Welcoming Pontefract: accessibility at Pontefract Museum

Following on from our blog about how accessibility matters at Wakefield Museum, let's have a look at how we make Pontefract Museum welcoming and accessible for all! 

Pontefract Museum, a beautiful art nouveau building built in the early 1900s

We believe strongly that making our visitor experience more accessible for one group of people makes it more accessible for everybody. 

We are constantly working to improve and enhance the accessibility of all of our sites, and working with local groups and experts by experience to do this.

Read on to explore just some of what we've done to make Pontefract Museum more welcoming and representative for all:

Audio description guides

Our Visitor Experience Assistant David modelling the PenFriend audio description guide

We now have audio description guides for the main gallery at Pontefract Museum! These are designed with our blind and partially sighted visitors in mind but are free to be used by anybody.

We have built a strong working relationship with our local Sight Loss Council members to inform these and future resources.

The audio descriptions are accessed using one of our PenFriend devices. You tap the coloured stickers in a handheld booklet. The PenFriend then reads aloud the description. They can also be used with headphones.

The audio description guide describes and provides more information about a range of star objects on display. It also guides you around the main gallery space.

Tap the stickers in the booklet, and the PenFriend will describe what's on display

Relaxed openings

Every Tuesday from 2pm to 4pm at Pontefract Museum is a relaxed opening session. You can explore the Museum in a quieter, more relaxed setting.

Everybody is welcome! And you are welcome to be your full self.

Any loud noises from videos and interactives are turned down or turned off. Lighting levels are kept low and consistent. This all works to reduce sensory overload and generate a relaxed atmosphere.

There is also a pop-up tent quiet space for anyone who needs it. 

We don't book groups during this session to help keep the museum quieter.

Pick and Mix station

A family exploring the Pick and Mix station

We have Pick and Mix stations at all three of our museums. They are full of beautiful tactile tools and resources to support our visitors to get the most out of their visit.

The 'Explore' drawer contains a variety of things to explore our displays in lots of different ways. These include tools to match different shapes, colours, materials and sounds to our objects.

The 'Touch' drawer has a range of fun colourful fidget toys. Perfect if keeping your hands busy helps you to stay calm or to concentrate!

The 'See' drawer is full of different lenses, magnifying glasses and frames. These can help you to look at our objects in another way, and support dyslexic and partially sighted people to change the colour contrast.

The 'Sound' drawer has a number of ear defenders available in child and adult sizes. These are great for visitors who are sensitive to loud or sudden noises. 

You can also fill up one of our backpacks with a range of items for easy carrying around the galleries!

Makaton signage

Makaton is a unique language programme that uses symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate.

We have Makaton signage next to star objects and interactives around the museum, showing you how to sign that word. 

Most of our Visitor Experience Assistance have had Makaton Awareness training, and we are busy arranging training sessions for our lovely new starters!

Sensory maps and visual stories

We have lots of opportunities to use your senses around the museum. We also know it helps some visitors to know what to expect, and where to expect it, to avoid sensory overload.

Our sensory maps are available to view online before your visit, and to carry with you around the galleries once you're here. 

Tactile objects in the main gallery and our temporary exhibition, Ladies Who Launch, help you to get hands-on with history by touching real-life historical objects. 

There’s also lots of dressing-up to do and our squidgy, colourful Liquorice Allsorts soft play in the main gallery!

Our smell cubes in the Ladies Who Launch exhibition contain smells that bring the past to life, like leather, a flower shop, and an old 'smithy'!

We also have a visual story for the main gallery available on our Access page to browse before your visit.

Easy Read guide

Image copyright of Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

We now have an Easy Read guide for the main gallery at Pontefract Museum. 

Easy read information is presented in a certain way to help people understand information more easily. Photos and illustrations help to explain the information provided.

It is especially useful for learning disabled people and people with low reading ages. It is also helpful for people for whom English is a second language. It can be used by anyone who wants bite-sized information about the museum's main themes.

Telling everyone's stories

We tell a wide range of local people's stories and experiences in our museum and exhibition programme. We are always looking to use our platform to showcase the stories that are sometimes missing from 'traditional' museum and gallery spaces. 

We have worked closely with local people to help them tell their own stories through different mediums.

