Columbian printing press

The Columbian printing press was designed by George E. Clymer around 1812. This printing press (No.1604) was made in London by William Carpenter. It was owned by a series of Pickering printers, first by Mr John Hodgson, then Mr A. J. Hunnam followed by Mr Eric Dewing.

Colombian presses often have elaborate decorations. The main large counter weight on this press is in the shape of an American eagle. In its talons the eagle clutches a flight of Jove’s thunderbolts (representing war), the Cornucopia (signifying prosperity) and the olive branch of peace. One end of the main counterbalance lever takes the form of a sea snake or dolphin (representing wisdom). Around the nameplate is a decorative design of fruit and flowers.

The printing press remained in use by Eric Dewing until 1972, when following the closure of his printing studio it was donated to the Beck Isle Museum. You can still see this the press in action on craft days at the museum when is it operated by volunteer printers.

The Pub

The room here is arranged to look like a country pub in the late nineteenth/early twentieth century. The objects on display are from various public houses in Pickering and Ryedale, plus a few from the Scarborough area.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries pubs provided many attractions and services. For example many pubs had a postbox inside, especially those near coaching routes.

The Black Swan in Pickering was originally a coaching inn for the York to Whitby stagecoach. In 1910 the Black Swan had a billiards room, was the headquarters of the local cycling touring club and was a place where you could hire a hearse for funerals.

Rum and brandy barrels

These porcelain rum and brandy barrels came from the White Horse pub in Pickering, This is now a house in Burgate. There are also porcelain measures with them. Consumption of spirits soured in the mid-nineteenth century. After 1930 public houses tried to shake off the bad image of spirit drinking. These small barrels represent part of the attempt to make the drinking of gin and brandy a more glamorous and elite activity.

Drug run

Inside the Victorian Chemist you will see the large draw unit called a drug run, which takes up the whole of the back of the shop. This contained supplies of dried herbs, chemicals and prepared medicines.

Patent medicines

Chemists made up prescriptions of herbal medicines but also sold cosmetics, household chemicals and many other things. A large display of ‘patent’ medicines can be seen in the curved glass display. Patent medicines were commercially advertised products which were marketed in the 1800s and early 1900s, but there effectiveness was unproven.

Temporary exhibition gallery

Discover something new each time you visit the Beck Isle Museum. Our first floor exhibition gallery changes annually displaying objects from the museum’s collection of over 50,000 objects. This is an opportunity to see items from the stored collection of costume and social history artefacts.

Polly Marshall

Olive “Polly” Marshall was born in Pickering in 1932. From an early age she showed a great aptitude for cricket and played for both the Pickering and Yorkshire team. Between 1954 and 1966 Polly travelled the world playing in 13 Test matches for the English women's cricket team.

Much loved by the people of Pickering, she became known as ‘Our Polly’ and was granted the Freedom of the Town of Pickering.

Village Shop

This display is a recreation of what a village shop or general store may have looked like. Many of the items are from Wood’s a corner shop in nearby Thornton-Le-Dale which was owned by Leo. Wood. The enamelled sign above the shop entrance is from R.Blackelock, confectioner, who had a shop in Burgate, Pickering.

A village shop would have sold groceries such as tea and coffee, tinned goods, sweets and chocolates. Can you also see the large bacon slicer at the back of the shop?

Village Shop

Tea containers for loose tea. The brass scales on the counter would have been used to weigh out tea for customers. It was then poured into paper bags and tied up with thin string known as tea band.

Gentleman’s Outfitters

Gentleman’s Outfitters sold a wide range of clothing from dress suits and uniforms to waistcoats, shirts and ties. They also stocked underwear and night attire as well as hats, gloves, collars and dickey-fronts (a type of false shirt -front).

The shop fittings came from Greensmith and Thackwray, Scarborough’s oldest retail outlet. It was established in 1845, closing in the 1990s. The shop was part of a chain, established mainly in the north of England, of ‘hosiers, glovers and outfitters’. As well as personal service over the counter they supplied brochures to the ‘Nobility, Gentry and Clergy’. These informed clients of the latest fashions available.

Agricultural Heritage

A variety of farm implements sit alongside our blacksmith's shop. From horse drawn to tractor-pulled equipment, the tools and machinery dates from the late Victorian era (1890) to 1960.