Museum news

Coppergate in the snow

Winter has arrived at JORVIK Viking Centre, giving the attraction’s famous recreation of 10th-century York a snowy makeover for the first time in its 40-year history.

Visitors to JORVIK have long been able to enjoy an archaeologically inspired ride travelling through the streets and structures of Coppergate – an area of Viking Age York whose remains were excavated between 1976 and 1981 on the site where the Viking Centre now stands (see CA 58, 63, 76, 340, and 400). Until recently, its reconstructed scenes depicted the settlement on a sunny spring day, but the setting has undergone a temporary transformation.

Inspired by one of the many remarkable finds from the Coppergate excavations – early medieval ice skates made of bone – the quayside, market stalls, and houses have been thickly blanketed in snow, while the settlement’s inhabitants are shown wrapped warmly in furs and woollens. A new blue and turquoise lighting scheme adds to the frosty feel.

Outside the ride, in the main galleries, visitors will be able to learn about how Coppergate’s residents cared for livestock and kept themselves warm and fed during the colder months; a Viking house with a crackling fire will also provide an atmospheric setting for a Skald to tell winter-themed stories of gods and monsters, and to describe the kit needed to make it through to spring.

A Winter Adventure at JORVIK Viking Centre runs until 23 February 2025. Pre-booking is essential; for more information and to secure specific time-slots, see http://www.jorvikvikingcentre.co.uk.

Corfe Castle’s view fit for a king

A temporary viewing platform at Corfe Castle in Dorset allows visitors to enjoy a perspective that was once the preserve of medieval monarchs.

Today a picturesque ruin in the care of the National Trust, Corfe Castle was built by William the Conqueror, but its keep (also known as the King’s Tower) dates to the reign of his son, Henry I. Constructed from gleaming white limestone c.1107, it was designed to provide the king with luxurious personal quarters, and included an ‘appearance door’ where Henry could be seen by the public, much as the balcony at Buckingham Palace is used today.

Visitors can now enjoy this royal viewpoint for themselves, thanks to a platform constructed as part of a £2 million conservation project that has been running at the site since 2023. As part of this initiative – which is working to protect the castle’s stonework from the impact of climate change – Historic England granted permission for the viewing platform, which stands alone without having any impact on the medieval masonry. It is expected to remain in place for a year, or until the completion of the works.

Ticket sales will help to fund the ongoing conservation, which is already being supported by a £150,000 grant from the Wolfson Foundation, as well as a commitment from the National Trust’s own funds, but a further £100,000 is needed to ensure that it can be completed. See http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/corfe-castle for more information and booking details.

New exhibitions

2025 Banner Exhibition  
People’s History Museum, Manchester
18 January-29 December 2025
https://phm.org.uk

Imagined Norths
Sir Duncan Rice Library, University of Aberdeen
Until 13 April 2025
http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/AAGM/whats-aberdeen-art-galleries-and-museums/imagined-norths

Gladiators of Britain
Dorset Museum & Art Gallery, Dorchester
25 January-11 May 2025
http://www.dorsetmuseum.org/whats-on/gladiators-of-britain

Fault Lines: imagining Indigenous futures for colonial collections
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge
Until 21 December 2025
https://maa.cam.ac.uk/fault-lines-imagining-indigenous-futures-colonial-collections

In the Land, of the People
Blackness Castle, Linlithgow
Until 2 March 2025
http://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/blackness-castle

Last chance to see

Women in Power: coins from the Barber Collection
Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham
Until 26 January 2025
http://www.barber.org.uk/women-in-power