Here's a snapshot of two recent co-produced exhibitions: 

Fern Woodhead: Boxed In (From Whence You Came)

Fern with their finished exhibition at Pontefract Museum

In 2022 Pontefract teen Fern Woodhead featured on the Channel 4 TV show 'Grayson’s Art Club', presented by Grayson Perry. Fern submitted an artwork to the show in response to the theme ‘Inside my head.’

Wakefield Museums & Castles commissioned Fern to produce a new piece about their gender identity for display at Pontefract Museum.

'Boxed In (From Whence You Came)' explores Fern’s feelings about “being a queer person in an inherently non-queer society”. We worked with Fern to install their artwork in the foyer space at Pontefract Museum, and they have also kindly lent some objects from their gender identity journey for the display. 

Fern hopes that the exhibition will raise awareness and start conversations around sexuality and gender identity. As Fern says, "all of us have an identity, so why shouldn’t we talk about it?"

Fern’s artwork will be on display in the museum until November 2024. We're delighted to have acquired the artwork for our permanent collection.

Read more about Fern's exhibition, including their commentary on their artwork

Ladies who Launch: Celebrating Pontefract's Women in Business

Kitting out the potential events organisers of the future in Ladies who Launch

Our current temporary exhibition at Pontefract Museum is a celebration of Pontefract’s businesswomen. 

We worked with four sets of local female entrepreneurs to share their stories of launching and running successful businesses in our area. 

The exhibition challenges some of our preconceptions about business owners, both in the Victorian period and today. 

Read more about Ladies who Launch: Celebrating Pontefract's Women in Business

Access information for Pontefract Museum

We always welcome feedback on how we can make our sites more accessible! You can drop us an email at museumslearning@wakefield.gov.uk. 

You can find full access information for Pontefract Museum on our webpage. 

We look forward to seeing you soon!

100 Years of Collecting - Facebookers' favourite objects

We've loved seeing how much you have enjoyed our 100 Years of Collecting digital content over the past year!

As we bring our centenary celebrations to a close, we asked our Facebook followers to vote on their favourite of the 100 objects in the online exhibition.

Here's a spotlight on the objects you chose to round things up! The 100 Years of Collecting online exhibition will continue to stay live here on our blog.

Please note: one of the objects described in this article refers to the transatlantic slave trade, which uses an outdated historical term.

Madam Connie's wig

Madam Connie's wig as it was on display in the Moving Stories exhibition

Made in: the 2010s

Collected in: 2019

Associated place: Wakefield

Steven Ogilvie wore this wig as his fabulous drag queen persona, Madam Connie, at performances in Wakefield.

Steven donated the wig to the museum in 2019 along with other outfits after Madam Connie hung her up stilettos for the last time. Steven also recorded an oral history about his experiences performing as Connie. He says performing increased his confidence and helped him through difficult times.

We loved including the wig in our recent Moving Stories exhibition! It's now taking a well-earned rest back at our Museum Store.

It was Madam Connie's friends and followers that got her wig well and truly voted onto this favourites list!

You can read more about Madam Connie's story here.

Sandal Castle ring

The Sandal Castle ring, which is on display at Wakefield Museum

Made in: between 1485 and 1600

Collected in: 1983

Associated place: Sandal / Sandal Castle

This beautiful gold ring was found by archaeologists at Sandal Castle during excavations in the 1960s. It is about 500 years old.

It is called a 'love ring' because it has a lovers’ promise on it. 

The wording on this one says ‘tout le vos’tre’, which means ‘I am all yours’ in medieval French (the language of the upper classes in the Middle Ages). 

It's one of our star objects in the permanent Wakefield Stories display at Wakefield Museum. 

It's perhaps unsurprising that such a beautiful and heartfelt object scored so highly with our Facebook followers!

Britain's oldest post box

Britain's oldest postbox - on display at Wakefield Museum

Made in: 1809

Collected in: 1964

Associated place: Wakefield

Wakefield Museum has some quietly important objects such as this post box, the oldest in Britain! 

It was installed in Wakefield Post Office on Wood Street in 1809 and predates the Victorian Penny Post by 30 years.

Our objects and sites aren't just special because of their history. One Facebook user voted for the post box because "it reminds me of one of my delightful friends I made through the museum"! 

