New Exhibition And Open Days At Beverley Guildhall

Members of staff and volunteers at the Beverley Guildhall are pleased to announce that for a trial period, the building and Community Museum will be open for an extra day every week from Wednesday, 8 May until 30 October from 10am-4pm, which means the Guildhall will be open on Wednesdays as well as the normal Fridays.

A new exhibition is also now on display in the Community Museum.

The exhibition, ‘Starting School’, looks at the history of elementary education and primary schools in Beverley.
Before the 18th century there was little education available for young children, particularly those of poor families.
Education was limited to religion and the skills needed for them to work.

From the late 18th century philanthropic individuals, and then the church, identified a need for a more educated workforce and started to set up the schools that were the fore-runner of today’s system.

The curator of the Guildhall, Fiona Jenkinson, said: “We had not realised how complicated the school system has been across the years, with many schools moving about from one building to another.

“It has been quite a challenge to track them all down.”

“We think this exhibition will be quite popular as we have managed to include plenty of memories which we hope will stimulate memories for our visitors.”

“We are pleased that this exhibition will coincide almost exactly with the extra open day every week, which will give more people the chance to see it.”