Volunteer with us!

Our volunteers are vital in supporting our work. We have a range of exciting opportunities for you to get involved, both with the public and behind the scenes.

All our opportunities have flexible commitment requirements and aim to provide a rewarding and enriching experience.

If you're passionate about culture and heritage and have some free time to offer, why not volunteer with us and be part of something extraordinary? Take a look at our current opportunities:

Collections Move Volunteer

We are looking for volunteers to assist us with a large-scale project to move our collections into a new storage facility. 

The project will involve helping our team to carefully pack objects, move them to the new extension, and keep accurate records of movement, ensuring that all objects remain safe at all times. 

This is an exciting opportunity to work within a friendly and supportive team on a major project, getting hands-on with a variety of objects and contributing to the important behind-the-scenes work of our museum service.

This opportunity is based at our museum store in Ossett. The museum store is a COVID-secure site. 

For more information about this opportunity, please email Leah Mellors, Collections & Exhibitions Manager, on lmellors@wakefield.gov.uk.  

Exhibition Invigilation Volunteer

We are looking for Exhibition Invigilation Volunteers to invigilate ‘Bracing Air, Abundant Amusements: The Travel Posters of Charles Pears’, our new exhibition at Pontefract Museum. 

You will welcome visitors to the exhibition space, provide information about the objects on display, and help our Visitor Experience Assistants to monitor the security of the exhibition, which includes a number of loaned objects from national museums. You will help us to ensure that every visitor to the exhibition feels welcome, learns something new, and has an enjoyable visit.

This opportunity is based at Pontefract Museum, 5 Salter Row, Pontefract, WF8 1BA. Pontefract Museum is a COVID-secure site. 

For more information about this opportunity, please email Leah Mellors, Collections & Exhibitions Manager, on lmellors@wakefield.gov.uk.  

Charles Pears exhibition, with thank to the Royal Society of Marine Artists

Bracing Air, Abundant Amusements: The Travel Posters of Charles Pears

Blog post from 2021. This exhibition has now closed, however there are lots of lovely photos and information about Charles Pears in this post!

We are very excited that Pontefract Museum has now reopened with a major new exhibition of artwork by Pontefract-born artist, Charles Pears (1873-1958). Bracing Air, Abundant Amusements: The Travel Posters of Charles Pears is the first retrospective of Pears’ work in his hometown. The exhibition focuses particularly on his prolific career as a commercial artist and will transport you back 100 years to the golden age of rail tourism, the British seaside holiday and poster design. 

National and leading art collections have kindly lent posters and original artworks to the show, including some that might even have been seen on platforms at Pontefract’s three rail stations in the 1930s. The exhibition also includes expert commentary from a leading authority on 20th century posters, as well as an exclusive new poster artwork for Pontefract. 

A marine master

The exhibition takes its title from the slogan of a poster promoting the 'Bracing Air' and 'Abundant Amusements' that holiday-makers and day-trippers could look forward to in Southend-on-Sea in 1927. Pears provided the artwork for the poster, showing yachts on the Essex waters. He was an enthusiastic sailor himself and had established a reputation as a leading marine artist, having served as an official Naval war artist during the First World War. 

Pears would go on to capture the Second World War on canvas too and later became the first president of the Royal Society of Marine Artists. He eventually retired to spend more time at sea and settled in Cornwall, where he painted his self-portrait, kindly lent to the exhibition from the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth. It is the first time it has been exhibited in Pears' hometown, where he had first honed his artistic talent whilst growing up.

Self portrait, 1944-46 by Charles Pears (1873-1958)
PHOTOGRAPH REPRODUCED WITH THE KIND PERMISSION OF THE RUSSELL-COTES ART GALLERY & MUSEUM, BOURNEMOUTH

Poster perfect

Pears went to school in East Hardwick and attended Pontefract College. As a young man, he moved to London and began his career as a cartoonist and illustrator, becoming a regular contributor to Punch and illustrating famous titles by authors like Lewis Carroll and Charles Dickens. 

Pears-illustrated books from the Wakefield Museums & Castles collection on display in the exhibition

Illustration in a 1907 edition of Alice in Wonderland, from the Wakefield Museums & Castles collection

In the 1920s and 1930s Pears perfected his trade as one of the travel industry’s go-to poster artists and enjoyed a successful commercial career. At this time, new public holidays and paid annual leave meant that people were enjoying more leisure time and heading off on holidays and day-trips. 

Most holiday-makers at the time travelled by train, taking advantage of summer timetables and special fares. In only the early days of radio and before television, the poster was the most effective means of mass communication and became the rail companies’ primary marketing tool. They turned to leading artists like Pears to produce the most appealing representations of resorts.

Bracing Air, Abundant Amusements includes many examples of Pears' most vibrant posters, alongside some of the original artworks. 

Twickenham, Walton and Windsor, Charles Pears, 1935

© TfL from the London Transport Museum collection

http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/

Spring on the River Thames, the original artwork for the poster, is on show in the exhibition.