Another said "I'm voting for the post box because they used to be every day street furniture but now... they are little windows into our history."

Ballot Box 

One of the ballot boxes used in Britain's first ever secret ballot in 1872 - on display at Pontefract Museum

Made in: 1870s

Collected in: 1978

Associated place: Pontefract

From one groundbreaking box - to another!

On the 15 August 1872, the first ever secret ballot in Britain to elect an MP was held in Pontefract. 

This was the first time that people had voted in secret by placing an ‘X’ on a ballot paper next to the name of their choice. 

Before this, people voted openly and could be easily pressured and bullied. 

The ballot box was sealed with a liquorice stamp made from Frank Dunhill's factory to ensure it wasn't tampered with. There are still remnants of this seal on our box, which you can see on display at Pontefract Museum.

At this time, only men over the age of 21 who owned property could vote. Women couldn't vote until 1928, and the voting age was lowered to 18 only in 1969. 

It's a piece of national political history of which Pomfretians are rightly very proud!

Nymph Stone

The 'nymph stone' on display at Castleford Museum

Made in: Roman era

Collected in: 1990s

Associated place: Castleford

This carving of two female heads is dedicated ‘to the Nymphs’, nature spirits usually linked to springs and running water. 

Dedications to nymphs are often found near military sites like the Roman fort at Castleford. 

The fort at Castleford was known as 'Lagentium' to the Romans.

One Facebooker said they chose it because "this kind of artefact always benefits from re- examination and interpretation as time passes and knowledge expands".

What a brilliant sentiment about this special object! It's on display at Castleford Museum with lots of other ancient objects worthy of a closer look.

Anti-slavery lecture poster

A poster promoting W. Howard Day's anti-slavery lecture in 1860, on display at Wakefield Museum

Made in: 1860

Collected in: 1923

Associated place: Wakefield

This poster advertises a lecture given by William Howard Day from 'Canada West' in the Music Saloon on Wood Street in Wakefield in December 1860. 

The lecture took place at an important moment in the story of slavery, just a few months before the start of the American Civil War, a conflict based on the continued ownership and abuse of enslaved people by the plantation owners of the Southern States of America.

Several celebrated abolitionists such as Day visited this country and resonated with the working people in the North of England. 

Many towns like Wakefield had an active abolitionist campaign movement and invited speakers to venues such as the Music Saloon on Wood Street and the Corn Exchange on Westgate.

One Facebook user said they were voting for this because it is "an important part of the empathetic community spirit of the Wakefield district". Lovely words indeed.

It's also one of the earliest objects added to our collection, as it was collected in 1923!

Battle of Wakefield iron spearhead

An iron spearhead dating to The Battle of Wakefield in 1460 - on display at Wakefield Museum

Made in: 15th Century

Collected in: 1959

Associated place: Sandal / Sandal Castle

This iron spearhead dates to the time of the Battle of Wakefield in 1460. The Battle was a major clash in the Wars of the Roses. 

Richard, Duke of York, leader of the Yorkist faction and his eldest son, Edmund, Earl of Rutland, were both killed along with hundreds or even thousands of their supporters. 

It is this event that likely lead to the rhyme 'Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain', to remember the order of colours in a rainbow.

This spear head was found in the Portobello estate, the site of the battle, and was probably used by an infantryman at the battle.

You can find out more about the Battle of Wakefield in our comic!

Pontefract Castle Keirincx painting

Pontefract Castle painted by Alexander Keirincx in the 1640s - on display at Pontefract Museum

Made in: 1640s

Collected in: 1965

Associated place: Pontefract

This is a large oil painting of Pontefract Castle as it was in about 1640. 

It was painted by the Flemish landscape painter Alexander Keirincx, at the request of Charles I. It shows what a grand site it was, and much larger than the standing remains today might suggest.  

You can explore an interactive version of the Pontefract Castle painting here!

Shared with thanks to The Hepworth Wakefield.

Thanks to everyone who voted! You can continue to explore the 100 objects in our online exhibition. 

Post a comment with what you think we should include in the next 100 objects we collect!

Pontefract's Victorian businesswomen

Women are often overlooked in economic history. We tend to think of women in the 19th century as working in factories or domestic service, but women ran all kinds of businesses in Victorian Britain. In fact, female entrepreneurs were more common then than they are now. 

