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I must apologise to our visitors at Cliffe Castle for the hammering and banging of late but rest assured, it …

Bradford District Museums and Galleries staff were both intrigued and delighted when Timothy Benoy, Honorary Secretary of the de Brécy …

Dr Lauren Padgett, one of our Assistant Curators, shares how a recent enquiry let us take a closer look at …

A mystery painting found to be “undoubtedly” by Raphael will go on public display for the first time. The de …

Deborah Rehmat volunteers for both Cliffe Castle Support Group and the museum helping to generate, deliver and support projects and …

As part of ongoing research into the life of the artist Samuel Palmer, Dr David Mullin recently contacted Bradford District …

To celebrate the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on Saturday 6th May 2023, members of the Collections …

On 2nd March it’s World Book Day! To celebrate, we thought we’d highlight this rather special object in our collections: …

With around half a million prints, negatives and digital photographs, PHOTOS BRADFORD is one of the largest photo archives of …

In 2009, Bradford District Museums and Galleries’ worsted collection was recognised by the Arts Council as being a collection of …

Since the late-19th century, several Bradford Council museum and art gallery sites have been established around the Bradford District. Assistant …

The Windrush Stories: Don’t Give Up, is a new exhibition, open at Cartwright Hall Oct 18 2022 – Feb 05 2023, …

In this blog, Assistant Curator of Collections Dr Lauren Padgett shares her investigation into a collections conundrum regarding a 19th …

Isobel Phelan, talks about her experiences of working on the exhibition ‘Exploring Young People’s Identity and Wellbeing’ currently on display …

To celebrate the platinum jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, Bradford District Museums and Galleries have put together four displays across …

Rose volunteers in the letterpress print gallery at Bradford industrial Museum. Read her blog about new skills learnt and volunteering …

Fatima Shafiq, one of volunteer gardeners, shares her story of moving to Bradford as the Coronavirus pandemic hit the country, …

This summer, Bradford District Museums and Galleries were delighted to be able to host ‘Hidden Histories’ with Mind The Gap at Bolling …

To celebrate the 106th anniversary of Bolling Hall as a museum on the 22nd September 2021, and inspired by the …

Our Photo Archive Assistant John Ashton has selected some very exciting images to celebrate World Photography Day.  He says: “We …

When you think of David Hockney an image of him may spring to mind fairly easily. This image may include …

A few weeks ago, one of our Assistant Curators of Collections Dr Lauren Padgett was auditing a box of souvenirs …

Aamta, one of our amazing Our Street Gallery Volunteers,  is an arts graduate and has been doing all the amazing social …

Niamh has been volunteering on the Our Street Gallery project. Whilst doing some social media for the project, Niamh is …

In this blog Dr Rebecca Wade, Collections Assistant (Cultural Recovery Fund), rediscovers the identities of an intriguing set of plaster …

As this month (March) is Women’s History Month, Assistant Curator of Collections Dr Lauren Padgett wanted to share some research …

Today’s blog is written by our new Gallery Volunteer Facilitator, Usman Mahmood. Usman reflects on his first weeks in his …

Today’s blog has been written by Samar Shahdad, an exiled Iranian poet and a researcher whose work explores the themes associated …

Ian, our ‘Butterfield’ Volunteer spent much of 2020 researching some of the background to the history of the Butterfields, in …

In today’s blog, Assistant Curator, Kirsty Young, delves into our collection for this Valentine’s Day inspired blog, tracking the evolution …

Today’s blog is has been written by Dr Gearóid Mac a’ Ghobhainn, Collections Curator at Bradford Museums & Art Galleries, …

Today’s blog is has been written by Christine Halsall, the chair of the Friends of Bradford Art Galleries and Museums …

Continuing with our series of blogs and extracts focusing on the experiences of ‘Being Young in Bradford’. This week’s memories …

Bradford Christmas Waits As the festive period is in full swing, one of our Assistant Curators of Collections, Dr Lauren …

