Readers' Letter: Doncaster's jewel in the crown

During the last year I have visited the Doncaster Museum with my husband and really enjoyed the experience, but yesterday my sister and her husband who live in York visited because they wanted to see it for themselves.

My brother in law is a volunteer at the National Railway Museum in York and had heard glowing reports of the new museum in Doncaster. The were certainly not disappointed.

My husband, sister and myself were all born and bred in Doncaster so are very familiar with the Girl’s High School building and it was lovely to sit and have a coffee looking at the beautifully renovated façade of the school. It was also so nostalgic to see the green tiles on the stair case and Venus de Milo in the niche half way up the stairs.

It was also great to see the information about the Pilgrim Fathers because so many people are not aware of the local connection and seem to think that they originated in Plymouth as they named their landing point in America Plymouth Rock.

Of course we spent a lot of time browsing round the railway exhibits. My husband went to Doncaster Grammar School so knew a lot about the exhibits that had come from their famous collection and reminisced about the cramped and difficult to reach way that they were displayed at the Grammar School compared to the light and attractive way that they are now displayed.

We also enjoyed the K.O.Y.L.I. exhibition and found it so interesting and well displayed.

We then climbed the stairs to the first floor so that we didn’t miss any of the iconic staircase and spent a long time browsing round the exhibits which brought back so many memories and covered so much history from the Roman’s Danum to Louis Tomlinson and his boy band One Direction.

All the visitors we met seemed to be enjoying it as much as us and chatted about memories that were being stirred by the exhibits.

We all thoroughly enjoyed our time at the museum, the staff were so friendly and helpful and I’m sure that Donensians old and new will have a great time spending a few hours browsing round. We will certainly be paying it another visit.

Ann Batson

Bessacarr