Pontefract was no exception.

As today, setting up her own business gave a Victorian woman more control over where and when she worked. This made it easier to fit with their other 'traditional' responsibilities like childcare. 

In our immersive and interactive exhibition Ladies who Launch: Celebrating Pontefract's Women in Business, we shine a spotlight on local women running businesses in sometimes surprising industries. 

Step back in time to Victorian Pontefract in Ladies who Launch

Probably the most famous historic local businesswoman is Ann Dunhill. She ran the iconic Pontefract business Dunhill's for nearly 20 years. Dunhill's are credited as the inventors of the liquorice Pontefract Cake.

But what other businesses were enterprising women running in 19th century Pontefract? 

A brilliant team of volunteers, supported by our curator, chose five Victorian businesswomen to research and write about. Read on to find out more about them!

Maria Taylor - watchmaker

Researched and written by Samuel Lou

"Look at this!" A clock made by Taylor's of Pontefract is one of the first things you see in the Ladies who Launch exhibition.

Maria Knight was born in Essex and moved to Pontefract in 1827 when she married Thomas Taylor. Country-wide networks were common for Quaker families. 

Thomas was a renowned watchmaker. When he died in 1844, Maria stepped up and continued the family business.

Maria ran a successful firm employing three skilled watchmakers and a shop assistant. She advertised using her son Joseph's name. However, Maria was really the head of the business and Joseph was her employee. 

Back of a watch made by Taylor's of Pontefract, with 'Pontefract' and 'Joseph Taylor' engraved on it. This watch is on display in the Ladies who Launch exhibition.

Maria retired in 1861 but continued to live in Pontefract, wealthy enough to have a housekeeper. She died in 1893.

The mid 19th century was a peak for British clock and watchmaking. Industrialisation brought railways and fixed factory shifts so accurate timekeeping was important. Watches became fashionable items of jewellery. 

But it was not a common profession for Victorian women. Fewer than 4% of watchmakers at the time were women, so Maria's story is unusual.  

Sarah Winterburn - upholsteress 

Researched and written by Julia Webb

Sarah Winterburn was born in Tanshelf on 11 May 1808 into a typical working-class household. Her father Richard was a currier, working with leather hides. Her mother raised eight children.

Sarah remained single throughout her life. She started her upholstery business from her parents’ home. She likely picked up her craft from an early age as her elder sisters Ann and Matilda were dressmakers.

Sarah made home visits to her clients, repairing the upholstery on furniture along with other bits of sewing work. By running her business this way, she was able to make a decent living whilst supporting her elderly parents. She may also have financially supported her nephews to keep them out of the workhouse.

A display representing Sarah Winterburn's home upholstery business - and her teapot full of money!

Sarah operated a successful business throughout her life. After her death on 25 June 1881, a teapot stashed with £150 was found in her house. She also had a personal estate of £247 and 17 shillings, worth more than £16,000 today.

This suggests Sarah had made a lot of money for a single, self-employed woman of the Victorian period.

Get hands-on with trades from the past in Ladies who Launch

Ann England - ironmonger

Researched and written by Alice Sze

Ann Lilley was born in Pontefract in 1782 and married Joseph England, a tinner, in 1806. 

After Joseph's passing, Ann took over his ironmongery business and became a skilled brass and tin plate worker. 

The 1834 National Commercial Directory lists Ann’s business at Ropergate, Pontefract. By 1851, she lived in Baxtergate and was a retired tinner.

A display recreating Ann England's ironmongers in Ladies who Launch

During the Victorian age, it was unusual for women to work as tinners and braziers, which were traditionally male-dominated trades. Ann defied convention and became a skilled artisan. 

Ann used specialised tools like hammers and soldering irons to craft metal goods to sell. England’s Ironmongery sold household utensils, cookware, containers, decorative ornaments, and more.

Ann’s legacy continued through the generations. Her son William and his descendants became well-known ironmongers in Pontefract. 

England’s legendary shop at Market Place was fondly remembered in the community until its closure in 1979.

Shop window of England's Ironmongers, dating to between 1930 and 1950

Inside of England's Ironmongers in the 1970s, providing inspiration for the recreated display in Ladies who Launch

The Gelder Sisters - grocers and drapers

Researched and written by Jennifer Machin

Sisters Mary, Ann and Sarah Gelder were born in Pontefract between 1843 and 1847. Their father, Joseph, was a successful local farmer and Alderman for Pontefract. 