Although Ian, our ‘Butterfield’ Volunteer has been unable to come in to continue his transcription of the letter we hold,  …

Ian Beesley’s a familar name in these parts,  as he’s worked with us on many occasions and on many different …

It’s a bumper fortnight –  with two ‘Being Young In Bradford’ related blogs – of which this is the second, …

Our blogs written to accompany the ‘Being Young in Bradford’ exhibition are proving popular –  and we’re very pleased to …

Heather Millard, Community Curator has written this latest blog about one of her favourite objects. She writes: One of the …

In this blog, our Collections Registrar Pam Keeton gives a detailed examination and fascinating insight into her favourite object in …

This is another in a series of blogs linked to the forth-coming ‘Being Young in Bradford’ exhibition, that will be …

A few gardening words from volunteer, Helen, who volunteers at the Bradford Industrial Museum She writes: I have been a …

On the 22nd of September 2020, it will be the 105th anniversary of Bolling Hall opening as a Museum. In …

John, our Photo Archive Assistant, has written a fascinating blog for us this week on the development of Aerial photography. He …

John Ashton, Photo Archive Assistant, tells us that Bradford born photographer Ian Beesley is a keen supporter and friend of …

This blog is written by Johna Johnson, one of six people creating an exhibition based on his experiences called Being …

Over the lockdown, we’ve been chatting to our volunteers and asking them to share some of their stories about the …

Assistant Curator of Collections Dr Lauren Padgett tells us about how a family’s 18th century botanical gardens are now public …

Normally, we just put out one new blog a fortnight – but because we have lots of lovely volunteers, and …

It’s Volunteer Week this week (1-7th June), so naturally, this week’s blog had be from one of our lovely Volunteers.  …

One of the many roles Volunteers can play in our Museum & Galleries Service is that of invigilating temporary exhibitions.  …

Today’s blog has been written by our Curator of Collections, Dr Gearoid Mac a’ Ghobhainn  and is all about fossils.  …

Assistant Curator Lauren Padgett shares with us some of our fascinating collection of paintings by N. S. Crichton which have …

Even when our museums and galleries are closed you can still be inspired by our amazing objects, beautiful artworks and …

Last year for International Women’s Day, our Assistant Collections Curator Lauren Padgett gave a popular and lively illustrated talk on wife-selling. …

Ian, our wonderful Butterfield archive volunteer has been trawling the family letters to find some seasonally approriate extracts to share …

 You may have noticed recently a rather large change to the window on the Grand Staircase at Cliffe Castle.  Heather …

This month is the 100 year anniversary of the Peace Day celebrations which followed the signing of The Treaty of …

Our Collections officer, Pam Keeton kindly agreed to write this fascinating insight into the unseen work that happens in order …

This rather fascinating blog, written by our Assistant Curator, Lauren,  explores why Saint Blaise, an Armenian doctor and bishop from …

Kirsty, our Assistant Curator (Area North) offered to write an appropriately festive blog for our last entry in 2018.  She writes: …

A guest blog this time –  Alke Schmidt was the artist behind the Wonder & Dread exhibition at Bradford Industrial …

Those of you who also follow our Facebook and Twitter accounts might have noticed we got a little bit excited …

Our Assistant Curator, Kirsty agreed to write this blog, sharing an insight into some more of the stores currently being …

At Cartwright Hall this summer, we’ve been hosting the ‘Clangers, Bagpuss & Co’ exhibition. We thought you might enjoy hearing …

Heather Millard, Social History curator explains what she and the rest of the curatorial team were up to on the …

I always look forward to posting the entries that our Natural Science Curator, Dr Gerard McGowan writes for our blog, …

Visitors to Cliffe Castle may have noticed a rather striking exhibition on the Bracewell Smith Hall balcony area.  Currently on …

Ian, one of our volunteers at Cliffe Castle, has written us another short blog with the latest ‘gossip’ he’s discovered …

