Ryedale Folk Museum is an open-air museum in the village of Hutton-le-Hole in the North York Moors National Park.[1] This museum tells the stories of local people from pre-history to the present day. About twenty of the museum's buildings have been saved from nearby villages and reconstructed at the museum.[1] The museum covers an area of six acres - with the buildings, agricultural machinery and farm animals (sheep, chickens and pigs).
The museum officially opened in 1964 to a Look North TV crew,[2] but its origins go back much further, and Wilfred Crosland originally established the museum collection. After Wilfred died, his sisters, Helen and Hannah (known as Minnie), pushed the museum forward, and they appointed its first curator - Bertram (Bert) Frank. Bert Frank was supported by his wife, Evelyn, alongside countless volunteers. The Crosland family arranged for William's collection to be first exhibited in 1935.[2]
Exhibitions
In 2023, the museum hosted an exhibition of traditional rag rugs made by a local couple focused on preserving the craft.[3]
In 2024, an exhibition titled Believe it or Not explored folk belief and magical thinking, with exhibited items including witch posts and everyday domestic items believed to have protective powers, such as knitting sheaths, apple scoops, and butter moulds.
Television and Film
The Museum has featured in various television programmes including Escape to the Country, BBC Look North and Secret Britain. In January 2026 it was seen on Robson Green's Weekend Escapes on BBC2. Robson Green and Chris Kamara visited the museum and made a traditional bee skep from wheat straw with one of the Museum's volunteers.
The Museum has been used in various films and features including the BBC's production of Death Comes to Pemberley and Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose starring Simon Pegg and Minnie Driver.
The buildings at the Museum
There are many different buildings at the Museum. Some have been relocated from nearby villages, others have been purpose built to serve the needs of the Museum and collections on display. The buildings include:
Stang End cottage
Pickard's Cottage
Manor House or Harome Hall
Washhouse
William Hayes' Daylight Photographic Studio
Iron Age Roundhouse
Crofter's Cottage
Witch's Hovel
Shepherd's Hut
Potting Shed
Workshops of the cobbler, tinsmith, cooper, joiner and wheelwright, saddler, iron foundry and undertaker
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