I hadn't been to Cliff Castle Museum in over 10 years, but after a hospital appointment in Keighley over the weekend, I didn't have any other plans that day, so I called on my way home and decided to meet up again. .
Honestly, this museum is a great place and worth a visit. The Victorian neo-Gothic castle is packed with treasures and a wealth of information about local history.
Unfairly, Keighley has often been looked down upon by Yorkshire's flashier cities like Leeds and posh towns like Ilkley and Harrogate. I also remember a short poem by John Cooper Clarke, “I just want to tell you now, I never want to go to Keighley.'' The local heritage museum will definitely be a reason to come to town, and I hope it will be. Bradford will play a key role in 2025, when the city and surrounding area achieves City of Culture status.
I parked along the road, not realizing there was a parking lot nearby. So I had to walk through a nice park and past an old bandstand to the museum. The park is now all that remains of what was once a 300-acre site.
Between 1875 and 1885, the gardens around the house were developed to reflect the wealth of the owners, the Butterfield family. Ideas from Europe were incorporated into the design, incorporating terraces, urns, statues, and fountains.
The grounds were purchased by Sir Bracewell-Smith in the 1950s and donated to the town along with funds to convert the house into a museum and open the gardens to the public as a public park. A 2017 Heritage Lottery grant enabled us to further restore the Victorian splendor of the site.
I spent 30 minutes exploring the gardens, but could have spent more. It's best to come back on a sunny summer day with more time to spare. However, I did get to see some amazing decorative rockwork and rock tunnels on site.
There is also a conservatory with great views of the grounds which has been converted into a cafe and a birdhouse which fascinated many of the young children who visited.
After circling the garden and returning to the house, I spotted the famous dolphin lamp on the front lawn. This was once a gas lamp, and around its base are decorated dolphins and the mask of Neptune, god of the sea.
This lamp was purchased by Sir Henry Butterfield and is the same lamp found along the Thames on London's Victoria Embankment, designed by George Valliamy in the 1870s. It's the only one you'll find outside of “that” London.
The original Cliff Hall was designed by George Webster of Kendal and built here between 1828 and 1833 for local lawyer and businessman Christopher Netherwood.
The house was then passed on to the Butterfield family, who purchased it in 1848. The Butterfield brothers were successful worsted spinners with many factories exporting textiles around the world.
In 1874, the hall was taken over by the flamboyant Henry Isaac Butterfield, but was seriously damaged by a gas explosion. Lord Henry rebuilt much of the hall and renamed the building Cliff Castle.
Later, after Lord Bracewell-Smith donated the site to the town of Keighley, many of the exhibits from the town's Keighley Museum were moved to Cliff Castle and displayed in more grand surroundings and larger spaces.
When I entered the building, I discovered that admission was free. I was met in the hallway by a portrait of Sir Bracewell Smith looking down at me.
To the right of the doorway were various reception rooms overlooking the gardens, including a music room and music boudoir. Sir Henry Butterfield had a passion for music and often held small concerts in the house.
A grand staircase leads to the upper floors, passing through an impressive Victorian stained glass window depicting Henry Butterfield and his wife in the glass.
Hanging on the way to the Airedale Gallery is the Butterfield Banner, presented to the museum in 2005 by the Friends of Cliff Castle in memory of founding member John Stanley. It depicts the scenery around Keighley and things that can be seen inside the house.
Another stunning room along the entrance hall was the grand salon or drawing room, filled with fine furniture and ornaments that would have been used for both relaxation and entertainment.
Passing through a doorway guarded by Egyptian figures, we entered the trade and industry area of Keighley and its surroundings.
These included clog making
Local Keithley brick making
As well as areas devoted to spinning and weaving, it also includes a model of the workshop of Timmy Feathers, the area's last handloom weaver, who died in 1910.
As we passed through the museum, we came to an area themed around local history. There was a section on the Silsden Hoard, a locally discovered Roman coin and gold ring.
But history goes back even further, with some pretty impressive Neolithic/Bronze Age cup and ring carved stones, as well as earlier Stone Age flints and arrowheads.
There was an interesting section on the local geology. Many of the rocks in this region were formed during the Carboniferous period, between 350 million and 300 million years ago. There were some great exhibits showing what life was like back then. This included fossils of many local plants and trees.
There was also a model of a giant amphibian whose fossilized remains were found in the area.
This section also featured long tapestries, which must have taken a long time to create, detailing the story of life on Earth from the Big Bang to the present day. It was truly a wonderful work of art.
Following the footsteps, we found the entrance to the Egyptian Gallery. It was the room that housed the 3,000-year-old sarcophagus of an Egyptian nobleman. This room contained many other interesting Egyptian artifacts and led to Bracewell-Smith Hall.
This room was created in 1959 to display art and sculpture. It was also used for civic events.
The museum was like Aladdin's cave. Just when we thought we had seen it all, we arrived at an area with an amazing collection of rocks and minerals from all over the world.
Afterwards, I went to the Natural History Gallery. There was a wonderful collection of Victorian taxidermy, with mammals, birds and insects on display. The gallery was buzzing with children who found the examples of these creatures magical.
That was it. After an hour and a half, I finally “walked out of the museum” and couldn't take in any more information. This was a fascinating visit where I learned a lot and was also very impressed with the variety of exhibits and exhibits.
We hope that continued council cuts will allow museums to remain open, as they are such a great community resource. Most of the people at the museum I spoke to were locals, of all ethnic backgrounds, and most were with children. It's great to have a place at Keighley where children can be inspired and inspired to learn. We hope to continue to inspire locals and visitors from outside the area.
I made a small donation, bought a book at the store and went home.