Our Curator of International Art, Nilesh Mistry agreed to give us an insight into his work  He writes: Working on …

Our Curator of Exhibitions, Sonja Kielty has written our most recent blog, talking about an exhibition that was held at …

Lizzie Llabres, our Curator for Social History and Technology has written today’s blog, looking at how death is represented in …

You may have noticed a new display case at Cartwright Hall recently.  Our Curator for International and Decorative Arts, Nilesh …

Sonja Kielty, Curator of exhibitions has written a blog giving insight in the recent Circus-themed exhibitions at Cartwright Hall. She …

We’re lucky enough to hold within our collections some of the correspondence between members of the Butterfield family, who were …

Our Community Engagement & Events intern Lucy, has written this weeks blog post, about a recent pop-up event she was …

Visitors to our website or indeed, to Lister Park may have noticed that Cartwright Hall Gallery was closed for the …

This week’s new blog has been written by our Natural Sciences Curator, Dr Gerard McGowan He writes: A recent enquiry …

Sonja Kielty, our exhibitions curator agreed to write a blog post for us to give an insight in the process …

For this week’s blog, Social History Curator Heather Millard was busy getting into the festive spirit… If you’ve visited Cliffe …

We asked our new Community Engagements and Events intern, Lucy to write this blog, and give you an insight into …

Jill, our Curator of Fine Arts agreed to write a post for us discussing the LGBTQ+ symposium we put on …

A new Museum Assistant, Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, shares her first impressions of the Gallery as she starts as a …

In this blog, Heather Millard, our Social history curator, discusses some interesting objects linked to the Butterfield Family You’ll be used …

Heather Millard, our social history curator has written the latest recap of the curatorial team’s activities on ‘Ask a Curator …

Click here for Music at the Museum 2022-23. Tony Carruthers is one of our Visitor Service Assistants at Cliffe Castle, and …

In our blog series, we aim to give an insight into the many different aspects of the Museum and Galleries …

Jill, our Curator of Fine Arts, has been very busy recently with a rather large project and she’s agreed to write …

In this latest blog, Heather Millard , our Social history curator discusses the latest addition to displays at Cliffe Castle …

‘Do you believe in fairies?’  IN this blog, Heather Millard, our Social History curator describes the research she’s been doing …

This week’s blog has been written by Antonia Lovelace, Curator of World Cultures, from Leeds Museums and Galleries. This year …

This week’s blog has been written by Jill Iredale, our Curator of Fine Arts. It’s the second in a series …

Our latest blog has been written by Gemma Bailey,  who is a our Curatorial Intern for Social History and Technology.  She …

No, it’s not a plea for help, but rather the subject of this week’s blog. If you’re visiting Cliffe Castle …

This week’s blog has been written by Jill Iredale, our Curator of Fine Arts. It’s the first in a series …

This week’s blog has been written for us by Habiba Desai, one of our work experience placements.  She writes: Hi! …

Our newest blog has been written by Salma Patel – without further ado, we’ll let her introduce herself! She writes: …

Janet Simmonds, who took on the coordination of the exhibition for Bradford Museum & Galleries, agreed to write a blog …

This week’s  blog post has been written by Liz McIvor, our Curator for Technology & Social History.  She writes: The …

After whetting the appetite with a series of blogs offering insight into small aspects of the exhibition, Splendours of the …

Our Curator of Technology, Liz McIvor agreed to write this week’s blog. She writes: What’s the difference between a tram …

This week’s ‘Splendours of the Subcontinent‘ linked post from the Royal Collections Trust is written by Kajal Meghan. She writes: …

Vistors to Cliffe Castle often comment on the collection of Minerals that are on display there.  Dr Gerard McGowan, our …

As the opening of the Splendours of the Subcontinent exhibition at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery gets ever nearer, Kajal Meghani …

One of the things many visitors comment on when they visit Cliffe Castle is the spectacular stained glass window.  Daru …

