Ilkley Manor House facts for kids
The front or south-facing side of Ilkley Manor House, Ilkley, with a view of the Castle Yard courtyard.
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| Former name | Manor House Museum and Art Gallery |
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| Established | 1961 |
| Location | Castle Yard, Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England LS29 9DT |
| Type | Heritage centre, Historic house museum, Interpretation centre, Art gallery |
| Public transit access | Ilkley railway station; Ben Rhydding railway station |
Ilkley Manor House is a special place in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England. It's a museum, an art gallery, and a place for live events. It opened in this building in 1961.
The museum's main goal was to save old archaeological treasures. Many Roman items were being lost as the town grew. For a while, Bradford Council managed it. But in 2013, it had to close because there wasn't enough money. To keep it open, a group called the Ilkley Manor House Trust was formed. In 2018, Bradford Council gave the Manor House and three nearby cottages to the Trust. This meant the community could run it.
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The Story of Ilkley Museum
Before the museum moved to the Manor House, it had an interesting history. Here are some important moments:
- 1892: A museum was started by a group of local people. They needed to save Roman and other old items. These items were being dug up as Ilkley grew. People said Roman materials were being taken away in carts! Local historians tried to save them, but had nowhere to put them. The building we now call the Manor House was their first choice, but it was too expensive. So, they bought an old chapel instead. The museum opened on 25 August 1892. The first person to look after the museum was Herbert Oxley. Soon after, it was renamed the Ilkley Museum and Antiquarian Society.
- 1893: The first things on display included local rocks and plants. There were also drawings of ancient stones with cup and ring carvings. You could also see Roman relics, like a special triple vase. There were even items from a local musician called Blind Jim.
- 1896: The Ilkley Urban District Council took over the museum. When the first curator, Herbert Oxley, died, his wife took his place.
- 1908: The museum moved to the top floor of the new Public Library. William Graham became the new curator and stayed until 1942.
- 1922-28: The museum got many new items, but it became too crowded. There were too many things that weren't from the local area. This made it hard to sort and display the important local Roman items. So, many non-local items were given back or sold to other museums. Some interesting items that were kept included photos of local people, a stuffed albatross, old coins, and even Japanese armour. There were also Anglo-Saxon cross carvings and a famous Roman triple vase.
- 1939–1948: During World War II, the museum's exhibits were packed away. This made space for wartime offices. The curator, William Graham, died, and no one replaced him. Many items got mixed up or went missing while in storage.
- 1949: The museum reopened thanks to Grace Simpson and Elsie Fletcher. It was called Ilkley Museum again.
- 1954: Elsie Fletcher started the Olicana Museum Society. This group, now called the Olicana Historical Society, still explores local history today.
- 1955–1961: The Old Castle, which is the current Manor House building, became available. It was almost knocked down! It needed a lot of money and work to turn it from cottages into one museum building. With help from the local council and a government grant, the Manor House Museum and Art Gallery opened on 8 July 1961.
Ilkley Manor House Since 1961
Here are the main things that have happened at Ilkley Manor House since it became a museum:
- 1961–1974: The old building itself became a key part of the museum. By 1963, the top rooms were art galleries. Arthur Kitching became the second curator. He was an artist himself and showed his work there.
- 1963: A group called the Friends of the Manor House was created to support it.
- 1974-77: The people who looked after the building used to live upstairs. But their rooms were turned into offices. In 1974, the Manor House joined the Arts and Museums Division of Bradford Metropolitan District. This helped the museum get some lost items back and share resources with other museums. Arthur Kitching stopped being curator in 1977.
- 2013: Bradford Metropolitan District Council announced they could no longer fund Ilkley Manor House. A group started a campaign to save it from closing.
- 2016: The Ilkley Manor House Trust was officially formed.
- 2017: Bradford Council agreed to let the Manor House be run by the Trust as a community building.
- 2018: After being closed for five years, Ilkley Manor House reopened. The famous TV presenter Alan Titchmarsh helped open it.
- 2021: The Friends of the Manor House group was no longer active.
- 2022-present: In early 2022, the Manor House started a Supporters' Scheme. Also, two special Verbeia altar stones were moved. The original Roman one and a copy from 1608 are now together in the Heritage Room.
What You Can See Today
Most of the local historical items are now in the Heritage Room. This room is on the ground floor of the solar wing. You can see items from the Stone Age (Neolithic period), Roman times, and the Middle Ages. There are also things from Victorian, Edwardian, and more recent years.
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The original Roman altar on the left and the 1608 replica on the right. The original is dedicated to the goddess of the River Wharfe, Verbeia.
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Neolithic arrowheads
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Gritstone bas-relief tombstone of Romano-British woman Vedica, who died aged 30.
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Sandstone bas-relief of Roman family.
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Samian ware sherds.
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Anglo-Saxon carved sandstone blocks.
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Oak bench from home of Thomas Chippendale, possibly made by him or his father.
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Oak bench from home of Thomas Chippendale, possibly made by him or his father: closeup.
The Manor House Building
The Manor House building itself is very old and interesting. It is the oldest house in Ilkley. It was built next to All Saints' Parish Church. Both were built on the site of an old Roman fort called Olicana. The church was built in Anglo-Saxon times on top of the fort's headquarters. The Manor House was built into the fort's western walls. You can still see many small Roman stone blocks in the building.
Before it became a museum, Ilkley Manor House was known as 'The Castle'. This name probably came from the Roman fort, which was called a castrum. The House also has signs of a Pele Tower. This might also explain the 'Castle' name. However, the building was probably not used as a real fort.
The front of the building faces south. The left side, or west wing, now has a buttery and a storeroom. This part is partly from the Middle Ages and was built on the Roman fort wall. The doorways inside have special 14th-century arches. The windows with stone dividers are from the 17th century. The middle part of the roof covers the main eating hall with a fireplace. The right side, or east wing, was the solar wing. This was where the owner lived upstairs. It had a toilet (garderobe) and a fireplace. The top floor of the solar wing is now the Solar Art Gallery. The front walls and windows of the main hall and solar wing are from the 16th century. The front doorway with a pointed arch might be from the late Norman period.
The back or north side of the building also uses stones taken from the Roman fort. The passage doorway might be from the Middle Ages. The archway and the right (west) wing are from the 17th century. The wall under the middle and east parts of the roof on this side is from the 15th or 16th century. The largest window in the solar wing on this north side is from the 17th century. Other windows on the north side are more modern.
Inside the roof of the solar room, you can see the strong wooden frame. This frame, made of king posts and beams, was built in the 15th or 16th century. It forms the main support for the roof.
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A close-up view of Ilkley Manor House's fireplace in the main hall. On the top right, you can just about see a rectangle where there was possibly a bread oven.
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View up the chimney
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15th-16th century roof interior.
Learning at the Manor House
The Manor House is also a great place for learning. Schools often visit the Heritage Room on the ground floor. Children learn about the history of the area, especially Roman British history. This fits with what they learn in school.
At the House, kids can discover:
- The remains of the Roman fort.
- What life was like for a Roman soldier in Britain. You can even see a copy of a Roman helmet!
- Roman military battles.
- How the fort and the nearby town worked.
Visitors can also read two new information boards outside. One, 'Discover the History of the Roman Fort', is by the Roman wall. It tells you about the Romans living there. The second, 'Journey Back in Time', is near the Northern Gate Marker. It talks about what life might have been like long ago.
See also
- Grade I listed buildings in West Yorkshire
- Listed buildings in Ilkley