Kelly’s Directory of West Riding of Yorkshire 1881 lists the 3 sisters under the commercial section as grocers and drapers in North Baileygate. They were listed as ‘misses’ and so were unmarried.

Sarah Gelder was a draper and Mary Gelder was a grocer. They were wealthy enough to have a servant and younger relatives living with them. 

Sarah Gelder and Ann Gelder died in the 1890s. Mary Gelder then took over her sister's draper’s business.

A recreation of the Gelder sisters' drapers shop in Ladies who Launch

Drapers sold cloth. They were common in the Victorian period when many people made their own clothes. Sewing and making clothes were generally seen as women’s work, but being a draper was not typically a woman’s job. 

Sarah and Mary were clearly successful though, extending the business into selling costumes alongside the usual drapery. 

Being a grocer was also not typical for Victorian women. However, it was a good trade and a successful business decision for the sisters. Like many businesses at the time, they were probably helped by family support. Their father’s farm would have been a useful supplier.

Mary Gelder continued to live in Pontefract until at least 1901. She is listed on the 1901 census as living in North Baileygate. She was head of the household, and had two servants and her niece (Mary Wood) living with her.

Hannah Lindley - laundress

Researched and written by Dave Evans, Curator

Hannah was born in Thorpe Audlin in 1831. Her father, Richard Brewster, was a farmworker, moving between Ackworth, Badsworth and Darrington. 

Hannah was a domestic servant in Hemsworth by the age of 18. In 1856 she married garden labourer John Lindley and they began a family in a small yard in Pontefract.

John did well at work and by 1871 the family of five lived in a larger house on Ropergate along with a lodger. 

A display inspired by Hannah Lindley's home laundress business in Ladies who Launch

John died in 1873, leaving Hannah to support her growing family on her own. Hannah moved to Sessions House Yard, then Crab Hill, and set up as a laundress.

Being a Victorian laundress was hard work, especially wringing out wet linens. It wasn’t just washing but also drying and ironing, the whole process taking days. However, it could be done at home alongside caring for children. 

Poorer widows like Hannah often became laundresses. As women running their own lives and businesses, laundresses were known for their independence.

Visiting Ladies who Launch: Celebrating Pontefract's Women in Business

The exhibition is at Pontefract Museum until 19 October 2024. Entry is free. 

It's not just Victorian businesswomen we explore! We bring it into the 21st century with displays co-created with four businesses being run by local women today. 

Find out more about Ladies who Launch: Celebrating Pontefract's Women in Business

Photos of the exhibition in this blog are by Nick Singleton.

100 Years of Collecting: Amazing Archaeology (Anglo-Saxons to Civil Wars)

We’re picking back up our time-travelling archaeological adventure with the Anglo-Saxons!

It follows on from our previous blog exploring prehistory to the Romans.

Anglo-Saxons and Vikings

In the 5th century AD central Roman rule collapsed and Britain dropped out of the Roman empire. Small kingdoms began to emerge in Britain.

In the Wakefield area the British kingdom of Elmet formed. In turn this was taken over by the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. 

Very few objects survive locally from the Anglo-Saxon and then Viking periods. This makes what we do have even more special! 

We have these two spearheads in Pontefract Museum:

We also have part of an elaborately carved stone cross shaft on display at Wakefield Museum. 

It dates to the 9th century AD, and was found being used as a doorstep in a shop on Westgate 1000 years later!

The Anglo-Saxon cross shaft at Wakefield Museum, completed with reconstructions of the base and cross. These would have been painted in bold colours.

The most spectacular Viking find from our area is the Stanley Ferry Viking log boat. This is on display in Wakefield Library, kindly lent by York Museums Trust.

The Stanley Ferry Log Boat at Wakefield Library 

The Norman Conquest

The Anglo-Saxon and Viking periods in Yorkshire ended with the Norman invasion of 1066 by William the Conqueror.

Although we don’t have many objects from the Norman period, we do have two awesome places where their legacy can be seen: Pontefract Castle and Sandal Castle.

