We ended up in Leeds at the weekend. I was getting another piercing in my ear, and the place selling the jewellery would only let me do it in their shop, which was in Leeds, so I unselfishly dragged my entire family along with me for the day 🤭
I’m half joking. I thought it would be nice to go somewhere for the day so we planned to do a bit of shopping, get my piercing done, then go to Abbey House Museum in the afternoon.
I’ve always been a bit of a history enthusiast, I like my period dramas and my visits to National Trust properties and things like that, so this was right up my street. I knew my other half would enjoy it as well, and even though the word ‘museum’ isn’t exactly catnip to small children, I had high hopes it would be fun for them too.
And I was right!
A visit to Abbey House Museum is like going back in time. It’s completely immersive, interactive, and impossible not to enjoy. My kids had a great time, so I wanted to share it with you because I think it’s a real gem, and one that’s easy to miss unless you know it’s there.
A Bit About the Museum
The museum has been open since 1927, which in itself in quite incredible. It’s housed in the old gatehouse for Kirkstall Abbey, the ruins of which are just across the road along with a very lovely café (although the Victoria Sponge there was a bit dry). So that’s something else to tag on to your visit if you like.
The museum itself is set out like a Victorian street, or network of streets, with all the shops of the day, a pub, a back alley complete with washing, houses, a school, all sorts. It’s incredibly detailed and there is so much stuff in there.
It’s like a film set. But better. Every aspect is historically correct, and they even have some soundscape stuff built in, plus lighting changes between day and night to enhance it. The upper floor is more like a traditional museum with exhibits and things. Still very interesting but not as immersive.
Once you’re in the whole thing is contained too, so the kids can have free reign with no fear of getting lost or escaping.
The local council were talking about closing the museum in 2024 – which is such a council thing to do isn’t it – but thankfully it was saved by the outrage of locals. Honestly, why would they even consider closing something this special?
Anyway, it’s still open, it’s amazing, and here’s what it is like inside.
A Victorian Street
When you first enter the street, this is what you see:
The picture doesn’t do it justice, I’m no photographer, but you can go into every shop, up every staircase, and you can even get dressed up and go round in Victorian attire if you like, look:
Plus, every corner of every shop and house is packed with stuff from the time.
Here is a little photo dump of some of the different shops and the stuff they have in them, so prepare for endless questions from the kids about what stuff is and what it does!
There is a sweet shop too that I didn’t manage to get a photo of, but the kids can have a go weighing out the sweets from the jars. The sweets are actually knitted lookalike type things, much to the disappointment of my two little sugar fiends.
It was great to wander around and go in whatever direction took our interest. The kids would come find me to show me things that they thought were cool, and I enjoyed finding out new things from the volunteers there. At one point we couldn’t find my fella, and as though he was deliberately trying to be as stereotypical as possible, we found him in the pub:
There are 3 different streets in there, and numerous ways to get from one street to the next. You can go through alleys, through the backdoor of a shop, up some stairs and round then down another set of stairs, etc.
I liked the back alley bit the best:
You should have seen my kids faces when I explained why that channel was dug in the middle of the cobbles and what people used to do with their toilet waste 😆😧
It was from here you could look into the living rooms, and they had dwellings that poor people would have lived in and that wealthier people would have lived in:
The kids were a bit taken aback at how bad the conditions were in the poorer person’s house. I could see them processing it all, and realising that life is pretty good for them in comparison. Didn’t stop them whinging in the car on the way home, but I’m glad they had their eyes opened for a while at least!
On the way out we passed an old advertising poster for Nervous Pills, which could apparently also cure “irritability of temper”, so of course my other half asked the volunteer if they still had any lying around as “the missus could use some”.
Tee-sodding-hee. God he’s so embarrassing…
So there you have it, our visit to the Abbey House Museum was a resounding success. Everyone really enjoyed it, and the kids lasted loads longer than I thought they would in there. It’s not ginormous but it’s free range and feels like a big adventure, plus, if you combine it with a coffee and a cake at the café by the abbey ruins afterwards, you can easily spend 3 hours looking around and then stuffing your face without having to deal with children who are bored.
So if you’re not too far away and want something a bit more cultural and educational to do with the kids this weekend, Abbey House Museum is a winner.