Council. Both Ball and the social history curator are externally funded, by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the Heritage Lottery Fund respectively. Their contracts end in January 2012. Visitors 63,000 in 2010. Admission to the museum is free. Highlights 'The First Folio is our star exhibit,' says Ball. 'But I would also choose the whole Roebuck collection and our 1850s Britannia printing press. Our local paper, the Craven Herald & Pioneer, was printed on it.' Sticky moment 'Finding out that our Shakespeare was a first folio,' says Ball. 'The volume lived on the main bookcase in the curators' office until expert Anthony James West visited and identified it as a First. It is one of only four on permanent display in the world; the other locations are London, Stratford-upon-Avon and Washington, DC. The security around it is like Fort Knox.' Survival tip 'Widen what you offer in order to cater for as many visitors as possible,' Ball says. Future plans 'There are plans to revitalise the town hall as a cultural hub,' says Ball. 'If all goes ahead, the museum will move to the ground floor and be more accessible.' Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/museum-features-in-national-journal http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/museum-gets-rave-review Museum gets rave review 15 July 2011 Once again Craven Museum & Gallery has been visited by a mystery shopper from the Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme (VAQAS) and received a very positive and complimentary report. After a thorough assessment of all aspects of the museum (including the leaflet, website, gallery exhibition and museum displays) the report concluded that the museum was a 'small, quality attraction, continually striving to improve the visitor experience, [with] enthusiastic, knowledgeable staff who engage well with the visitors'. Being the first VAQAS review of the museum since the addition of the Shakespeare First Folio, museum staff where thrilled to find out that the new display was described as 'very impressive' with the audio visual presentation being 'absorbing and enjoyable'. As in previous years, the only negative comments about the museum centre around the lack of signage for the museum on the outside of Skipton Town Hall. The assessor described the museum as 'hidden' and suggested that 'prominent signage is required externally'. The museum is very aware of this problem and has been striving for years to get permission to add attractive banners to the front of the Town Hall, which are also sympathetic to the heritage of the High Street. It is hoped that by the time of the 2012 VAQAS visit, consent will have been given to add this final finishing touch to an already quality attraction. Fri, 15 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/museum-gets-rave-review http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/artist-in-residence-finds-new-summer-home Artist in residence finds new summer home 14 June 2011 Helen Peyton, artist printmaker and lecturer in art at Craven College, Skipton, has had two pieces of artwork chosen for exhibition at this summer's prestigious exhibition at the Royal Academy in London.  Held annually since the Royal Academy's foundation in 1768, the Summer Exhibition is a unique celebratory showcase for art of all styles and media. Historically, the exhibition has also provided an opportunity for Royal Academicians, many of whom are internationally renowned, to show their work. Any artist may enter work for selection and over 12,000 works are submitted for consideration every year. Of these around 1,200 are chosen for the exhibition. The show provides an unrivalled opportunity for exhibitors to sell their work and have it seen by the 200,000 visitors that the exhibition is expected to draw during its three-month run from the 7 June to 15 August. Not only have two of Helen's pieces been chosen for exhibition, but one of her prints 'Record Player' has been chosen by the Royal Academy to be made into greetings cards. The cards will be distributed for sale to prominent galleries around the world, including the Guggenheim and the Getty Museum. Helen says 'I am absolutely thrilled that my work has been accepted for exhibition at the Royal Academy, and even more delighted that one of the prints will be made into a greetings card. I'd like to say a big thank you to Craven Museum & Gallery, Skipton as I used the museum's printing press to make the print and their artefacts as inspiration for both of the pictures, during my artist-in-residency there'. Helen's work will also be displayed at 'The House of Slugs and Snails' in Grassington as part of the North Yorkshire Open Studios in June and at Art in the Pen in August. Find out more about Helen's work Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/artist-in-residence-finds-new-summer-home http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/shakespeare-s-next-scene-you-decide   Shakespeare's next scene- you decide 5 May 2011 A page of the Folio is turned once a month and now you could be the one to pick the next page with the new 'Donate & Decide' lottery. Tickets are £2 each or you can buy a year's supply (12 tickets) for £20. A winner will be drawn at random each month and contacted by the museum to choose any of the pages from the plays that appear in the Skipton First Folio: Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Henry VIII, King John, Richard II, Richard III, Anthony & Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Macbeth, Othello, Romeo & Juliet, Timon of Athens, Titus Andronicus and Troylus & Cressida. All donations to 'Donate & Decide' will go towards the preservation of the Shakespeare First Folio and the museum and tickets are available from the museum gift shop. Dr Mark Westgarth of Leeds University, who recently gave a talk at the Town Hall about Shakespearian memorabilia has chosen the next page to be turned. The Folio is now on display open at a page from Henry VI Part 3 which features the character John Clifford. Clifford, who is thought to have been nicknamed 'Bloody', 'the Butcher' and 'Black-faced Clifford', was Lord of Skipton Castle during the mid 15th century. Find out more about the Shakespeare First Folio display. Thu, 05 May 2011 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/shakespeare-s-next-scene-you-decide http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/rare-shakespeare-book-enters-the-digital-age Rare Shakespeare book enters the digital age 6 April 2011 Before the Shakespeare First Folio went on permanent display in Skipton (find out more about the exhibition) it was taken to the North Yorkshire County Council Record Office in Northallerton. Every page of the First Folio was photographed using a high resolution digital camera. The book was placed on a specialised book cradle and viewed under cold daylight bulbs; both to protect the nearly 400 year old pages. This process has provided the museum with high quality images of every page within the Skipton First Folio. These can be used to help ensure that the book is as accessible as possible because Folio scholars and students can now look at the images without the book being taken off display. The images are also extremely important for the preservation and security of the First Folio. Although the Folio is displayed in a purpose built case and room with low level lighting, it is still important for the museum's Curators to monitor the pages of the book to check that no changes are occurring on the surface, for example fading and discolouration. As all First Folios are not identical (largely due to changes and corrections during the printing process) and can, therefore, be distinguished from each other, having these images now means that the museum has a record of how every page looks. If any pages were to ever go missing they could now be immediately identified as belonging to the Skipton First Folio. Find out more about the County Record Office. Wed, 06 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/rare-shakespeare-book-enters-the-digital-age http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/shakespeare-book-takes-centre-stage Shakespeare book takes centre stage 28 March 2011 After having been in the museum's collection for over seven decades, the Shakespeare First Folio has finally gone on permanent display in Skipton. The new display opened to the public on 25 March 2011 following a hugely successful private preview. Dr Anthony James West, a leading First Folio expert, gave a speech about his discovery of the Skipton First Folio and declared the purpose-built display room open. Print historian Brian Aldred has set his interpretation of the Actors page from Henry Fifth in the Skipton First Folio on the museum's printing press and at the preview he was entertaining guests by printing the page. These original prints are now available to buy from the museum gift shop for £5 and all proceeds go towards the ongoing preservation of the First Folio. Local businesses sponsored the preview event and the celebration event during the First Folio's opening weekend. Thanks go to Caltech CRM, R N Wooler & Co Ltd, Skipton Castle, Dean Taylor Productions and The North Space for their support. The new display of this fascinating and rare book has been very well publicised on regional radio and in the Yorkshire press: BBC York & North Yorkshire Yorkshire Post Telegraph & Argus Craven Herald & Pioneer Find out more about the Shakespeare First Folio. Mon, 28 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/shakespeare-book-takes-centre-stage http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/sir-patrick-stewart-makes-it-so-for-museum Sir Patrick Stewart makes it so for museum 18 March 2011 As visitors walk around the new Shakespeare First Folio display, which opens on 25 March at Craven Museum & Gallery, they will be welcomed by the voice of renowned Shakespeare thespian and Hollywood actor, Sir Patrick Stewart. His voiceover will talk visitors through the history of First Folios and Shakespeare's plays. About the voiceover, Sir Patrick said: 'I'm a Yorkshireman. But I'm a Yorkshireman who has, for the past 55 years, devoted much of his life to acting Shakespeare. It was my first theatrical love and has remained so throughout