Ryedale Folk Museum

Volunteers are at the heart of the museum, they started the museum in 1964 and continue to contribute to our special character today! So we thought how nice it would be to share with you the areas in which they support the museum, and to say a BIG thank you to each and every one of them! Front of House, where it all begins! “The museum’s volunteers provide a vital contribution from working with school children to providing office support among many other tasks. I am in constant admiration of their spirit and enthusiasm.” – Tony Clark (Trustee) The Office “Our office volunteers provide a vital behind the scenes contribution to the running of the museum. From writing letters to answering the telephone, we are grateful for their often unseen involvement." - Helen Dean (staff member) Fat Betty’s “Our cafe volunteers always provide service with a smile, helping us to be Yorkshire’s friendliest museum.”  – Maureen Wass (staff member) The Blacksmith “Robin has been volunteering here sinc...

Cornfield  Flowers Project Cornfield Flowers Project at Ryedale Folk Museum - saving rare arable flowers from extinction in North-east Yorkshire As spring takes hold and the natural world awakes from its winter slumber, the first signs of some of the UK’s rarest wildflowers are eagerly awaited in a corner of the Ryedale Folk Museum. In front of the roundhouse is the Cornfield Flowers Project demonstration field.  For much of the year, this is bare earth with little to hint at the value of the seeds that lie beneath.  By summer time though, this field will be a blast of colourful plants growing amongst a cereal crop, and provides an accessible display of some of the most endangered arable wildflowers in North Yorkshire and the UK. Demonstration field in full bloom at Ryedale Folk Museum The museum has supported our Project since its beginnings, and has been our public face throughout this time – raising awareness of the plight of arable wildflowers and providing a rare opp...

1953 – Eggs come off rationing. 1957 – The British Egg Marketing Board begins trading in June 1957 – The British Lion mark is introduced and eggs are required to be stamped with their specific grade and packing station number. 1960s – UK egg consumption peaks at nearly 5 per person per week.    1971 – The British Egg Marketing Board is replaced by the Eggs Authority, a statutory body. 1986 – The Egg Authority is abolished & The British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) is set up, funded by the industry on a voluntary basis.    1998 – Delia Smith’s ‘How to Cook’ programme features a recipe for boiling the perfect egg, sparking a huge increase in sales of eggs. 2003 – The Atkins diet hits the headlines helping to boost egg sales. 2007 - New satiety research suggests that eating eggs for breakfast can help people lose weight. How did you do?

Thanks to the hard work of our volunteers and the North York Moors National Park volunteers we now have a bird hide for visitors to enjoy. The project was also made possible thanks to funding from the Jack Brunton Charitable Trust. The Bird Hide is positioned at the top of the site next to the Iron Age Round House, looking out onto the Cornfield Flower Meadow. Once the meadow begins to flower and the wildlife comes out we hope the hide will be a great place where visitors can enjoy watching nature and through information inside be able to identify what they are looking at. To celebrate our new bird hide we are having an ‘All Things Bird’ week on our social media sites. As chickens are one of the most common types of bird found we thought we would share with you what chickens we have here at the museum. We currently have 8 historic breeds of chicken and 1 duck! All are utlitiy breeds (bred for eggs or meat) apart from our Silkies who are bred for show. Marans This breed was developed in...