List of museums in West Yorkshire facts for kids

West Yorkshire is a cool place in England with lots of interesting museums! A museum is like a special building where people collect and take care of old things, art, science stuff, or items from history. They show these collections to everyone. This list will tell you about some of the awesome museums you can visit in West Yorkshire.

Amazing Museums in West Yorkshire

History and Home Museums

These museums let you step back in time and see how people lived long ago.

Abbey House Museum

Located in Kirkstall, this museum shows you what Victorian streets looked like. You can explore old shops and houses from that time.

Bolling Hall

In Bradford, Bolling Hall is a manor home from the 14th century. It shows how families lived there over 500 years.

Bramham Park

Near Bramham, this is a grand house from the early 1700s. It's built in a fancy style called Baroque.

Brontë Parsonage Museum

Visit Haworth to learn about the famous Brontë family. This museum tells the story of their lives and the novels they wrote.

East Riddlesden Hall

This 17th-century manor house in Keighley is run by the National Trust. It has beautiful gardens to explore.

Harewood House

In Harewood, this huge 18th-century country house was designed by famous architects. It has amazing furniture and gardens, plus a bird garden!

Lotherton Hall

This country estate near Aberford has Victorian and Edwardian rooms. It also features a costume collection, lovely gardens, and a red deer park.

Nostell Priory

Near Nostell, this 18th-century house is also run by the National Trust. It has beautiful furniture and a large park.

Oakwell Hall

In Birstall, this Elizabethan manor house has period gardens. It's a great place to imagine life in the 1500s.

Red House Museum

This 1830s cloth merchant's home in Gomersal has connections to the Brontë family.

Shibden Hall

Located in Shibden, this timber-framed house from the 15th century is very old. Its park includes a folk museum about rural life.

Temple Newsam House and Estate

In Leeds, this Tudor-Jacobean house has beautiful grounds. It displays fine art, furniture, and textiles.

Art Galleries and Creative Spaces

If you love art, these places are for you!

Batley Art Gallery

This gallery in Batley used to show art by local artists. As of 2025, it is closed and there is no date for it to reopen.

Cartwright Hall

In Bradford, this art gallery has Victorian and Edwardian art. It also features Asian art and textiles.

Dean Clough

This former carpet factory in Halifax now holds art galleries, a theatre, and music spaces.

Gallery II

This is a contemporary art gallery at the University of Bradford.

Henry Moore Institute in Leeds

In Leeds, this institute is all about sculpture. You can see amazing works of art here.

Huddersfield Art Gallery

This gallery in Huddersfield focuses on British art from the 20th century. It includes paintings, drawings, and sculptures.

Leeds Art Gallery

In Leeds, this gallery has a collection of British art from the 19th and 20th centuries.

Leeds College of Art

This college in Leeds hosts many contemporary art shows each year in its two galleries.

Salts Mill

This old textile mill in Saltaire now has art galleries. You can see works by David Hockney and learn about local history.

Smith Art Gallery

In Brighouse, this gallery has Victorian paintings and changing exhibits by local artists.

Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery

This gallery is part of the University of Leeds. It has European and British paintings, drawings, and prints from the 17th century to today.

The Hepworth Wakefield

This art gallery in Wakefield has many sculptures by the famous artist Barbara Hepworth.

West Yorkshire Print Workshop

In Golcar, this is an art center for printmaking and crafts with its own gallery.

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Near West Bretton, this park has changing exhibits of sculptures both outdoors and indoors. It's a great place to see art in nature.

Science, Industry, and Transportation Museums

Discover how things work and how people traveled in the past.

Bradford Industrial Museum

In Eccleshill, this museum shows off local industry. You can see working printing and textile machines. It also has classic cars, motorbikes, and even a locomotive!

Calderdale Industrial Museum

This museum in Halifax celebrates the area's industrial past.

Colour Experience

In Bradford, this museum has visual displays that show how our eyes see color. You need to book your visit ahead of time.

David Brown Tractor Club Museum

In Meltham, this museum is all about David Brown tractors and their history.

Dewsbury Bus Museum

This museum in Dewsbury has a collection of old buses and coaches. You can see them on open days.

Ingrow Loco Museum

In Ingrow, this museum has a collection of locomotives. It's run by the Bahamas Locomotive Society.

Keighley and Worth Valley Railway

This heritage railway in Oxenhope has a museum at Oxenhope railway station. You can see old trains and railway items.

Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills

In Armley, this museum has textile machines, railway equipment, and heavy engineering displays.

