Otley Museum

Otley Museum is a local history museum in this Yorkshire market town that holds around 1900 objects. The collection includes stone tools, archaeological finds from the Archbishop of York's Palace, and archives from the town's printing machinery industry.

The museum was founded in 1961 and documents the town's development from prehistoric times onward. The place became known for manufacturing printing machinery, which brought international attention to its industrial heritage.

The name comes from Anglo-Saxon origins, and you can sense how the place grew from a simple village into a busy market center. The collections show how different periods of settlement and trade shaped the way people lived and worked here.

The main collection is kept in secure storage, but the archive can be viewed by appointment at Wellcroft House. It is best to contact the museum in advance to arrange a visit.

The Printers' Engineers Collection tells the story of a specialized craft that gained international recognition from a small market town. This collection reveals how local craftspeople developed machinery innovations that were exported around the world.

Location: Otley

Address: Wellcroft House, Crow Lane, Leeds LS21 1TZ

Website: http://otleymuseum.org

GPS coordinates: 53.90387,-1.68957

Latest update: December 14, 2025 14:26