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Life of Knaresborough cultural giant to be celebrated on his 100th birthdayKnaresborough Heritage Centre opens

Knaresborough Heritage Centre officially opened over the weekend.

The centre, which celebrates and showcases Knaresborough’s rich history, is located in the former Printzone premises at 12 High Street.

Knaresborough Museum Association, which runs the centre, marked the occasion by holding an opening event attended by Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones, Knaresborough mayor Cllr Hannah Gostlow, and Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate Tom Gordon, along with almost 100 visitors.

The heritage centre consists of a small heritage shop, a visitor information desk and a museum gallery with a programme of exhibitions.

The first exhibition is called ‘the archaeology beneath our feet’ and covers geology and social history. There is also a kids zone, audio visual presentations and hundreds of artefacts and models.

Visitors are asked to make a minimum donation of £2. Accompanied under-16s receive free entry.

The centre is open four days a week, on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sundays from 10am to 4pm.

Kathy Allday, chair of Knaresborough Museum Association, said:

“The heritage centre is the first of its kind – by the community for the community. Knaresborough has a wealth of archaeology that even local people aren’t always aware of. We’ll display artefacts which show that people have been living in Knaresborough for an astonishing 4,000 years.

“We want the heritage centre to be a hub where schools, groups and individuals can all get involved with lifelong learning opportunities, helping to make Knaresborough an even more wonderful town.”

Knaresborough Heritage Centre display. Image: KMA Facebook

The opening marked the culmination of a long-running campaign to find larger and more suitable premises to the small gallery and office space that previously operated from a converted house at 8 York Place.

The association has spent almost £30,000 on refurbishing the premises.

Knaresborough Town Museum Group was set up in 2019 to campaign for a new museum and plans were first put to Harrogate Borough Council in 2020 to create the space. The museum group was renamed Knaresborough Museum Association and registered as a charity in 2021.

You can see images of the opening event below:

The town crier and trustees were in attendance

A window poster at the new centre. Image: KMA Facebook

MP Andrew Jones with vice-chair Malcolm Hay at the VIP preview.

Knaresborough Heritage Centre to open next year

A Knaresborough Heritage Centre will open on the town’s High Street next year.

The centre will include a shop selling Knaresborough books, gifts and cards, an information centre for visitors and a multi-purpose gallery for exhibitions, talks and workshops.

Located in the former Printzone premises, it is hoped the building will be open to visitors at least four days a week from spring.

Knaresborough Town Museum Group was set up in 2019 to campaign for a museum. It was renamed Knaresborough Museum Association and registered as a charity in 2021.

The association had a small gallery and office space in a converted house at 8 York Place, which has now closed to visitors.

Kathy Allday, chair of Knaresborough Museum Association

A planned move to the former Castle girls’ school fell through after protracted negotiations with Harrogate Borough Council, which was abolished in April.

Kathy Allday, chair of the association, has now announced the organisation has received the keys to the former Printzone premises opposite the bus station.

Ms Allday said:

“York Place has been great but this will enable us to do more activities.

“We will be stepping-up in a lot of different areas.”

It is hoped the new site, which needs refurbishing, will be ready to open by spring.

The association organised the first Knaresborough archaeological festival in October, which attracted more than 1,000 people over two weekends.

Archaeology festival brings Knaresborough’s rich story to life

Anyone walking around Knaresborough could hardly fail to notice it’s a beautiful and historic place. But trying to find out more about its rich past isn’t easy.

The town’s first community archaeological festival, which begins today (Saturday), aims to shine some light — and the organisers hope it will be the start of a long-term drive to tell Knaresborough’s story.

Hundreds of people are expected at the free festival, which takes place from 10am to 4pm today and tomorrow and at the same times next weekend at the Centre-on-Gracious Street.

A 4,000-year-old ceremonial axe found at Hopperton will be among the star attractions. People can bring along their own artefacts for experts to examine and Nun Tabbetha will provide some half-term fun by writing medieval pardons for naughty visitors.

Knaresborough Museum Association, which has organised the festival, hopes the event will prove a springboard for further study into the town’s past.

Chair Kathy Allday said:

“There is so much out there that we don’t know much about. Knaresborough remains a bit of a mystery in many ways.

“We hope the festival will create more interest in the archeology of Knaresborough, generate local pride and raise awareness of how fantastic Knaresborough is.”

Knaresborough Museum Association volunteers at a dig.

Former archaeologist Kathy is passionate about Knaresborough and full of tantalising tales, many of which remain shrouded in secrets.

