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24
Oct 2021
The long arm of the law is reaching out from Ripon Museum Trust, in a bid to capture the imagination of visitors over the autumn half term holiday.
The trust, which operates the Workhouse, Prison & Police and Old Courthouse museums, is offering the opportunity to explore the nature of crime and punishment in the Victorian era, through a series of themed activities both online and in person.
Whodunnit at the Workhouse? will run from Tuesday 26 to Friday 29 October from 12pm to 3pm.
This family-friendly activity will take visitors on an interactive trail across the sites of the museums as they try to solve a murder at the workhouse.
Visitors will learn about how policing worked in the Victorian era, about plants and poisons in the Workhouse Museum Garden, before discovering forensic science at the Prison & Police Museum.
Those who solve the crime could be in with a chance of winning a small prize. Activities are included in the cost of museum entry.
On Thursday 28 October at 7pm, Ripon museums will host an online exploration of Victorian criminality with Shocking Murder! Investigating Suspicious Death in Victorian Ripon.
In 1874, two savage murders rocked the city. In both cases, the formal murder investigation began with an inquest.
In a talk given by postgraduate student Sophie Michell, she will discuss how Victorian coroners worked, and how inquests formed the basis of a murder trial. Tickets cost £5 per person. The talk will be hosted on Zoom
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