England Guide
Yorkshire
Yorkshire Museum
Opening time: Daily 10am–5pm
Price: £5
Website: www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk
Address: Museum Street
The Yorkshire Museum which lies within the beautifully laid-out grounds of ruined St Mary's Abbey, is one of York's better museums, with changing temporary exhibitions aimed largely at families, but otherwise strong on Roman archeological remains. The chief exhibit is the fifteenth-century Middleham Jewel, found in 1985 – a diamond-shaped jewel with an oblong sapphire, acclaimed as the finest piece of Gothic jewellery in England.
Part of the museum basement incorporates the fireplace and chapter house of St Mary's Abbey, the ruins of which lie within the attractive museum gardens. Founded around 1080, the abbey later became an important Benedictine foundation – it was from here that disenchanted monks fled to found Fountains Abbey.