Bankfield Museum
The History
For half a century from 1837-1886, Bankfield House was the home of Edward Akroyd, the largest wool manufacturer in Britain. He lavished money and attention on the building, transforming it from a modest town house into a magnificent Italianate mansion with elaborate ceilings, staircases and plasterwork.
Around Bankfield he built Akroydon, a model village of fine terraced houses with allotments, a park, co-operative store, stables and All Souls Church. It was to be the first "Urban Village".
Today Bankfield and Akroydon symbolise the importance of the textile industry to Victorian Britain.
The Museum
A Museum since 1887, Bankfield is now home to an internationally important collection of costume and textiles from around the world. Ancient Egyptian mummy wrappings; an Igbo masquerade dress; embroideries 
from India and China; woven cloth from Africa and Burma, all have a place in this 'World of Textiles'.
Not everything at Bankfields is old. Contemporary crafts are an important part of its permanent galleries and the varied and exciting programme of temporary exhibitions, workshops, seminars, masterclasses and gallery demonstrations.
The work of Paddy Killer, Peter Colgan, Catherine Riley, Lois Walpole, Dail Behennah, Peter Markey and Tom Wood all feature at Bankfield, now recognised as an influential centre, promoting and encouraging contemporary crafts.
Bankfield Museum has an excellent schools education programme and can arrange study visits to the reserve collection. Please contact the museum for further information.
Other facilities
Bankfield Museum also houses the Duke of Wellington's Regimental Museum, which reopened on 11th November 2008 following a major HLF funded refurbishment. It tells the history of the regiment from the present day back to its beginnings in 1702, using accounts from serving soldiers.
Shop, toilets, free car park, disabled access to ground floor, public library, tea & coffee machine, room hire.
Share this article
More Pictures
Directions |
|
Bankfield is on the A647 Halifax-Queensbury-Bradford road, one mile from Halifax town centre and railway station. Buses 574; 576 every 10 mins from bus station; 577; 578; 579. |
|
Bankfield Museum Postcode for SatNav: HX3 6HG
|
Contact
|
|
|||||||||||
Days Out near Bankfield Museum
-
Shibden Hall (1 Mile)*
-
Eureka! The National Children's Museum (1 Mile)*
-
Bolling Hall (6 Miles)*
-
Hardcastle Crags (6 Miles)*
-
Bronte Parsonage Museum (7 Miles)*
-
Bradford Industrial Museum & Horses At Work (8 Miles)*
-
Oakwell Hall (8 Miles)*
-
Bagshaw Museum (9 Miles)*
-
Marsden Moor (9 Miles)*
-
National Coalmining Museum for England (12 Miles)*
Places to Visit near Bankfield Museum
-
Halifax (1 Mile)*
-
Gomersal (3 Miles)*
-
Clayton (3 Miles)*
-
Sowerby Bridge (3 Miles)*
-
Mytholmroyd (5 Miles)*
-
Bradford (6 Miles)*
-
Huddersfield (6 Miles)*
-
Golcar (7 Miles)*
-
Haworth (7 Miles)*
-
Saltaire (7 Miles)*
Also near Bankfield Museum |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||