Nov 13 2020: Exploring the ghostly past at Clifton Park Museum

BY day it houses a fascinating collection of items from Rotherham’s past…but what happens when the last visitors have left Clifton Park Museum and night sets in?

Acclaimed Yorkshire film maker and multi media specialist Wayne Sables has been working on a spine chilling new project with the Museum’s Young Curators, the group of young people aged 15-25 who are actively involved in shaping Clifton Park and Museum for future generations.

And together they have come up with a shadow-filled film which features the historic house at night, with some spine-chilling moments of paranormal and ghostly activities.

Clifton House was built for industrialist Joshua Walker and his wife Susannah in 1783 and has housed Rotherham Museum since 1893.

Many of the early collections were made up of items donated and lent by local people and a significant number were also provided by town societies, such as finds from the Roman excavations of Templeborough in 1877, donated by Rotherham Literary and Scientific Society.

“The Young Curators wanted to create something that would really engage people’s attention, especially at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has really hit visitor figures very hard,” said Wayne.

“They looked at the collections very closely and came up with something that is really both informative and entertaining, calling up ghostly figures associated with the items from the past and also the original owners of the property.”

The film can be seen by visiting https://vimeo.com/470685083