A Sense of Place: Trade and Industry
2025 exhibition
Building upon our 2024 exhibition, Sense of Place: Trade and Industry focused specifically how trade and industry shaped the towns of Malton and Norton as we know them today. Beer in particular was highlighted in this exhibition. Working with the Woodham Stone group we created a display focusing on the importance of brewing in the area. The Tate Smith family also generously lent us artefacts to exhibit the development of the drinks industry in Malton.
We also displayed some artefacts from Victorian forger Flint Jack. He was an expert in producing counterfeits and selling them as genuine finds. Some of these pieces were displayed when the museum first opened in 1935, and were exhibited again as part of our 90th anniversary celebrations.
A Sense of Place
2024 exhibition
A Sense of Place explored how the past has shaped the towns of Malton and Norton we see today. Objects and stories from the past came together to vibrantly recreate life in these towns.
There is a rich and important history in the towns of Malton and Norton, including its earliest settlement, Roman occupation, Monasteries, war, growth, industry, expansion and innovation. The exhibition gave timelines of the towns from prehistory through the Roman occupation, on through Medieval development up to the Victorian era.
What Lies Beneath…the Hidden Past of Malton and Norton
2022-2023 exhibition
There is a rich and important history in the towns of Malton and Norton, including settlement, monasteries, Roman occupation, war, growth, industry, expansion and innovation. In this exhibition we explored four big questions:
What lies beneath the soil?
Clay for the wealth of pottery produced in Roman times and artefacts covering thousands of years of occupation and settlement.
What lies beneath the pictures?
We used old photographs and imagined the times gone by, exploring and querying stories behind these images.
What lies beneath the stories?
From artefacts and images, we were able to tell the stories behind the growth and development of the towns. We made connections with the people who lived here before us.
What lies beneath the data?
Maps, census information and records filled in many of the gaps behind the people and stories who have made these towns what they are today.
Malton Horse Power
2019 – 2021 exhibition
Our ‘Horse Power’ exhibition told the story of the long association between the Malton area and horses, from Iron Age chariot burials through the cavalry of the Roman army to the successful racing industry of today. There was frequent changes of the objects on display throughout the duration of the exhibition.
In the entrance hall there is a display of photographs submitted by members of the public of them with their horse.
Malton Timeline
Find out more about the history of Malton and its surrounding area through the millennia, from Prehistoric discoveries, the important Roman fort that stood on what is now Orchard Field, and from medieval times through to the more recent past.
So that we can put on show more of the Museum’s extensive Roman collection, the objects on display in the cases are changed from time to time.
Hands On Activities
The exhibitions contain ‘hands on’ activities for younger, and older, visitors. These have included a quern stone with which to have a go at grinding your own flour, period costumes for dressing up in, and two trails for children in which Fido, the museum’s dog, guides them around the displays.
Two different town trails are available to purchase: a leaflet format aimed at adults and backpacks which contain a trail and activities for families to enjoy.
Malton Goes to Market
2016 – 2018 exhibition
For the 2016, 2017 and 2018 seasons the Museum staged the Malton Goes to Market exhibition. Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England we were able to revamp our exhibition rooms, install new lighting and introduce new technology. The exhibition featured objects as diverse as Iron Age chalk figures, trade tokens and a decorative quilt.
For the 2017 season part of the exhibition space was used to house a display commemorating the First World War.
The Saxon Princess
2015 exhibition
In 2015 the Museum housed a temporary exhibition from Kirkleatham Museum: ‘The Saxon Princess’. The exhibition featured a replica of a rare Anglo-Saxon pendant which was discovered in 2006 by archaeologists excavating a cemetery at Street House, Redcar and Cleveland. It had been placed in a grave which is believed to be that of a Saxon princess who was buried lying on her highly-decorated bed.
Windows to the Past
2014 – 2015 exhibition
In 2014 and 2015 the Museum worked with the Woodhams-Stone Collection on ‘Windows to the Past’, a two-part exhibition exploring the changing nature of the town. It included a reconstruction of a Roman kitchen and one from the 1930’s.
A Sense of Place
2024 exhibition
A Sense of Place explored how the past has shaped the towns of Malton and Norton we see today. Objects and stories from the past came together to vibrantly recreate life in these towns.
There is a rich and important history in the towns of Malton and Norton, including its earliest settlement, Roman occupation, Monasteries, war, growth, industry, expansion and innovation. The exhibition gave timelines of the towns from prehistory through the Roman occupation, on through Medieval development up to the Victorian era.
Malton Horse Power
2019 – 2021 exhibition
Our ‘Horse Power’ exhibition told the story of the long association between the Malton area and horses, from Iron Age chariot burials through the cavalry of the Roman army to the successful racing industry of today. There will be frequent changes of the objects on display throughout the duration of the exhibition.
In the entrance hall there is a display of photographs submitted by members of the public of them with their horse.
Malton Timeline
Find out more about the history of Malton and its surrounding area through the millennia, from Prehistoric discoveries, the important Roman fort that stood on what is now Orchard Field, and from medieval times through to the more recent past.
So that we can put on show more of the Museum’s extensive Roman collection, the objects on display in the cases are changed from time to time.
Hands On Activities
The exhibitions contain ‘hands on’ activities for younger, and older, visitors. These have included a quern stone with which to have a go at grinding your own flour, period costumes for dressing up in, and two trails for children in which Fido, the museum’s dog, guides them around the displays.
Two different town trails are available to purchase: a leaflet format aimed at adults and backpacks which contain a trail and activities for families to enjoy.
Malton Goes to Market
2016 – 2018 exhibition
For the 2016, 2017 and 2018 seasons the Museum staged the Malton Goes to Market exhibition. Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England we were able to revamp our exhibition rooms, install new lighting and introduce new technology. The exhibition featured objects as diverse as Iron Age chalk figures, trade tokens and a decorative quilt.
For the 2017 season part of the exhibition space was used to house a display commemorating the First World War.
The Saxon Princess
2015 exhibition
In 2015 the Museum housed a temporary exhibition from Kirkleatham Museum: ‘The Saxon Princess’. The exhibition featured a replica of a rare Anglo-Saxon pendant which was discovered in 2006 by archaeologists excavating a cemetery at Street House, Redcar and Cleveland. It had been placed in a grave which is believed to be that of a Saxon princess who was buried lying on her highly-decorated bed.
Windows to the Past
2014 – 2015 exhibition
In 2014 and 2015 the Museum worked with the Woodhams-Stone Collection on ‘Windows to the Past’, a two-part exhibition exploring the changing nature of the town. It included a reconstruction of a Roman kitchen and one from the 1930’s.