Exhibitions

Clifton Park Museum is the home of Rotherham’s stories, from history to the here and now. Our galleries and changing exhibitions aim to spark curiosity and forge connections across generations.

Originally built in 1783 for local industrialists the Walker family, Clifton House was opened to the public as a museum in 1893. There’s more information about the fascinating history of the house on our blog.

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Today’s visitors to the Museum can explore the following galleries and exhibition spaces:

Child standing in front of a large painting

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Exhibitions

Our temporary exhibition spaces celebrate Rotherham’s people, stories, spaces, and collections, and aim to spark the imagination of everyone who comes to visit Clifton Park Museum.

View of the Early exhibition at clifton park museum

Early Rotherham

The early Rotherham galleries tell the story of the development of Rotherham from its geological foundations to the English Civil War. The galleries focus on the Pre-historic, Roman, and Medieval periods, and make use of a wide range of collections material, interactives and set dressing.

Woman and child inside the lions den exhibition

The Lion’s Den

The Lion’s Den is the place where visitors can discover the story of Nelson the Lion, one of the stars of our collection. This gallery has been created with our youngest visitors in mind, with lots of fun to be had crawling through the Baobob tree and exploring the activities on offer.

Child sat in the library playing with a toy tea set

Library Gallery

The Library Gallery tells the story of the Museum’s collections since we opened to the public in 1893. 

View our collections

Visitors can explore objects from around the world collected by local dignitaries and societies in the Museum’s early history, as well as the objects from people and communities all across the borough of Rotherham which are now the focus of our collections.

Woman holding a child whilst looking at a painting

Drawing Room

The Walker family’s Drawing Room is now the setting for the display of some of the Fine Art cared for by the Museums, Arts and Heritage team. Centre stage is a large-scale oil painting of the ‘Walker Children of Henry Walker’ by Ramsay Richard Reinagle.

Children eating food at the walker cafe

Walker Kitchen

The kitchen is the heart of every home, and the Walker family’s kitchen now offers a welcoming space for discussion and reflection. Relax and enjoy the short films showcasing our collections, spaces, and sites, or get stuck into the activities provided.

Children looking at ceramics in the museum

Ceramics Gallery

The Ceramics Gallery introduces visitors to the story of the Rockingham Works, the famous pottery works based in Swinton. Rotherham Museums, Arts and Heritage cares for one of the largest public collections of Rockingham pottery in the world, and manages the Waterloo Kiln, where the pottery was produced. The star of the show is the famous Rhinoceros vase, which is 1.2m high and weighs over 50kg.

York and lancaster, collections of old memorabilia

York and Lancaster Regimental Gallery

The York and Lancaster Regimental Museum is a collection of objects and documents spanning the 210-year history of the regiment and its predecessors the 65th and 84th Regiments of Foot. The York & Lancaster Regimental Gallery tells the story of the Regiment and allows visitors to explore some of the Museum’s collection.

Discover some of our past exhibitions