For example, she says a washing tunnel is believed to have existed in a medieval hospital in Spitalcroft. The tunnel in a swollen pool naturally filled with pure, clean water but the site is now part of a private garden. The Trinitarian Priory, which was dissolved by Henry VIII, is known to have been a regional mother church but its full size and significance needs further research.

Two Roman hordes have been discovered in the area. Viking straps and Saxon pins will be on display this weekend. But Knaresborough’s golden age was the medieval period, when Kathy says Abbey Road “was like Piccadilly Circus” because so many people flocked to St Robert’s Cave, the Trinitarian Priory and Knaresborough Castle.

Nidd Gorge is a key area of historical interest. Kathy says:

“Because we have an ice age gorge that has been cut through we have layers from the past all revealing different artefacts.

“There is evidence of people living there for thousands of years. There are bones and teeth of prehistoric animals. Think Woolly Mammoths.”

A mudlarker called Steve has spent 20 years extracting items from the Nidd. His finds include medieval pottery, a Victorian doll and a jug inscribed with the name John Ingleby, from the family that owns Ripley Castle.

Kathy wants to know more about the Iron Age fort that existed at Nidd Gorge and talks excitedly about the possibility of bringing home Knaresborough treasures currently housed elsewhere, including the Brotherton Library in Leeds and the nomadic Harrison Collection.

For that to happen, Knaresborough needs a larger museum.

The association currently operates Knaresborough Museum at 8 York Place, which is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It has served the town well but the ground floor of a house was never likely to be an adequate long-term solution and there are plans to move to larger premises after a bid to use the former Castle girls school fell through.

Kathy is quick to pay tribute to the work of other local groups, including Knaresborough Castle and Courthouse Museum, Claro Community Archaeology Group and Bilton Conservation Group for their work in specific fields.

But she hopes the museum can become the overarching focal point for telling Knaresborough’s story — not only a place to go but also a hub to conduct further research and hold events, including more festivals, that take the town’s story to community groups and schools.

It’s a long-term mission — but few would doubt Knaresborough has a story worth telling.

Knaresborough to hold first community archaeology festival

Knaresborough’s fascinating past is to be brought to life at the town’s first community archaeology festival this month.

Visitors will see hundreds of local artefacts from prehistoric times to the modern era, including a 4,000-year-old ceremonial hand axe.

They are also invited to bring along any artefacts they have found and a team of experts will answer questions about them.

Knaresborough Museum Association is hosting the free to enter festival over the two half-term weekends of October 28 and 29 and November 4 and 5 from 10am to 4pm at Centre-on-Gracious Street.

Kathy Allday, chair of the association, said:

“It’s a really exciting opportunity for visitors to look at a wide range of archaeological finds from the local area and find out what these tell us about the people who have lived in this area for generations.

“We can learn about the first inhabitants who came to hunt, live and farm in Knaresborough, and see what they left behind.”

“The displays also tell us what the Romans, Vikings and Saxons got up to in Knaresborough, as well as shining a light on the town’s amazing medieval history.”

Association vice-chair Malcolm Hay inspects a find.

A £10,000 National Lottery Heritage Fund grant to the association funded the festival and also paid for a geophysical survey of Priory Cottage Orchards on Abbey Road, where the Trinitarian Priory precinct once stood.

Some of the objects on display will be used in a quiz for adults and a game for children at the festival.

Nun Tabbetha will be making an appearance, writing exquisitely illustrated medieval pardons for anyone who needs forgiveness for being naughty.

Audio visual recordings from conservationist Keith Wilkinson on the archaeology of Nidd Gorge, and mudlarker Steve Mycroft will be available and local history books and Knaresborough Christmas cards will be on sale to raise funds for the association.

The association is commissioning a 3D model of the Gates Hill Iron Age fort.

The association plans to take its displays to outlying villages, libraries and community centres, expanding its outreach work with community groups and schools.

It also had plans to organise more exhibitions, research projects and further archaeological survey work.

Knaresborough groups seek funding to progress road train idea

Groups in Knaresborough are set to apply for funding to investigate the feasibility of major new schemes for the town, including a road train.

Knaresborough and District Chamber, Knaresborough Town Council and Knaresborough Museum Association will be among those submitting a bid to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

The UK government created the fund for schemes that encourage local investment and regeneration. It replaces European Union structural funds.

Up to £16.9 million is available in North Yorkshire and £2 million will be awarded in the first year of funding, which is due to open for applications shortly.

This month’s Knaresborough and District Chamber meeting heard it was collaborating with other town groups to formulate a bid for about £40,000 to £50,000.

Peter Lacey, executive member of the chamber, said if funding were awarded it would enable the town to undertake research into four priority areas: heritage, connectivity, developing economic data, and street enhancements.

