Yorkshire museum with famous Roman collection could move into 15th-century pub that has been closed since 1977

Malton Museum, which owns a nationally significant collection of Roman items, is nearly 100 years old, but the charity which runs it has never had a permanent base and is currently leasing the Milton Rooms, a space described as ‘constrained’.

The trustees have ambitions for the museum to become a regional leader in the heritage tourism sector, and have shortlisted four new sites in the town that are available.

They include The Fleece, a Market Street pub with 15th-century origins which was significantly altered during the Georgian coaching age. In 1977, it closed and the building became part of neighbouring inn The Green Man, which is also no longer trading.

The buildings, which are Grade II-listed, are owned by the Fitzwilliam Malton Estate. The Fleece, which had its entrance filled in when The Green Man was extended, is the oldest and was re-fronted in 1740. It was a public house from at least 1823.

In 2013 the estate renovated the buildings and split them back into two units.

Other premises under consideration for the new museum include the former Ryedale Conservative Club, a Grade II-listed former townhouse in the Market Place which has been vacant since the club shut, and Stanley Harrison House, near the railway station.

A statement from chair of trustees Phil Crabtree read: “Consultants working for Malton Museum presented their interim findings to a well-attended meeting at St Michael’s Church in Malton on February 29. The team at Malton Museum are keen for local businesses and Malton residents to get involved in the discussion, and this was the first opportunity to hear about the work and canvas local views and opinions.

"A new museum must be sustainable financially, and become more of a regional asset as a way to contribute to that goal and of bringing more visitors to

the town .

"The project team and trustees had visited a number of sites in the town and a long list of 11 sites was initially drawn up. These were reviewed against several criteria including position in the town, accessibility, site availability and whether a new build would be required. The higher cost and difficulties in attracting funding for new builds led to two sites, one near to the Cattle Market and one next to the Delgovicia Roman Fort site, dropping off the list.

“The next stage of the project will look more closely at the four remaining locations and identify which one would be most suitable, using further criteria to come up with a preferred site."

An expanded premises would allow the museum to hold further exhibitions about Malton’s Georgian coaching boom and its longstanding connections to the Fitzwilliam family of Wentworth Woodhouse, near Rotherham, who own much of the town’s commercial estate today.

A new building would also enable trustees to display more artefacts from their collection, which includes historic items found at Roman digs nearby.