The deadline for a fundraising appeal to create a Knaresborough Museum has been extended after it failed to reach its target of £35,000.

Knaresborough Museum Association launched a crowdfunding appeal to raise £35,000 in January.

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

Archeology, geology and social history will be at the heart of the new museum. Exhibitions about the Trinitarian priory, World War Two and the dinosaur era are already planned.

But donations have so far raised only about £20,000, prompting the association to renew its appeal to local people to get on board. The crowdfunding appeal has generated about £11,500 but other donations have boosted the total to £20,000.

Association chair Kathy Allday said she was “very optimistic” the target would be reached but said if it wasn’t the project would still go ahead, albeit with amended plans.

The main works to the foyer would be affected, which might limit access for wheelchair users and people with mobility issue. Ms Allday assured people that, if this were the case, fundraising would continue to make the museum accessible for all as soon as possible.

Since plans for the opening began, association volunteers have been researching the town ahead of the launch of exhibitions, which has led to discoveries about the town’s priory.

The family of the late author and local historian, Arnold Kellet, has donated part of his archive of artefacts and research about the town to help with the exhibitions.

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Ms Allday said:

“I know the museum is something people want. Even if it’s just £10 it all helps.

“We extended the deadline to keep going and to raise money. We are dependent on the support of the community to donate and volunteer for this to be a success.”

The group still plans to make the project a reality by the end of the year.

Plans have been published showing how the ground floor of Knaresborough’s new museum could look.

The Knaresborough Museum Association has been campaigning for months to establish a new museum in the town’s former Castle Girls’ School.

The association has applied for planning permission to use the building and is now fundraising to make the project a reality by the end of the year.

A crowdfunding campaign has so far raised £3,300 towards its £35,000 target,

The newly revealed plans include a reception and shop, permanent and temporary display areas, an education space, toilets and wheelchair access.

The indicative plans for the ground floor. Illustration: Caroline Miekina

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Archeology, geology and social history will be at the heart of the new museum.

The association has sent questionnaires to local people who lived in the 1930s, 40s and 50s so their stories can be recorded.

The town’s population is said to have doubled during World War Two as evacuees, military personnel and prisoners of war based at Scriven Hall camp arrived.

The museum will illustrate how Knaresborough was home to dinosaurs such as Ankylosaurus during the Carboniferous period over 300 million years ago.

It will also show how Nidd Gorge has changed from the Carboniferous period through the Permian period when the sea covered much of the region to the Ice Age when the River Nidd was re-routed and carved the gorge we see today.

The association already has exhibits and display material from its previous pop-up museums, which showcased the story of Knaresborough from prehistoric times to the present day.

These new visuals indicate key areas the association wants to develop, including new displays on the Trinitarian Priory.

To support the museum project, click here.

The bid to create a Knaresborough museum will take its next step this week with the launch of a crowdfunding appeal for £35,000.

Knaresborough Museum Association, which was set up last year, hopes the museum will open by the end of the year.

It will be based on the ground floor of the former Castle Girls’ School, near Knaresborough castle.

The crowdfunding page will launch on Thursday to raise money for the site’s renovation, disability access, toilets and museum equipment, such as display cabinets.

Plans for the museum were submitted in October. The building will tell the story of the historic town and its people.

This artefact is on loan to Knaresborough Museum Association from the town’s Trinitarian Priory.

The museum is also applying for charitable status. Education and community engagement will be at the centre of its work.

Kathy Allday, chair of the association, said:

“There is still a lot of work to do but we are very excited. We have a lot of ideas for exhibitions.

“After all the depressing news in 2020, I feel Knaresborough is going to have a great year this year and what could be better than establishing a new museum that celebrates the town and its people?”

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The museum has already received a £5,000 donation from local businessman Sir Graham Hall, who said in a statement he thought the museum could make a “significant difference” to the town.

The association has plans to stage exhibitions on World War Two and the Trinitarian Priory, as well as recordings of local people talking about their town.

The group has said the museum will be more than a few artefacts: there are plans to include interactive display boards, films and sound effects.

Contributions to the crowdfunding appeal can be made here although the link is not due to go live until Thursday.

Plans to open a dedicated museum in Knaresborough have taken a significant step forward after Harrogate Borough Council backed the plans.

The council’s cabinet have decided to let the Knaresborough Museum Association (KMA) take on the former dance school for a “fair and reasonable rent”.

Before the museum can open the KMA has said it needs to fundraise a few thousand pounds and renovate the building, which has fallen into disrepair.

However the group sees this as a major boost for their museum plans at the Castle Girls’ School building. Kathy Allday, chair of KMA, told the Stray Ferret:

“This is terrific news and it has been around 18 months in the making. This is a great location so close to the castle and the court house museum.

“Knaresborough has such a rich and fascinating history. We want to complement what the existing museum already does, not replicate it.”

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Kathy has called for anyone who wants to join the KMA or just help as a volunteer to get in touch by sending an email here.

The plans for the building on Castle Yard in Knaresborough include a hub for historical exhibitions and to become an educational space for the community.

“Our Knaresborough: Our Stories” will be the first exhibition and it is already ready to go. It tells the town’s story from the pre-historic age right through to WWII.

The group is already working on a second exibition about how life change from the 1930s to the 1950s.

The Knaresborough Museum Association (KMA) has put plans for a heritage hub about the town’s history to Harrogate Borough Council.

The Association is hoping the council will approve its business plan during a meeting next week.

The plan explains how the hub will be used to hold historical exhibitions, bring in revenue and become an education space for the local community.

The KMA has identified a largely vacant building on Castle Yard as the perfect spot to open its hub. The building was previously used as a dance school but is now used by local scout groups.

The group has its hopes set high for the future with plans to open a town museum.

The KMA chair Kathy Allday described the “big dream” would take a lot of funding but it would allow the group to display constant exhibitions and artefacts tracking the town from its humble beginnings to present day.

Visitors to an exhibition hosted by the KMA last year.

The group has run several successful exhibitions about the town. Last year its exhibition tracking the town from pre-historic times to present day had over 1500 visitors over its two weekends.

Kathy said:

“We have the support of local so I am hoping our plan is accepted. We need to celebrate the town’s history, there is so much of it and there are so many exhibitions and stories to be told.

“If the plans were approved the building would need refurbishing and we would have to start fundraising straight away but we have some ideas for that already.”

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It is hoped the group can build the hub’s reputation over time for educational and enjoyable exhibitions about the town and work with local community groups and schools.

The group is hoping that it can have the space open for May 2021 but has said the pandemic could delay that.

Kathy has written a guidebook ‘Our Knaresborough, Our Stories’ to fundraise for the KMA. It tells all of Knaresborough’s history including its archaeology and geology.