The Peace Museum, Saltaire: The Yorkshire museum giving peace a chance in new home at time of strife

Apt then that a new space in one of West Yorkshire’s most celebrated buildings will turn its attention to the unsung in our world’s history of strife: the peacemakers.

Bradford’s The Peace Museum has been closed for four years, but it will re-open on Saturday in a new home at Salts Mill in Saltaire.

Believed to be the only museum of its kind in the UK, the Museum is home to objects with unique stories to tell about both the national and international peace movements, from the early 20th century to the modern day.

Among them is an original copy of the Treaty of Versailles: the 1919 legislation which formally ended the First World War following months of negotiations between world leaders.

Curator Charlotte Houlahan explained: “It shows the governmental, high aspect of peace. It was owned by a local Bradfordian politician, Meredith Titterington, and eventually we got it.”

Other objects of international interest include roof tiles from Hiroshima and Nagasaki which show damage from the atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities in 1945.

“They’re everyday objects that really show the effect of nuclear weapons, it’s quite shocking to see,” she said.

Other artefacts from closer to home include banners and part of the original fence from Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp, which saw thousands of women protesting nuclear weapons being installed on the site in Berkshire in the 1980s.

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament’s original drawings of the now well recognized peace symbol is also on display.

Designed by Gerard Holtom in 1958, the logo was never copyrighted and is now seen as a universal sign of peace – and is one of the most famous symbols in the world.

Shining a light on those who have worked for peace is key to the museum’s ethos. Ms Houlahan said: “I think the reason we’re so important is that we’re the only museum in the UK that focusses fully on different aspects of peace.

“We see ourselves as a tool for future peacemakers.

“We tell stories that we hope people can use to inspire for peace in the future. Especially during the current climate, it’s really important people can come somewhere to connect and feel inspired and safe.”

Banner and badge making workshops are among events planned for the new museum space, which has been made possible due to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Bradford City of Culture 2025.

Located on the third floor of Salts Mill, the new Museum will also have temporary exhibitions, an education space, research facilities and a shop.