Linked to the forthcoming Splendours of the Subcontinent exhibition opening later this year at Cartwright Hall, this blog post has been …

Lizzie Labres, (Assistant Curator, Area East) agreed to write this post, linked to the Exhibition currently on the Bradford Industrial …

Linked to the forthcoming ‘Splendours of the Subcontinent’ exhibition opening later this year at Cartwright Hall, this blog post has …

Cat Scott spent 6 months of 2016 as Exhibitions and Events Intern for Bradford Museums and Galleries, and agreed to …

This week’s ‘Splendours of the Subcontinent‘ linked post from the Royal Collections Trust written by Kajal Meghani has an appropriately festive …

Many people in Bradford have fond memories of Busby’s Department store, especially the Christmas grotto.  As we’re heading into the …

The latest blog in this series linked to the forthcoming Splendours of the Subcontinent exhibition has been written by Simon …

Jill Iredale, our Curator of Fine Arts has been busy with Hockney related stuff recently, and agreed to write a blog about …

This week’s entry linked to the Splendours of the Subcontinent exhibition (opening in March 2017 at Cartwright Hall) is taking a …

Dr Gerard McGowan, Curator of Natural Sciences has written this latest blog on the subject of a rather interesting collection.  He …

Welcome to the next in the series of blog posts linked to the forthcoming Splendours of the Subcontinent exhibition. This …

Our Curator of Natural Sciences, Dr Gerard McGowan has written this latest blog for us –  about our rather popular Pholiderpeton. …

Here’s the next in the series of blog posts linked to the forthcoming ‘Splendours of the Subcontinent’ exhibition at Cartwright …

For Black History Month, our Social and Industrial History Curator, Liz McIvor wrote the following  blog, exploring the ideas behind …

Recently, Liz McIvor, our Social History and Technology Curator has been busy filming for the BBC – Railways: The Making of …

Here’s the third installment in our series of blogs linked to the forthcoming ‘Splendours of the Subcontinent’ exhibition at Cartwright …

As regular visitors to our blog may have noticed, over the last few years staff from Bradford Museums and Galleries …

We’re very pleased to introduce the seond in our series of blog posts  linked to Splendours of the Subcontinent, a …

Vistors to Cliffe Castle are often curious about Bloss, the Airedale terrier on display in our Keighley Stories Gallery.  Our …

We’re very pleased to introduce a series of blog posts that are linked to Splendours of the Subcontinent, a Royal …

Jill, our Fine Arts curator has written the latest blog post for us.  The subject this time is David Hockney. …

If you’ve visited Cartwright Hall Art Gallery or City Park recently, you may well have spotted elements of ‘Garden Within …

Today’s post is written by Liz McIvor and inspired by the exhibition Animal Attraction.  It’s one of the summer exhibitions aimed at …

Our Assistant Curator, Kirsty Gaskin was the lead on the fantanstic (and fantastical) Alice in Wonderland themed exhibition at Cliffe Castle …

As this blog is due on July 4th, we thought it appropriate to focus on Cliffe Castle Why? Isn’t it …

As the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme nears, our Assistant Curator, Lizzie Labres agreed to write a blog …

Last month, we played host to the Touring Exhibitions Group conference, and Sonja Kielty, our Exhibition’s curator offered to write …

If you’ve visted Cartwright Hall Art Gallery recently, you will have seen the wonderful exhibition:  Gateway to India.    The exhibition …

We have a wide-ranging set of collections within Bradford Museums and Galleries, and it’s always interesting to see what people …

This blog post by our Curator for Technology & Social History, Liz McIvor puts our forthcoming  A Grand Day Out at Bradford …

Our Community Music Events intern, Oscar has agreed to write the latest blog about the the project he’s been woking on: …

If you’ve visited Cliffe Castle recently, you may have noticed a few changes taking place to some of our reception …

