Volunteers from Otley Museum tell us a bit about the Museum and their collections.

There has been a museum in Otley for 60 years. We cover a five-mile circular radius to include Arthington, Pool, Bramhope, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Weston and Clifton.

It started as a collection of artefacts, paperwork and photographs in a house, but that overflowed and rooms in the ‘Mechanics Institute’ were rented. The collection grew over the years with an eclectic mix of anything and everything that Otley folk had kept or found – books, clothes, machines, household items and archaeological finds.

In 1974 Leeds City Council took over the management of the Institute and the building was renamed the Civic Centre. By 2010 the building was in such a bad state of repair, it was closed. That left the Museum without a new location. As a result, our extensive collection has gone into storage where it remains, despite our efforts to find a permanent home.

The Museum now functions as a paper archive with access to the artefacts if needed. We carry out research for family and local history enquiries that can be local, national or international. A photography project is well under way to digitise the whole collection which varies in size from a key fob to a printing machine. The result will be a database that the Museum can use for research and social media networks.

Our work is mainly online but we are open to the public.

Contact details are on our website: https://otleymuseum.org
Email: otleymuseum@gmail.com or phone 01943 468181