100 Years of Collecting - Online Exhibition

Wakefield Museums & Castles are celebrating 100 years of our collection throughout 2023 with new displays, digital content and events.

To launch the celebrations, our team have been searching through our treasure trove to pick 100 objects that represent our 100 years of collecting.

We’ve whittled it down to a selection that we hope tells lots of different stories and reflects the diverse and fascinating character of places across Wakefield District.

Some of the objects are prehistoric artefacts and others are brand new!

They cover a wide range of topics, from home life to work and industry, sports and leisure to entertainment and creativity, politics and protest to law and order.

Online Exhibition

Discover some of the many treasures in our collection in our interactive gallery below!

You can also click here to open the online exhibition in a new window.

Please note: The content might take a moment to load depending on your connection.

Click the 'How to Use' button in the top right hand corner for the 'How to Use' guide.

Mobile or tablet browsing? Click the three dots in the bottom right hand corner of the image, and then the two arrows, to bring it full screen (better for mobile browsing). You may also benefit from rotating your screen to landscape mode.

Our collections can tell us lots of amazing stories about many different people. But we know that they don’t always tell the full story of Wakefield District. Some voices, places and communities are missing. We are always working hard to try and fill these gaps and reveal previously hidden histories. 

If you have a story or an object that you think should be in the collection, we’d love to hear from you.

To suggest a story or an object, please contact us on museums@wakefield.gov.uk or comment below.

You can help us to decide what the next 100 objects in our collection should be!

The next chapter

As we look back at the history of the collection and celebrate our story so far, we’re also looking ahead to a bright future and we want you to be part of it!

We are developing an exciting New Library and Museum in the former British Home Stores building in the heart of Wakefield city centre.

Click here to find out more about the New Library and Museum project and how to get involved.