Abbey House in the running to be named UK’s Best Small Museum for families!
The Kids in Museums 2025 shortlist for the best museums in the UK has been revealed, and Leeds features on the list! The museums on the list are viewed as the most “welcoming, fun and accessible to all ages.”
The categories:
Best Accessible Museum, Best Small Museum; Best Medium Museum; Best Large Museum; Best Museum Youth Project – Social Justice.
Our very own Abbey House Museum is one of the 5 shortlisted museums in the Best Small Museum category!
It’s in the running alongside:
- Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea
- Experience Barnsley Museum and Discovery Centre, Barnsley
- North Lincolnshire Museum, Scunthorpe
- Showtown Blackpool
More about Abbey House Museum
Abbey House Museum is in Kirkstall, just a few miles outside of Leeds city centre. Abbey House Museum is situated opposite Kirkstall Abbey, and was the original inner-gatehouse for the abbey.
Abbey House Museum was opened in 1927 and is one of eight venues in the Leeds Museums & Galleries family. The building was originally the inner-gatehouse of Kirkstall Abbey, founded in 1152. After the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII, the gatehouse became a farmhouse and then a family home. It was bought by Leeds City Council in 1926 and transformed into a social history museum.
The museum’s highlights include three authentically recreated Victorian Streets (Abbey Fold, Harewood Square, Stephen Harding Gate), which were developed in the 1950s. Between 1998 – 2001 the museum was granted funding by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to refurbish and update the museum with new additions to the streets.
Today, the museum offers a great value, family-friendly experience for local people and anyone who is interested in social history. The interactive streets offer glimpses into Leeds’ Victorian past, whilst the upper galleries showcase stories and objects which include childhood nostalgia, toys, and games.
The museum is also home to some of the best working original penny slot machines in the country, which provide entertainment for everyone who visits. There is a regularly changing temporary exhibition on the first floor, as well as a community-curated display area which focuses on different themes.
Sign up to be an undercover family judge and decide the winner!
Could Abbey House Museum walk away with the victory? Kids in Museums are currently taking sign-ups and selected families will visit the shortlisted museums to judge them against a set criteria. The experiences of the families will determine the winners in each category, which will be revealed at a ceremony in London in October!
To become one of our Undercover Family Judges and helping to decide the winners – Sign up now.
See the full Kids in Museums shortlist:
Follow along on social media over the summer:
Abbey House and the Child Friendly Leeds 12 wishes
Child Friendly Leeds Wish 7 is all about children and young people having access to information about things to do and places to go, and having cultural experiences. The Leeds Museums and Galleries are a HUGE part of Wish 7 in action. They create family friendly spaces and make every effort to reduce their costs to families and host child friendly events and activities. Thank you to our fantastic Museums and Galleries.
#FamilyFriendlyMuseum