Bradford Museums and Galleries holds some very interesting Natural Science collections, and our Curator for those Collections, Dr G. McGowan …

Our Curator for International and Decorative Arts, Nilesh Mistry has written us a blog post about an exciting arrival at …

We’re very privileged as a service to have a range of talented staff that work for us.  Pam Keeton, who is …

John Ashton is the Photographic Archive assistant for Bradford Museums and Galleries. He  agreed to write a blog for us on whats …

Annabel wrote a fantastic post for us last year about her experiences with the Sneaky Peek project, and has kindly …

Our Curator of Natural Sciences, Dr Gerard McGowan has been working on a rather intriguing digitisation project with some volunteers …

The Eye of the Beholder: Concept of Interpretation project is now complete and Nilesh Mistry (Curator International & Decorative Art) …

Sonja Kielty, our Curator of exhibitions agreed to write a blog post talking about her experiences curating the Bradford Open …

Liz McIvor, our Curator for Social History and Technology has written this timely post for us (given that Remembrance day takes …

Emily was one the interns we’ve had working with us at Bradford Museums and Galleries, and worked a great deal …

Vincent Murphy has been on an Internship with us at Bradford Industrial Museum organised in conjunction with the University of …

For the last few years Bradford Museums and Galleries have participated in the international #Askacurator day on twitter –  a rapidly …

You may have come across references to Sneaky Peeks on our other social media accounts, or perhaps you’ve picked up …

Our Curator for Social History & Technology, Liz McIvor has written a blog post on a part of Bradford  that’s …

Jack was the third of our interns who attended the ‘Participate to Change event’ in Instanbul, alongside Emily and Esther. …

Working in museums can be a bit like becoming a detective.  We do research to find out what’s happened to a particular building …

Our Community Engagement Intern wrote earlier this year about some of the experiences that she’s had working with Bradford Museums …

Although I coordinate the blog posts here for Bradford Museums and Galleries, my ‘day job’  is as the Social History …

Emily Conroy, our Museums and Exhibitions Intern has written the latest blog post: Although I am a member of the …

This blog post by Liz McIvor, our Curator for Social History & Technology takes a look at the broadsheets and …

Jack Lynch is our Print and Digital Media trainee and has been working with some of our staff to promote …

You may have noticed that we have a rather exciting event planned for Cliffe Castle next month.  Kirsty Gaskin, Assistant Curator …

Esther, our Community engagement intern has written us another post about some more of the experiences she has had since …

Sam Pickard, who’s been working with us, in Partnership with South Square agreed to write a post for us to …

We were privileged to be able to work with Dr Samuel Shaw, Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the Yale Center for British …

Jill Iredale, our Fine Art Curator has written a post for us discussing David Hockney linked to the exhibition currently …

Some of you may recall the post last year written by our Fine Arts Curator, Jill Iredale on curating a …

Our Community Engagement intern, Esther agreed to write a blog post for us, highlighting some of her experiences with Bradford …

We thought we’d aim for a festive theme for the last blog of the year, so we’re looking at how …

On Wed 12 November, Bolling Hall Museum hosted a ‘pop up’ exhibition created by Year 4 pupils of Bowling Park …

If you visited Cartwright Hall between June and November, you can’t have failed to notice the presence of the ‘A …

UK Disability History Month is an annual event, run in November every year since 2010.   If you’d like to …

With ‘All Hallows Eve’ rapidly approaching, Liz McIvor our Curator of Social History & Technology was inspired to write a …

What a busy day we had on the 17th September! We took part in #Askacurator day, which has now become …

We’re busily making the final preparations for #Askacurator day on the 17th September, when members of the Bradford Museums and …

Last month saw the return to Cliffe Castle of another key piece of artwork from the collection of Henry Isaac …

Today, the 4th of August,  marks the 100th anniversary of the date that Britain formally declared war and what we …

This latest blog post focuses on Tai-Shan Schierenberg and his work. Tai-Shan Schierenberg is highly regarded for his arresting portraits …

