Beck Isle Museum
The interesting Beck Isle Museum is situated in the small North Yorkshire market town of Pickering.
It is housed in a handsome Regency building near the centre of the town and stands by Pickering Beck, a stream which flows under a four-arched road bridge.
The museum contains a collection of items relating to the rural crafts and lifestyle of Ryedale. The collections are not restricted to a particular period, but aim to reflect local life and customs and trace the developments in social and domestic life during the last 200 years.
The reconstructions of 27 themed rooms include a Victorian Pub, complete with with horsehair seats, a Cobbler's Shop with boot jacks and a Chemist's Shop which displays a 116 drawer hand-made drug run. There is also a Costume Room, which features clothing from the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. a Gent's Tailors, 'Victorian Parlour and Wheelwright's and Hardware Store.
A selection of photographs from the Sidney Smith collection held in the museum are displayed around the building, particularly in the photography and model rooms. Smith, a native of Pickering, was recognised after his death in 1958 as one of the greatest British photographers.
The museum is owned by the Beck Isle Museum Trust.
Directions
Beck Isle Museum is located by Pickering Beck, just around the corner from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. There are several pay and display car parks a short walk from the museum. Disabled parking is available on site at the museum.