Museum of North Craven Life at The Folly

The Folly is a Grade I listed 17th-century gentleman's townhouse, built in 1679 in the centre of Settle as a home and lawyer's office for Richard Preston. Before you look at a single display case, look at the building: ground-floor windows that wrap around the corners, an elaborate entrance, the weathered Preston datestone, deep inglenook fireplaces and a fine dog-leg oak staircase.

The collections cover North Craven and its people through objects, archives, maps and photographs shaped by this limestone landscape. Four permanent areas take you up through the house:

Changing exhibitions sit alongside the permanent rooms, and volunteers on duty know the collection well and are happy to talk about it.

• Richard Preston's Hall and offices, where the building's own story begins
• The Parlour, on Settle's changing townscape
• The Parlour Chamber, on how people lived and worked in North Craven from prehistoric times onward
• The Settle-Carlisle Railway Room on the top floor, including the construction of Ribblehead Viaduct

Family activities include dressing-up, objects you can handle and a free-to-borrow Explorer Pack to work through as you move between floors. There is a museum shop, and the adjoining Folly Coffee House serves drinks, cakes and meals.

• The main entrance has three uneven steps.
• A rear route can provide wheelchair entry and access to the first floor with staff help; there is no wheelchair access to the second floor.
• Ground-floor gender-neutral toilets include a disabled toilet and baby change.
• The museum is compact but spread over several floors, and the stairs are steep and can be difficult for some visitors.

There is no parking at The Folly. Greenfoot pay-and-display is the nearest option, roughly 125 m or a two minute walk away; other town car parks are farther. The museum is a short walk from Settle Market Place and from the railway station.