Pontefract Castle, built in 1070 by Ilbert de Lacy

The standing stone remains at both these sites today are the reinforced replacements for the original Norman wooden buildings. 

These castles were key to turning William’s battlefield victory at Hastings into long-lasting conquest. They maintained dominance over the strategic landscape and the everyday life of local residents.

Sandal Castle, probably built in the 12th century by the de Warenne family.

The Normans didn’t just build castles, however. They also built religious houses such as St John’s Priory in Pontefract. 

When this site was excavated in the 1950s and 1960s, some of the most interesting finds came from graves in and around the church.

This small cross was found around the neck of its owner. It is made of jet (the fossilised wood of the monkey puzzle tree), which was likely washed up on the beaches near Whitby.

The jet cross found at St John's Priory, Pontefract

You can see it for yourself at Pontefract Museum! It also features in the 100 Years of Collecting Online Exhibition.

Lost and Found

Most archaeological finds weren't originally as carefully placed in the ground. 

Many were lost, like this spear head, which was found in the Portobello estate near Sandal Castle. It was probably left behind during the bloody Battle of Wakefield in 1460.

An iron spearhead, probably from the Battle of Wakefield in 1460

Other items were broken and thrown away, like these pottery fragments.

Pottery fragments found at Sandal Castle

Although these fragments may not look impressive at first, when reassembled they from a portable urinal decorated with a boar’s head! 

Given that they were found at the Yorkist stronghold of Sandal Castle, and the boar was a symbol of Yorkist king Richard III - could it be that this was actually used for the ‘royal wee’?

We carefully put the boar’s head decoration back together from its pieces. It is displayed alongside a replica of the urinal at Wakefield Museum.

We don’t know where the urinal was made but only a few miles away a major pottery industry was just beginning. 

Pottery making in Wrenthorpe became so important that the village became known as ‘Potovens’ after the kilns the pots were fired in.

Wrenthorpe pottery was distinctive, with dark colours and shiny glazes. This jug is a prime example! It was also found during excavations at Sandal Castle.

A Wrenthorpe jug, on display at Wakefield Museum and in the 100 Years of Collecting Online Exhibition

The English Civil Wars

A second Wrenthorpe pot also makes our 100 Years of Collecting list - but this time because of its contents!

The Ackworth Hoard consists of nearly 600 gold and silver coins, all buried in a Wrenthorpe pot, along with a gold ring.

The Ackworth Hoard

It was buried in the chaos of the Civil Wars during the siege of Pontefract Castle in the 17th century. It had probably belonged to a Royalist supporter, who wanted to prevent it from being taken by the Parliamentary troops billeted in Ackworth. For whatever reason, the person who buried it was unable to come back and retrieve it. 

The coins in the Ackworth Hoard were worth £85 and 12 shillings. This was a lot of money - around 7 years’ pay for a foot soldier during the Civil Wars.

The hoard remained untouched in the pot for over 350 years – until it was discovered in someone’s garden in the 20th century! 

You can see it for yourself on display at Pontefract Museum.

Even in the middle of a siege, the soldiers in Pontefract Castle needed paying. Being cut off from the outside world made this difficult. Their answer was to create their own home-made coins from reused silver.

The silver would come from luxury tableware and candle-holders owned by the richest members of the garrison. The silver objects were cut up or melted down and reshaped. The 'siege coins' were then cut from the resulting silver sheet. 

You’ll notice that siege coins aren't circular in shape like ordinary coins. This is because it was much easier to cut a straight edge than a curved one!

One of the siege coins produced at Pontefract Castle

This example of a Pontefract Castle siege coin is in the Online Exhibition and on display in the Visitor Centre at Pontefract Castle. 

It has a standard design for these siege coins featuring an image representing the castle itself. It includes the year it was created and the Castle was under siege - 1648.

It also has a morale boosting inscription, which translates as "while I breathe I hope".

Reverse side of the siege coin, featuring Charles I's royal cipher.

That brings us to the end of our amazing archaeology 100 Years of Collecting highlights!

There’s lots more objects exploring the many and varied stories of the Wakefield district in our Online Exhibition.

More 100 Years of Collecting blogs:

Amazing Archaeology (Prehistoric to Romans)

100 Years and Counting

Wakefield’s Sporting Heritage

A trip to the Seaside