14 November 2025
As we pause this week to remember the service and sacrifice of our Armed Forces, it feels especially fitting to reflect on how we preserve our shared history.
Step inside one of Barnsley’s five free-to-visit museums and you’ll discover the people and places that made our town what it is today.
We’re so lucky that this experience is right on our doorstep, and it’s set to become even better.
The Labour government has pledged extra funding to support museums across the country, including £266,273 for Barnsley Museums, helping support opening hours, public programming and employment.
Our museums are much more than just places to look at old objects. They’re living, breathing stories of our community.
The Experience Barnsley Museum is a shining example. Just last month, it was awarded the Family Friendly Museum Award 2025, beating 18 other museums to the title, and also named Best Small Museum by Kids in Museums.
It’s a recognition that Barnsley knows how to make history exciting, accessible, and genuinely fun for families.
These successes are the result of hard work, dedication, and a deep love for our heritage and history.
Barnsley Council deserves huge credit for its support, but we must also celebrate the army of local volunteers, historians, and community groups who give their time freely. They bring our history to life – guiding school visits, running exhibitions, and uncovering stories that might otherwise have been forgotten.
They remind us that our past is alive, and that preserving it is a shared responsibility.
What a past we have to protect, too. From our coal mines and glassworks to the every day lives of the families who built this town, Barnsley’s history is rich.
That’s why a visit to one of our museums is about so much more than memorising dates and facts. Families explore side by side, children hear the stories their grandparents lived, and visitors to our town can feel the grit and pride that define Barnsley.
Museums give our kids the tools to understand where we have come from and the confidence to shape what comes next.
No tribute to our heritage would be complete without acknowledging the Barnsley Pals – the brave men who answered the call to serve in WWI. Their memory lives on at sites across our town, ensuring their service and sacrifice are never forgotten.
Our award-winning museums are a nod to the fact that Barnsley is getting this right. They aren’t just cultural spaces, they’re hubs for learning, creativity and community.
They remind us that history isn’t just something behind glass – it’s a living, breathing part of who we are.
So yes, let’s welcome the funding, congratulate our hard-working museum teams and tip our hats to the dedicated volunteers and historians.
But above all, let’s celebrate what it all means: a future where Barnsley’s history continues to inspire, teach, and bring people together.
Our past isn’t just behind us – it’s the foundation for everything we might yet become.