Streetlife Museum

Gallery information

Public Transport Gallery

As you enter the main museum galleries you are presented with a fine display of trams and motor cars. Of particular note is Tram 132, the last surviving tram in Hull colours and an 1882 Kitson Steam Tram Locomotive.

Streetscene

Find your way around this busy street of reconstructed shops.  There is a 1930s Cycle Shop, a Yorkshire chemist shop, ‘Castelow’s’, and a Hull Co-operative shop from the 1930s.  The Arcade features collections from the social history and transport collections, in themed shop displays.

The Cinema

The Cinema will show a number of films at timed intervals throughout the day.  The lights will dim at the start of each film.  Period cinema seats will be installed.  The film titles (& approximate running times) can be displayed on a ‘1920s Cinema style’ poster outside the Cinema and in the entrance lobby potentially.  The films are relevant to the Museum displays & collections.

Castelow’s Pharmacy

This shop is a reconstruction of Castelow’s Pharmacy, which was located at 159 Woodhouse Lane, Leeds.  The shop had originally been Brown’s Pharmacy, and had first opened in 1841.  Mr Walter Castelow took over the shop in 1907 and worked there until his death in 1974.

The shop remained unchanged throughout Mr Castelow’s ownership. After his death the shop was re-constructed in Wilberforce House Museum.  It has recently been moved to form part of the street scene at the Streetlife Museum.

The Co-op

The Hull Co-operative Society was founded in 1890.  It expanded rapidly in the following decades.  At its height there were over 90 co-op shops in Hull and East Yorkshire.  The co-op shop formed an important part of most communities, and its buildings were typical of many street scenes.

The shop that has been re-created in the museum is based upon the Chanterlands Avenue branch of the co-op.  This shop opened in 1914, and was the societies 29th grocery store.  The Chanterlands Avenue co-op closed in 1982. The building is now the Avenues Library.

Motor Car Gallery

Enter the gallery through the ‘Cycle & Motor Works’ and explore the Cycle Workshop where an early Quadricycle is in for repairs.  Visit the 1900 Motor Show, with Veteran motor cars exhibited in grand style.

Bicycle City

Opened in 1993 this gallery explores the history and development of the bicycle and how Hull became known as ‘Bicycle City’. Hull has an excellent collection of early bicycles including an 1818 Hobby Horse.

Railway Gallery

This reconstructed 1930s goods shed contains several items of interest, including the original Cottingham North signal box, transported brick-by-brick from its original location and re-assembled here inside Streetlife. Step aboard our goods wagons and experience a little bit more about life on the Hull and Barnsley Railway.

Opened in 1885, the Hull and Barnsley Railway was a very special construction project; it was the last substantial new railway built in Britain and was developed at a cost then of £6,000,000. The gallery contains memories of the H&BR.

Carriage Gallery

Hull’s carriage collection is one of the finest in public ownership in Britain. The Museum welcomes enthusiasts from all over the world who come to see the collection. This gallery was the last to be built and contains some of the finest scenic displays in the north; make sure you enjoy the smells of the stable as you step from the Hull-York Mail Coach ride.