Pick of the painters

It was Frank Pick, the Publicity Manager at London Underground, who initially recognised the potential of the travel poster. Pears was one of the first artists Pick worked with on an initiative to promote travel by public transport in leisure time as well as for commuting. As a marine specialist, Pears’ posters often promoted daytrips away from the hustle and bustle of the city along the picturesque banks of the River Thames. 

Between the wars, London Transport also ran special excursion services to Southend, the nearest beach resort to the capital. Pears produced no fewer than 14 different poster artworks for Southend, showing boats on the waves, water sports, local landmarks and all the attractions on offer. Visitors can see two examples in the exhibition, including the original oil painting for this sun-soaked scene.

Southend-on-Sea, Charles Pears, 1934

© TfL from the London Transport Museum collection

http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/

Inspired by Frank Pick’s successful poster campaigns in London, railway companies also began to invest in the best artists for their adverts. After Britain’s many individual rail lines were grouped into the ‘Big Four’ in 1923, the newly formed regional companies each established advertising departments. They were competing with each other to attract tourists to the resorts on their lines, and only the most persuasive artworks would do. As an expert sailor and marine artist, Charles Pears was in high demand to provide seascapes that would tempt holiday-makers to the coast. 

This relaxing representation of Filey must have been an appealing image for passengers at Pontefract, which was served by LNER at the time. For the price of a rail ticket, they could escape the daily grind and get away from it at all on the East Coast. 

Poster, LNER 'Filey for the Family' by Charles Pears, 1930

Science Museum Group

© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

A fun family day out

Certainly, at this time more people than ever before were flocking to the seaside with their buckets and spades. Families made sandcastles, wrote postcards and returned home with plenty of snapshots and souvenirs. As well as admiring Pears' posters, visitors to Pontefract Museum can also enjoy a trip down memory lane with retro holiday essentials and mid-century beach attire from the Wakefield Museums & Castles collection.

Elsewhere in the museum, you can admire even more of Charles Pears' skill and artistry. He enjoyed a prolific career and we weren't able to display all of his many designs in the exhibition but our slideshow includes posters for destinations all over the country and beyond. 

Inspired by Pears' example, graphic designer Georgina Westley has created a stunning new poster artwork for Pontefract. Adding a modern twist to Pears' style, she has produced a colourful celebration of his hometown today. Visit the exhibition to see the iconic view of the Buttercross and St Giles' Church in a new light!

There's also plenty for little ones to enjoy. Look out for the special family-friendly object labels and pick up your Take and Make activity bag, packed with seaside themed crafts inspired by the posters on display. 

Bracing Air, Abundant Amusements: The Travel Posters of Charles Pears is at Pontefract Museum, 24th May 2021 – 25th February 2022. 

https://experiencewakefield.co.uk/event/bracing-air-abundant-amusements-the-travel-posters-of-charles-pears/ 

The exhibition was made possible with a grant from the Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund.

With thanks to the Royal Society of Marine Artists.

To enjoy more of Charles Pears' work, check out our Curation on ArtUK for an overview of his celebrated career. 

Read more about Georgina Westley's poster in this special guest blog post. 

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside!

If you're hoping for some sunshine and planning on heading to the coast this bank holiday weekend, you're following in the footsteps of a long line of Brits. By the mid 20th century, more day trippers and holiday makers than ever before were flocking to Britain's beaches. The provision of public holidays and paid annual leave meant more people could treat themselves to a break. 

We've been looking through our collections for some inspiration for a bank holiday adventure.

Where to go

First things first, deciding where you want to visit! During the heyday of the great British seaside holiday in the mid 20th century, most people travelled by public transport. Employers and community groups often organised special excursions, whilst rail companies offered summer timetables with extra services to ferry workers to the coast. Tourist boards at seaside resorts often worked with the rail companies, running joint publicity campaigns to tempt travellers onto trains to the beach. They produced travel guides with information on train times, attractions and accommodation. 

Resorts and hotels on the Yorkshire coast feature in this brochure by British Rail.

Holmes Printers produced this poster advertising a train trip to the seaside from Pontefract.

Local amateur photographer, Jack Hulme captured this shot of buses taking Fryston miners' families to the beach.

The travel poster was the rail companies' primary marketing tool. They appointed top artists to produce eye-catching designs that showed off the seaside in all its splendour as a fun family day out. Their works are now considered iconic. Pontefract-born Charles Pears was one of the famous artists commissioned to paint packed piers and bustling beaches. 

1934 poster design by Charles Pears
© TfL from the London Transport Museum collection, http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk 

You can see more poster designs by Charles Pears in our Art UK Curation - we celebrate his career by bringing together some of our favourite works from collections across the UK.

In honour of Pontefract's famous son, we commissioned graphic designer, Georgina Westley, to produce a modern travel poster for the town inspired by Charles Pears. See the poster and read about the design process in Georgina's recent guest blog post, Drawing Pontefract.

What to pack

So you've picked your preferred resort and booked your train tickets. It's time to pack those holiday essentials. You'll need your beachwear - perhaps inspired by the fashionable bathing belles adorning Pears' posters. By the 1950s, beach censors no longer policed the length of bathing suits. The modesty protecting skirts and long sleeves of the previous century had been replaced by halter fastenings, sweetheart necklines, dropped waists and figure flattering ruching.