my life. And so to find that our county now has, and has had for several decades, in its possession a First Folio of Shakespeare's plays, albeit not complete, is very exciting to me. To have this significant, perhaps the most significant book in the English language along with the King James Bible, on display in Skipton is a marvellous thing and we must all be very grateful to those people who have made it possible. Enjoy looking at this book and don't miss an opportunity to see one of the great treasures of English literature.' The exhibition also explains why Shakespeare First Folios are important and how one came to be in the museum's collection. Find out more about the Shakespeare First Folio. Fri, 18 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/sir-patrick-stewart-makes-it-so-for-museum http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/countdown-to-shakespeare Countdown to Shakespeare 18 February 2011 After months of waiting it is now only 5 weeks until a Shakespeare First Folio will go on permanent display in Skipton. A purpose built room, which will house the rare and important book, has been built within the museum. It includes fibre optic lighting, a custom-made display case, a television to show an audio-visual presentation and interpretation panels. Visitors will be able to learn about Shakespeare First Folios and why they are important, as well as how one came to be in the museum's collection. This exciting new display is permanently open to the public from Friday 25 March 2011. To celebrate the launch of the new display the museum is holding several events around the theme of Shakespeare and his work: Shakespeareana- a joint lecture about collectors of Shakespearian memorabilia and Shakespeare First Folios. Shakespeare's Birthday Celebrations- story telling for all the family Creative writing- a workshop for adults See the initial stages of the room build. See the progress of the room build. Find out more about the Shakespeare First Folio. Fri, 18 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/countdown-to-shakespeare http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/new-museum-displays-for-a-new-year New museum displays for a new year 17 January 2011 For the first couple of weeks in January the museum doors remained closed whilst staff and volunteers worked to clean and refresh many of the display cases. Since 2008 the museum has been following a programme of work, aimed at making changes to all of the displays. In some cases this has involved simply cleaning the objects. Others have needed the cases repainting and lining with fabric, objects rearranging and new labels being added to the display. The work has finally been completed this new year. Staff were also involved with preparing the new exhibition in the museum's downstairs gallery. 'Giles, Peyton and Thompson: Aspects of a Collection' shows paintings and prints of hidden gems from the museums collections and is open until 2 May 2011. Find out more about the exhibition.  Mon, 17 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/new-museum-displays-for-a-new-year http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/final-scene-for-exciting-building-work Final scene for exciting building work 2 December 2010 The building work is finally nearing completion at Craven Museum & Gallery. Any visitors to the museum over the last couple of days will have noticed that the wooden boards surrounding the building work have come down and the outside of the room can now be seen. At this stage in the project all of the room's walls have been painted and the fibre optic lights are now in the ceiling. The engineers have also installed the television which will show the audio visual presentation. The final stage of the project will involve museum staff creating the audio visual presentation, as well as interpretation panels for the room to explain the history of this First Folio. The purpose built room will house the museum's Shakespeare First Folio, which is due to go on public display on 25 March 2011. See the initial stages of the room build. See the progress of the room build. Find out more about the Shakespeare First Folio. Thu, 02 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/final-scene-for-exciting-building-work http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/building-work-continues-at-the-museum Building work continues at the museum 22 November 2010 Today marks the start of the third week of building work at Craven Museum & Gallery. The purpose built room will house the museum's Shakespeare First Folio, which is due to go on public display by the end of March 2011. At this stage in the project all of the room's walls have been built and most of the new ceiling is now in place. The electricians and engineers have also been working, wiring the room ready for the fibre optic lights and television which will show the audio visual presentation. The museum has also undertaken some further research about the Wilkinson family, a member of which bequeathed the Folio to the museum in the 1930s. This will be used as part of the interpretation in the room to show how the Folio