Visitors to the area can hardly fail to have noticed that the county seems to have gone bicycle-mad recently.  With the Tour De …

Professor Paul Coldwell, our Guest Curator for the ‘Artists Folio’ exhibition at Cartwright Hall has written a final blog post …

Have you spotted the recent addition to the Small Drawing Room  at Cliffe Castle? Daru Rooke, Museums Manager North  has …

The 9th of May saw Bradford Museums & Galleries hosting The Artists Folio as a site of inquiry – The …

If you’ve visited Cliffe Castle since the beginning of February, you may have noticed that there is now a rather …

Professor Paul Coldwell, our Guest Curator for the ‘Artist Folio’ exhibition at Cartwright Hall has written another blog post for …

Jill Iredale is the Curator of Fine Art for Bradford Museums and Galleries, and organised the wonderful ‘Rossetti’s Obsession’ exhibition …

We’d like to share the story with you of one of the objects that will soon be on display as …

With major changes to the national curriculum due to commence this September, BMG’s Learning Team have been working hard to …

Guest curator Professor Paul Coldwell, University of the Arts, London,  has been writing blog posts for us whilst the show …

This unique exhibition, which runs from 7 Feb to 15 June at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery presents a selection of folios …

You may not immediately spot the newest addition to Cliffe Castle’s rich and fascinating collections, but it’s taken two craftspeople …

This unique exhibition, which runs from 7 Feb to 15 June at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery presents a selection of folios …

For the third year running, we invited a local Primary school to work alongside staff and ‘take over’ one of …

We’re really pleased to say that our latest blog was written by Year 11 student Elinor, who was with us …

On the 18th September, alongside nearly 600 other museums and art galleries around the world, we took part in the …

Visitors to newly re-opened Cliffe Castle will have noticed that the costume display upstairs has changed. As part of the …

This year, the Friends of the Manor House are celebrating their Fiftieth anniversary with an exhibition showing the many and …

By Janet Simmonds – Museum Manager Central Due to curatorial advice regarding conservation, the next few months will see some …

Work at Cliffe Castle continues to progress and it’s great to see the building starting to change as new lights …

Written by Lauren Padgett – Museum Assistant Every year the Friends of the Manor House take on the responsibility and …

On 23 November Year 3 pupils from Ashlands Primary School, Ilkley took part in National ‘Kids in Museums Take Over …

Cartwright Hall Art Gallery is appealing for artwork and local memorabilia that can be displayed in a unique David Hockney …

Written by Phil Heritage The first time I visited Bradford Industrial Museum was during its annual Victorian Christmas market in …

Here at Cliffe Castle our major refurbishment is now in full swing. The fact that work has begun is fantastic …

Preparation is underway here at Bradford Industrial Museum for the Christopher Pratt and Sons exhibition (8 December 2012 – 7 …

All friends and fans of Cliffe Castle will be aware that the building is now closed to undergo an exciting …

In 1884 Cliffe Castle’s owner Henry Isaac Butterfield held a grand ball at his home. The event was described in …

Don’t adjust your screens – this particular embroidery is multicoloured although we describe it as Blackwork. It is called Blackwork …

It is always an exciting time in the museum when we install a new exhibition. We recently opened a new …

Like many museums and art galleries, only a small portion our collection is on display. Well, really, I should say …

This winter Bradford Industrial Museum will play host to a veritable imaginarium of costume, contraptions and curiosities with an exhibition …

A group of young people, members of Bradford Young Ambassadors, have been investigating and responding to Bradford Museums and Galleries …

It is not every day we allow our visitors to do some spray painting at Cartwright Hall but as we …

Can you imagine working in a mill in 1910? Long days in warm conditions surrounded by deafening noises from the …

In the midst of Bradford Industrial Museum’s fantastic new exhibition, ‘When the FA Cup Came Home,’ stands an empty black …