Swim and beach wear, 1950s-1970s

Once you've selected your attire, don't forget your bucket and spade- and you'll want your camera for snapshots of your sandcastles!

Rubber seaside buckets, 1980s

Brownie 127 camera, Kodak, 1950s

On the beach

Hopefully you can claim yourself a prime spot on the sand to lay out the picnic blanket and set up camp for the day, like the Gill family at Bridlington in the 1930s.

Or perhaps you'd prefer to sunbathe on a deckchair like these 1950s holiday makers.

Later on, you might go for a walk along the seashore...

... or even be brave enough to have a paddle!

You should have plenty to write about in your postcards home.

Before you leave

Make sure you take home a reminder of your trip with a souvenir or two from the seaside gift shops. 

In the mid 20th century, many tourists making their way back to the Five Towns from a trip to the coast may have had purchases in their suitcases that were closer to home than they realised. These mementos of Bridlington were actually made by Bagley and Co Ltd at their Knottingley glassworks.

Bagley's made similar souvenirs for several resorts, including this nautical novelty for Great Yarmouth. The floral design was hand painted. Why not have a go yourself with our latest Colour our Collections sheet?

Click here to download your colouring sheet

Let us know if you're going in search of the sea air over the long weekend. We'd love to know what you get up to- especially if you're inspired by any of our collections! 

Or if you're staying at home this bank holiday, why not pass the time with our digital jigsaw and enjoy Georgina's beautiful poster design.

Drawing Pontefract

We are very pleased to share this special guest blog post by graphic designer, Georgina Westley about her recent exciting commission for Pontefract Museum.

www.georginawestley.co.uk

Back in 2019 I was commissioned to create a piece of travel poster art for the town of Pontefract. This artwork was to be part of an exhibition celebrating the local artist Charles Pears, who hailed from Pontefract. Charles (born 1873) was a British painter, illustrator and poster artist, who during his illustrious career created artwork for London Underground and British Railways.

Charles Pears’ artwork of Paignton features in one of the books I use for inspiration and education.

The exhibition was planned to start in May 2020 but due to the Covid19 pandemic this exhibition has been postponed and the museum hope it will now take place in May 2021 (tbc). So to fill a little gap, those curating the show thought it might be interesting to give you a bit of an insight into who I am, why I was commissioned and how I go about creating this style of artwork.

My name is Georgina Westley (born 1976) and I have been working as a graphic designer for many years, but it was about 7 years ago that I created my first travel poster. At the time I had been enjoying playing about with linocuts (mostly aeroplanes) and my sister-in-law Beth asked if I could create her some artwork of Emley Moor mast. I felt that a linocut print would look too heavy and I’d always admired the travel poster artwork of the 1920s/30s era so I decided to give it a go.

My sister-in-law Beth with her framed artwork. What started as a quiet gift can now be found in many homes around the country.

Beth was really happy with it and passed on lots of positive feedback from her friends, who wanted to know if they could buy one. Around that time, my husband was made redundant, which - whilst horrid at the time - was the push I needed to get my artwork out there, seek new places to draw and begin selling online. I now have over 80 prints in my collection and an inexhaustible list of places and hobbies to get started on.

I love my job, so I was really honoured when Pontefract Museum got in touch to commission me to create a modern day travel poster to commemorate Charles Pears. My brother and his family live in Yorkshire - in fact they used to live in Pontefract - so even though I’m a *whispers* southerner, I am familiar with many of the beautiful towns and villages of Yorkshire.

The museum staff went on a recce for me and took a great selection of photos of the main square and I chose the photo below to form the basis of the artwork.

Great photo to work from but those empty market stalls will have to go.

I think it’s good to be able to see the original photo as it helps you see what I have left out, what I have put in, the colours I have changed, the exaggerated shadows, and where I have forced the perspective to make it as dynamic as possible. You will also notice the big fluffy cloud that I drew to lead the eye and mimic the angle of the church. However, my brother commented that due to the cooling towers at Ferrybridge there was often a big white cloud framing the town, so that was a nice bit of serendipity.

The finished artwork

Working with Pontefract Museum was thoroughly enjoyable. They gave me such a good brief in the first place, I was able to pretty much hit the mark on the first proof. The only changes made after this stage was a lightening up of the cobbles to make it feel more positive, a few pesky pigeons and the addition of flags to introduce a bit of colour. I hope at least some of you noticed the liquorice colours I chose for those flags.

Framed and ready to hang

I am looking forward to visiting the Charles Pears exhibition when it hopefully resumes and am hoping to come and give a little talk as part of the event so keep an eye out for that if you fancy hearing more. But for now, let me leave you with a few other pieces of artwork from Yorkshire - I’ve cropped them to make it a little harder.

The shapes and shades of Yorkshire. Do you know where these are?

For more information on my work, to buy prints or to contact me please visit:

www.georginawestley.co.uk

Many thanks to Georgina for her post and the wonderful poster design. If you would like to find out more about Charles Pears and see some examples of his work, check out our online exhibition on Art UK Curations - we've brought together some of our favourite pieces from collections around the UK.