York Castle Museum

New look for 2010

Letting in the Light

The £2 million refurbishment of the Yorkshire Museum is the biggest since it opened in 1830. Plans have been discussed for several years and detailed development and fundraising began in 2008, when the project was named Letting in the Light.

The first aim of the project was to let more light into the Georgian building by opening up windows which had been covered for years and pulling down partitions and walls. This part of the project has already been achieved and the building has been transformed.

The second aim was to "let in the light" of new knowledge - by re-displaying our internationally-renowned collections in three new major exhibitions. These exhibitions will be Roman York - Meet the People of the Empire, Medieval York - the Power and the Glory, and Extinct: A Way of Life.

In addition, the new Yorkshire Museum will offer a fascinating audio visual guide to the History of York in our auditorium, the Tempest Anderson Hall,  making the museum an ideal first point of call in a tour of the city's historic sites.

Upstairs, the fifth element of the refurbishment will be the Learning Level, a place to learn more and "dig deeper" centred around our existing learning rooms and historic library.

Fundraising thanks

York Museums Trust has worked hard to secure the £2million needed for this project and would like to thank the following organisations for their donations and support:

City of York Council
Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
Feoffees of St Michael's, Spurriergate
Foyle Foundation
Garfield Weston Foundation
Monument Trust
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA)
Renaissance Yorkshire Regional Museums Hub
The Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts
The Wolfson Foundation
Yorkshire Museum Development Board
and individual contributions.

Click here to email us if you want to get involved, comment or help.