Craven Museum
With a National Art Pass you get
Located within the Town Hall on Skipton's High Street, Craven Museum has an excellent local history collection through which it tells the story of the southern part of the Yorkshire Dales known as Craven.
Craven Museum is a treasure trove, exploring millions of years of Yorkshire history. Whether you like rocks or rare books, photographs or furniture, art, or taxidermy – you’ll find it here. There are many interactive elements to the museum, with something to inspire people of all ages.
Learn about local history and culture
See the amazing First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays, printed in 1623. Marvel at the skill and beauty of rare items from prehistoric and Roman times. Explore the limestone caves of Craven. Find out what it was really like to live in Skipton at the time of Queen Victoria. Enjoy a display of furniture by master craftsman Robert Thompson – the Mouseman. The words of Craven people are woven throughout, bringing to life the stories and treasures on display. The exhibition gallery shows a changing programme of exhibitions from local and national artists and crafts people. Exhibitions often showcase local community projects and the museum collection.
Exciting events and activities
Craven Museum and gallery are embedded in Grade II Listed Skipton Town Hall, a modern cultural hub for the market town of Skipton on the southern edge of the Yorkshire Dales. The venue is also home to a historic concert hall, education, and community spaces which all work in unison with the museum to enrich and expand the cultural experiences on offer. Skipton Town Hall runs an exciting and inclusive programme of events, including free Craven Museum family craft sessions every school holiday, relaxed museum sessions, regular object handling sessions, collection store tours, workshops, talks and performances.
A great day out for families
Craven Museum is the winner of the Kids in Museums Family Friendly Museum and Best Accessible Museum 2023. The museum and gallery are fully accessible with; lifts front and rear of the building; a brand-new Changing Places Toilet facility; all gender baby changing toilet facilities; dementia friendly signage; audio visual aids; automatic doors.
Visitor information
Address
Skipton Town Hall, High Street, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 1AH
01756 706397
Opening times
Monday - Saturday, 9.30am - 4.30pm
Exclusions and safety measures
It’s our top priority that all our visitors and staff are happy and safe.
Our team will be completing regular and enhanced cleaning throughout the day and between performances.
Hand sanitising stations are available throughout the building.
Refurbishments
From 2019 -21 a complete restoration and refurbishment of Grade 11 Listed Skipton Town Hall took place alongside reinterpretation of Craven Museum collections and redesign of the museum.
All changes and additions were made with with accessibility in mind. The building is now fully accessible with; lifts front and rear of the building; a brand new Changing Places Toilet facility; all gender baby changing toilet facilities; dementia friendly signage; audio visual aids; automatic doors.
Visitor information
The more you see, the more we do.
The National Art Pass lets you enjoy free entry to hundreds of museums, galleries and historic places across the UK, while raising money to support them.