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Wakefield Museums and Castles
Information for families visiting Pontefract Museum
Pontefract Museum has lots of fun for families of all shapes and sizes! Here you can find information about visiting the museum for families. This will help you to plan your visit.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Contact us
You can contact us in advance of your visit with any questions. You can email us at museums@wakefield.gov.uk and we will get back to you during office hours. These are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
You can also ring Pontefract Museum on 01977 722740. We will usually pick up the phone during our normal opening hours.
If we cannot pick up the phone, please leave a message with your name and contact number as we will ring you back.
How to get to Pontefract Museum
Find out how to get to Pontefract Museum by car or public transport on our Plan your visit page.
The nearest parking is in the Stuart Road car park (used for Morrisons and Tesco), WF8 4PQ. It has a maximum stay of 4 hours. There are 15 disabled spaces here. It costs £2.60 for up to 4 hours. This car park is 0.3 miles from Pontefract Museum.
Visual story and floor plans
You can download our visual story for Pontefract Museum before you visit.
You can download a floor plan of Pontefract Museum.
You can download a sensory map of the main galleries. This will help you know what to expect on your visit.
You can also download a sensory map of the Oh yes it is! feature exhibition.
Copies of the floor plans and sensory maps will be available at the Pick and Mix station in the Welcome Space.
Arriving at Pontefract Museum
Pontefract Museum is in Pontefract town centre, on Salter Row, WF8 1BA. Use What3Words code task.noble.terms
The museum is in its own dedicated building. It has step-free access to entre and throughout. The main entrance in through a pair of non-automatic doors. There is a bell by the main entrance if you need help opening the doors.
Pontefract Museum is level access throughout. The foyer floor is from 1904 and made of small smooth mosaic tiles. The main gallery floors are made of parquet flooring (smooth wooden tiles).
There is an initial entrance foyer to the museum. The main gallery is through a set of double doors on your left. These are a little heavy. There will be a member of staff in the welcome space to help you open the doors if you need it.
You can reach the temporary exhibition gallery from two places. One is the single door at the back of the main gallery. The second is directly from the foyer.
If you turn right from the foyer and go down the corridor, you will find the accessible toilet on your left and the Reference Room on your right. At the end of the corridor is the Glass Room. The doors to the Reference Room and the Glass Room are usually kept propped open. These two rooms are smaller and can be tighter to manoeuvre a pushchair around.
There is no dedicated pushchair storage at the museum. You are welcome to take your pushchair around the whole of the museum.
Toilets and baby changing
There is an accessible toilet and baby changing facility inside the museum. The accessible toilet is along the corridor connecting the entrance foyer and the Glass Room. You do not need a radar key to access this.
There are additional toilets towards the back of the museum. You can reach these by going through the temporary exhibition gallery.
Pontefract Museum is a breastfeeding-friendly location. You can breastfeed your baby anywhere on site.
We do not have changing places facilities.
The nearest changing places toilet can be found at Junction 32 Outlet Shopping Village, WF10 4FR, 2 miles away.
Assistance
Our staff are happy to help you with anything you might need. Our staff wear a black uniform. They are called Visitor Experience Assistants.
There will always be a Visitor Experience Assistant near the Welcome Desk in the museum foyer. This is the first area you enter when arriving at Pontefract Museum.
Most staff have attended Makaton Awareness training, Visual Impairment training, Sighted Guided training and Autism Awareness training.
We sometimes have volunteers on site. Our volunteers wear a green uniform. You can also ask them for help or with any questions.
Family activities
We have lots of fun hands-on elements throughout the museum. You can dress-up, have a go on our rocking horse, become a market trader and get creative!
We have free trails to guide you around the museum, looking for our star objects.
Every Tuesday from 2pm to 4pm is a relaxed opening session at Pontefract Museum. You can explore the Museum in a quieter, more relaxed setting. This means that any loud noises will be turned down or turned off. We have fidget and sensory objects to help you relax and explore. There is a small pop-up tent quiet space if you need it.
Please note: the Pontefract Museum fire alarm is tested at 10:30am on Tuesdays. We have ear defenders that you and / or your children can borrow.
Access information
Browse our full access information for Pontefract Museum including Relaxed Openings and on-site resources.
50 things to do
Have you heard of 50 things to do before you're 5 and 50 things ages five to eleven? They're collections of no-cost or low-cost activities for families in the Wakefield district.
The 50 Things app explains each of the recommended activities. It provides a guide to events and opportunities available locally. It is available to download for free on the Play Store and Apple Store.
Food and drink
There is no café within Pontefract Museum.
The nearest cafés are in the town centre a short distance from Pontefract Museum.
Pontefract has several cafés and restaurants. Our friends at Experience Wakefield have lots of suggestions for places to go.
There is no dedicated lunchroom or space on site. Pontefract Castle is a ten-minute walk from the museum. The castle has picnic benches around the site where you can enjoy your food and drink.