Middleton Railway Museum

In Hunslet, this is a heritage railway with a shed full of locomotives and old train cars.

Museum of Rail Travel

In Ingrow, this museum has historic railway carriages and other train-related items.

National Coal Mining Museum for England

Near Overton, this museum is in a former coal mine. You can even go on underground tours!

National Media Museum

In Bradford, this museum explores photography, cinema, television, and animation. It has lots of cool technology and artifacts.

Standedge Tunnel Visitor Centre

In Marsden, this center tells the story of building the Standedge Tunnels. It also shares the history of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.

Thwaite Mills

In Leeds, this museum is a fully working water-powered textile mill. You can see how it used to operate.

Local and Community Museums

These museums focus on the history and culture of specific towns and areas.

Bagshaw Museum

In Batley, this museum covers local history, nature, and art from different parts of the world. It even has an Ancient Egyptian exhibition!

Bracken Hall Countryside Centre and Museum

Near Baildon, this center focuses on natural history, archaeology, and local history. It also has programs for kids.

Castleford Forum Museum

In Castleford, this museum tells the history of the town, from the Bronze Age to today. It's located above the local library.

Cliffe Castle Museum

This 19th-century castle in Keighley has period rooms and exhibits on local history, nature, and archaeology.

Colne Valley Museum

In Golcar, this museum is made up of three old weaver's cottages. You can see weaving equipment from the 1850s.

Gibson Mill

Located in Hardcastle Crags near Hebden Bridge, this 19th-century textile mill is now a visitor center with local history exhibits. It's run by the National Trust.

Heptonstall Museum

In Heptonstall, this museum shares the local history of the area.

Horsforth Village Museum

This museum in Horsforth focuses on the history of the village.

Launds Inn Museum

In Golcar, this museum is a restored 14th-century inn with local history exhibits. Its website has not been updated since 2019, but it is still listed in the council's directory.

Leeds City Museum

In Leeds, this large museum covers local history, natural history (including the famous Leeds Tiger), and archaeology from ancient times.

Manor House Museum

In Ilkley, this museum explores local history, archaeology, and art.

Otley Museum

This museum in Otley tells the story of the town's local history.

Pontefract Museum

In Pontefract, this museum covers local history, mining, and archaeology.

Tolson Museum

In Huddersfield, this museum has collections on local history, natural history, transportation, and textiles.

Wakefield Museum

In Wakefield, this museum has collections on local history, culture, and natural history.

Special Interest Museums

These museums focus on unique topics.

Bullecourt Museum

In Milnsbridge, this museum displays military artifacts.

Dewsbury Minster Heritage Centre

This heritage center in Dewsbury shares the history of the church.

Eureka! The National Children's Museum

In Halifax, this museum is all about play-based learning for children. It's a super fun place to explore!

Fulneck Moravian Museum

In the Fulneck Moravian Settlement, this museum has items from the Moravian community. It includes crafts, a Victorian parlor, and an old fire engine.

Gissing Centre

In Wakefield, this was the childhood home of novelist George Gissing. It has exhibits about his life.

Ilkley Toy Museum

In Ilkley, this museum has toys and dolls from ancient times to today.

Last of The Summer Wine Exhibition

In Holmfirth, this exhibition has items from the British TV show Last of the Summer Wine.

Mental Health Museum

In Wakefield, this museum tells the history of mental health care. It has artifacts from the old West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum.

Museum of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine

This museum, part of the University of Leeds, has teaching materials and shows the history of education. Its current status is unknown.

Peace Museum

In Bradford, this museum explores the history of peace, non-violence, and how people solve conflicts.

Royal Armouries Museum

In Leeds, this museum has an amazing collection of armor, swords, and weapons from different times in history.

Museums That Are Now Closed

Sometimes museums close down. Here are some that used to be in West Yorkshire:

• Clarke Hall, Wakefield (closed in 2012)
• Harmonium Museum, Saltaire (closed in 2011)
• Keighley Private Classic Car Museum, Keighley
• Rugby League Heritage Centre, Huddersfield (closed in 2013 and is looking for a new home)
• Transperience, Low Moor, Bradford (closed in 1997)
• Wakefield Art Gallery (closed in 2009, its collections moved to The Hepworth Wakefield)
• Yorkshire Motor Museum, Batley (closed in 2010)
• Keighley Police Museum was temporarily closed in 2014. It is no longer listed as an active museum.
• The Tetley in Leeds, which was a center for contemporary art, closed in 2023.
• Todmorden Toy & Model Museum closed in 2018.

See also