came to be in Skipton. See the early stages of the room build. Find out more about the Shakespeare First Folio. Mon, 22 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/building-work-continues-at-the-museum http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/work-on-shakespeare-folio-display-begins Work on Shakespeare Folio display begins 12 November 2010 Visitors to Craven Museum & Gallery over the next few weeks will notice that something interesting is going on. Behind a big wooden partition can be heard the sound of drilling and hammering. Building work began on Monday 8 November to create a purpose-built room, designed to house Craven Museum & Gallery's Shakespeare First Folio. As can be seen from the 'behind the scenes' photographs, by the end of week one the walls of the room are nearing completion and the ceiling has begun to take shape. Check back next week for further updates on how the room is progressing. Find out more about the Shakespeare First Folio. Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/work-on-shakespeare-folio-display-begins http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/rare-shakespeare-folio-to-go-on-display Rare Shakespeare Folio to go on display 7 October 2010 In 1623, seven years after William Shakespeare's death, a compilation of 36 of his plays were published together in one volume. No more than 750 copies of this 'First Folio' were printed and today only about 230 survive, with less than 50 in the British Isles. First Folios took over two years to print and, due to printing techniques used at the time, it is believed that no two copies of the book are identical. At the time of Shakespeare's death, in 1616, 18 of his plays had not reached print. They only existed in handwritten actors' stage notes and Shakespeare's own drafts. Included in these unpublished works were some of Shakespeare's most popular plays such as Macbeth, Twelfth Night and The Tempest. It is unlikely that any of these plays would have survived without the Folio. It is for reasons like this that it is thought of as the most important book in English literature. In the early 1930s, a Shakespeare First Folio was donated to the museum by Miss Wilkinson, daughter of a local businessman.  Thanks to funding from Renaissance Yorkshire and a generous bequest from private citizen, Mrs Edith Stead, the Museum has the opportunity to display the First Folio for the first time in decades. Because of its rarity, the folio needs to be kept in specialised conditions.  Museum staff are planning a new display area which will allow the folio to be kept in low lighting.  The display will include information about the folio's history and an audio-visual interpretation. The First Folio will go on display in March 2011, and the pages will be turned regularly. To see a video of acting Curator Amy Ball talking about the Skipton Folio, go to the Yorkshire Post website. Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/rare-shakespeare-folio-to-go-on-display http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/museum-receives-glowing-report Museum receives glowing report 1 October 2010 Like many attractions across the country, Craven Museum & Gallery is visited every year by an assessor from Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme' (VAQAS) who looks at and reports on every detail of the museum. In recent years the museum has received increasingly positive reports from VAQAS and this year is no exception. Following the thorough assessment, which took place on 23 September, the report commented that the museum's leaflet was 'eye catching' and contained 'precise, crisp and informative' details about museum exhibitions and events. On entering the museum gift shop they were 'warmly greeted' by the staff member and encouraged to explore both the downstairs exhibition and upstairs museum. The displays in the museum were described as having 'very good interpretation' and 'really attractive' displays. The report was summarised with the general observation 'Craven Museum & Gallery offered the visitor an overall very good quality experience. Some aspects of the attraction were excellent, such as the much improved website'. Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/museum-receives-glowing-report http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/amateur-photography-winners-announced Amateur photography winners 23 September 2010 Earlier this year Craven Museum & Gallery, in association with The Craven Herald, launched an amateur photography competition. The brief was simple; show Craven at its best and the top 10 would be made into postcards to be sold through the museum gift shop. Over 100 photographs were submitted with the subjects ranging from snow scenes to stepping stones and from scenic views to church pews. Catherine Johnson - Arts and Exhibitions Officer for Craven District Council and Steve Garnett award winning Herald photographer judged the entries and considered a range of factors including composition, technical ability, originality, interpretation of the brief and the commercial appeal of the photographs. Click here to view them in our