The land train, which would take people up and down the steep slope between the town centre and Waterside, would fall into the connectivity area. He said:

“The fund would finance fuller feasibility and evidence-gathering to build the case for local capacity-building.”

Progress in Knaresborough museum plan after lease dispute with council

Progress could finally be made in plans for a Knaresborough museum next month after “protracted” negotiations with Harrogate Borough Council.

Knaresborough Museum Association (KMA) said it had been offered a year-long rent-free period on the ground floor of the former Castle Girls’ School building, while it spent money refurbishing the rooms and setting up the museum.

However, when the proposed lease was delivered in the spring, the rent-free period was set begin on April 1, even though the rest of the details had yet to be agreed and there were several more months of negotiation ahead.

KMA chair Kathy Allday said:

“They set the start date at April 1. They just made that decision, we had no forewarning.

“We were really upset, because we thought it was going to be a genuine rent-free period. We’re going to have to start paying rent before the museum is open and bringing in money.”

Harrogate Borough Council argued it had been “completely supportive” of the plans for a long period. A spokesperson said:

“Despite a successful Knaresborough castle and museum already existing in the town, we have been completely supportive of the museum group and have worked tirelessly to help accommodate their endeavours.

“A rent commencement date was agreed at the start of the negotiations, something the group were fully aware of. We have also kept the building vacant for them for more than two years while they finalise their plans – at a time when another community group or organisation could have rented the building – as well as agreeing to a concessionary rent over the first five years of the lease.”

The group said it had disputed a clause which obliged it to pay £12,000 to the council in order to take up a single parking space to install a lift to create an accessible entrance. After negotiation, the fee was reduced to £6,000.

Ms Allday added:

“Elsewhere, when parking spaces have been used, for example for bicycle racks by the town council, they didn’t have to pay a fee.

“The entrance is actually a fire escape route and there’s a fire escape used by the tenant above, the Scouts. [The council] have plonked two car parking spaces right underneath it.”

The council spokesperson said the fire escape was fully compliant with regulations. He also said the charge for the parking space was £6,000 over 10 years, equating to less than £2 per day.

He added:

“We have a responsibility to look after and maintain our assets to generate funds and help support the delivery or frontline services, while also supporting community groups.

“And sadly, despite working extensively with this group and offering them a significant number of incentives to use this building – that could otherwise be occupied by another group for the benefit of the town – they continue to be dissatisfied with what has already been agreed.”

Despite the disagreements, more than six months on from its official start date, the lease should be agreed in the next few weeks.

Fundraising has been slower than expected because of the covid pandemic. Costs have also risen, meaning the association is still fundraising to ensure the project will be completed.

Staff from Succession Wealth in Harrogate have volunteered to help with the preparatory work for the project and KMA is keen to hear from anyone else who can help.

An artist’s impression of how the museum’s exhibits could look

Planning permission has already been granted to improve the building and work is expected to begin in the new year.

The museum will feature a replica Marigold boat, a 3D model of Nidd Gorge in prehistoric times, a wartime Knaresborough display featuring part of a Nissan hut, and plenty of interactive elements.

Ms Allday said:

“Knaresborough has been hiding much of its geology, archaeology and social history under a bushel resulting in much of the town’s history not being told.

“By showcasing the amazing geology and archaeology of the town along with its fascinating social history, Knaresborough Town Museum will complement and dovetail with what is displayed at the Court House Museum.

“It is a really exciting opportunity for the two museums to complement each other and we hope by continuing to engage with HBC’s museum service that the benefits of a new heritage quarter for Knaresborough can be realised.”

KMA hopes the Knaresborough Town Museum will open in late summer 2023.

How did a First World War bomb end up in Knaresborough?

Knaresborough has its share of mysteries — did Mother Shipton really predict the future and how did Blind Jack build so many roads?

Now there is a new one: how did a First World War bomb lie undiscovered in the River Nidd for so many years?

The bomb was found in the shallows beneath Grimbald Bridge yesterday by litter picker Simon Briscombe.

Mr Briscombe thought it was a gas canister until the bomb squad turned up and carried out a controlled explosion in a nearby field.

Police closed the A59 for two hours.

It seems miraculous that such a weapon could have lurked undiscovered for more than a century — and how did it get there?

Intriguingly, Kathy Allday, chair of Knaresborough Museum Association, said a British plane came down in the Nidd during the First World War, close to the area where the weapon was discovered.

The pilot was killed and debris was scattered across the river. Could it have been carrying the bomb?

Unexploded shell in Scriven Park

It isn’t the first explosive device found in Knaresborough.

Members of Claro Community Archaeology Group discovered an unexploded shell from the Second World War in Scriven Park while metal detecting several years ago.

