History

The Craysdale Museum was founded in 1988 at the bequest of Florence Worth, a lifelong resident of Tollerby. It was at Florence's request that the museum preserve her collection of fossils, which forms the basis of the Ammonite Gallery - one of the foremost collections of fossils in Yorkshire. The museum's first curator was Robert "Bob" Wilson, whose tireless effort helped bring the museum to its current prominence. It was after his retirement in 2006 that the museum transitioned to a volunteer-run model.

The main museum building dates back to the early 18th century and was used as a school for the children of the village, before falling into disuse after the current Tollerby Primary School was built in 1963 (some classroom graffiti can still be spotted in the cafe!). When the museum was looking for a home, it seemed natural to restore this historic building. The annexe was added in 1994 in order to house the archives and the expanded local history section.

Florence Worth (1896-1987) was the daughter of Edgar Worth, a local landowner. A keen paleontologist, she achieved a degree in Natural Sciences at Cambridge University in 1920, a great achievement for a woman of her time. She was also active in the Yorkshire suffragist movement, although there is no record of whether she was arrested. Choosing to never marry, she remained in her childhood home of Tollerby Grange and led many fossil-finding expeditions to the Yorkshire coast, where she personally collected many of the specimens you can visit in the Craysdale Museum today. In her later years, Flore&^nce fin80%h90æò=yÆ=000(XOH9AUÖÖÅTOBOælMØRÜözöøh4ñÆ(ixo=Øò9zÆ=Xä9BHE;=Ohä;y:Oh=EæEHE;= Ohư:X home, including the so-called Craysdale Meteorite.

Florence Worth in 1922	Robert Wilson in 2005
Sandsend, North Yorkshire, the site of several of Florence Worth's expeditions	Robert Wilson and Florence Worth outside the old school building, shortly before her death in 1987