online gallery. Winners in no particular order: Under 18's Emily Richardson, Skipton - Sunset over Skipton Middle Town Under 18's Jennifer Stearn, Embsay - Barn at Ribblehead Bert Whalley, Apperley Bridge - Flower Meadow Hubberholme Simon Loamax, Skipton - Gloaming Steve King, Skipton - Ingleborough from Keld Bank Steve King, Skipton - Tree by Rylstone Chris Lunn, Skipton - Skipton Canal Basin Terry Roberts, Bingley  - Bolton Abbey Malcolm Stoney, Skipton - High St Annie Shadrake, Skipton - Hebden Lamb Thu, 23 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/amateur-photography-winners-announced http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/leeds-united-manager-visits-exhibition Leeds United Manager visits exhibition 9 September 2010 The museum's summer exhibition celebrates football and over 100 years of the Craven District Football Association, by telling the story of Craven football events, alongside world football episodes from 1909 to 2009. Ross Wiggan, Visitor Services Officer, arranged for Leeds United Manager Simon Grayson to come to the museum and see the exhibition. Ross said 'Simon has close links with the local area so he was keen to come down and have a look round. As a football fan myself, it was very exciting to show him round the displays!' The museum was also lucky enough to welcome Peter Marsden, the President of Craven District Football Association and West Riding County Football Association. Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/leeds-united-manager-visits-exhibition http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/mouseman-furniture-added-to-collection Mouseman furniture added to collection 1 September 2010 Robert Thompson of Kilburn was highly regarded as one of the best craftsmen of the 20th Century. He carved a mouse into his work as his trademark and soon became known as 'Mouseman'. The new pieces which are on display in the museum include candlesticks, bookends, lampshades, coat hooks, mirrors and clocks amongst other things. Kenneth Hodgson built up a huge collection of 'Mouseman' furniture over many years and by the time of his death in 2004 it was regarded as one of the largest collections in the country. Mr Hodgson's son has been finding homes for many of the pieces in the collection in museums across the country including the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Lotherton Hall near Leeds and Craven Museum & Gallery. The new items complement the 'Mouseman' furniture which is in the Craven District Council Chamber in the Town Hall. Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/mouseman-furniture-added-to-collection http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/museums-coin-on-radio-york Museum's coin on Radio York 4 July 2010 The British Museum has put together 100 objects from their collection which they think define the history of the world. These have inspired a series on Radio 4 and a website. Museums from across the country were then invited to choose objects from their own collections which they felt had special significance and add them to the website. Craven Museum & Gallery currently has 6 objects featured on their website. As part of this exciting project BBC Radio York have been broadcasting interviews, with museum curators, about objects from the region. Craven Museum's gold tremissis coin was one of first objects to be featured when Amy Ball, Assistant Curator of Archaeology appeared on Jonathan Cowap's show on Sunday. The Anglo-Saxon coin was found in Skipton and helps to prove that people in 7th century North Yorkshire were trading with kingdoms on the other side of the North Sea. Sun, 04 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/museums-coin-on-radio-york http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/craven-museums-gain-national-quality-standard Craven museums gain national quality standard 24 March 2010 The Museum of North Craven Life (located in The Folly in Settle) and the Upper Wharfedale Folk Museum in Grassington have worked hard over the past year to gain the coveted Museum Accreditation standard.  Both museums are run by volunteers who have drawn on the expertise and guidance available from staff at Craven District Council's Craven Museum & Gallery to help them gain the Accreditation. The MLA's Museum Accreditation Scheme sets national agreed standards for all museums in the UK.  The award proves that the museums measure up, meeting the guidelines on how they are run, how they look after their collections and the services that they provide for visitors.  Being accredited holds many benefits for the museums particularly in their relationships with funding organisations and external bodies. Andrew Motion, Chair of MLA, said: 'Being awarded Accreditation is an impressive achievement.  It recognises the high standard and service that both museums provide and acknowledges the hard work of staff.' Find out more about The Museum Of North Craven Life, Settle Find out more about the Upper Wharfedale Folk Museum, Grassington Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.cravenmuseum.org/whats-new/craven-museums-gain-national-quality-standard