Mike Baxter, chairman of the group, says there was a munitions factory at nearby Farnham during the Second World War. He added.

“The Home Guard was supplied with all kinds of horrible phosphorus-type bombs in case we were invaded.”

Kevin Earl, a military history enthusiast from Knaresborough, said his gut feeling was that this was a German bomb from the Second World War and if it dated back to the 1914-18 war he could only imagine it had been disposed of in the river.

Knaresborough resident Chris Jenkins got in touch to say:

“The photo of the actual item was an artillery shell.

“You can see the soft metal drive bands on the shell. This makes more sense as I am not aware of Knaresborough being bombed in World War One.

“It’s not uncommon to find war trophies ditched near bridges. Guns and material were brought home and then ditched over the years when it was realised they were not appropriate.”

Simon Briscombe

Mr Briscombe, who stumbled across the weapon, thinks this explanation is plausible. He said:

“Judging by the state it was in when I pulled it out of the river it had obviously been there a long time.

“It’s quite probable that somebody brought it back from the war as a memento and when he died his family chucked it into the river.”

The self-employed electrician said he hadn’t managed to do much work today but was grateful to be alive.

“My phone has been ringing off the hook. I think I’m going to have to knock today on the head. But there could have been bits of me hanging off the bridge!”

Knaresborough Museum to open doors for first time in June

Knaresborough Town Museum will open its doors for the first time this summer to give visitors a sneak peek at the museum.

Knaresborough Museum Association will hold a community history festival on June 2-4 as part of the town’s the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations.

The museum, based at the former Castle Girls’ School near Knaresborough Castle, has been in the works since late 2020 but with the building lease set to be signed on April 1, the group can begin to plan events.

Some of the museum’s volunteers. Left to right: Sam Roberts, Clare Joia, Kathy Allday and Suzanne Coulson

The museum won’t be fully ready for the festival but it will have had a fresh lick of paint and will host stalls from numerous local groups, including the Royal British Legion Knaresborough branch and the Knaresborough Historical Society.

There will also be activities for children, including a mock-Victorian classroom for craft activity. The group hopes to have people teach heritage crafts, such as cotton spinning.

The museum itself is set to officially open in February 2023. A planning application has been submitted to Harrogate Borough Council but chair of the association, Kathy Allday, said due to a delay in contractors works won’t be able to start until autumn.

She said:

“It’s a shame we’ve had to push back the opening date but after the festival we can hit the ground running and get works underway.

“We’ll be unveiling artefacts at the festival and a 3D model of how the museum will look. We will also be trialling our history trail which walks around the town, the hopes is we can do these regularly once the museum is open.”

The museum is being funded by public donations and grants, it will include eight exhibition zones covering periods of history from the Jurassic age to the World Wars.

The association is currently looking for business sponsors to come on board to support the museum as it opens, to get in touch click here.

Knaresborough Museum goes for more funding to open next year

The Knaresborough Museum is taking shape as the team creating it has applied for an extra £60,000 in grant funding.

The Knaresborough Museum Association (KMA) already raised £43,000 earlier this year to get plans underway but it is now going for more funding to make them a reality.

It plans to open the first Knaresborough Town Museum in the former Castle Girls’ School in Castle Yard.

The plans for the building include a reception and shop, permanent and temporary display areas, an education space, toilets and wheelchair access.

The KMA had previously hoped to have the museum open for the end of the year but covid has delayed negotiations with Harrogate Borough Council.

The KMA said it is anticipating signing the lease for the building “soon” and opening in 2022.

Association chair Kathy Allday said:

“It is all happening on the Museum front! Knaresborough Museum Association are now working with geology, archaeology and social history museums around the country to bring artefacts back to Knaresborough.”

Plans unveiled for the Knaresborough Town Museum

Work is currently underway to bring its prehistory and geology display together. The plan is to display fossils of the now extinct animals that roamed the town 300 million years ago.

A programme of archaeological surveys have also started in the Abbey Road and Spitalcroft areas. The KMA volunteers are working with academics from Leeds, York and America.

All the surveys are to create a medieval exhibit which will display a model of the Trinitarian priory and artefacts from the 13th century.

Other exhibits will see the reconstruction of Marigold’s Boat so visitors can sit and learn about the town rom the Victorian era to the 1960s.

Local children are also getting involved in a film to tell the story of wartime in Knaresborough and the history of the Olde Chemiste Shoppe.

Local residents have the chance to ask questions about the museum and its plans at its Pop Up Museum event for the FEVA festival. Volunteers will be based at St Mary’s Church Hall on August 14 and 15.

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Unexploded shell in Scriven Park

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