The Gazette & Herald is delighted to feature this contribution from Margaret Shaw as the second article a monthly column, featuring items from Malton Museum.

These magnificent ale jars were donated to Malton Museum in 2015. They are made from stoneware, a form of pottery which is fired at a high temperature making it impervious and therefore ideal for storing liquids. The well-fixed metal handles would have helped with lifting when they were full of liquid. Both have a small tap, each of a slightly different design, from which ale could be dispensed. They stand 35cm high, with a circumference of 17cm, but there is no indication of a maker.

The firm of Russells and Wrangham was the result of the coming together of two Malton breweries in 1897; the Derwent Brewery, founded by the Russell family in 1771; and the Crystal Brewery established in 1864 by William Wrangham. As Russells had previously gone into partnership with the flour mill they produced flour as well as ale. The brewery, later taken over by Camerons, was situated in Castlegate, on the site now occupied by Morrison’s supermarket.

Russells and Wrangham distributed their ales over a wide area. These particular jars were used by their Wholesale and Retail establishment in Darlington, Co Durham, with purchasers paying a returnable deposit for their use. The branch was still in operation in 1939 but appears to have stopped trading during the 1939-1945 war. This may explain why the jars were never returned.

Apart from a period being used to dispense home -made beer, the jars spent over 70 years in two Darlington lofts. When asked if they were of interest to the Museum our answer was an enthusiastic yes! A spokesman adds ‘these jars tell an interesting story, and add to our collection of material from a firm which played an important part in Malton’s history.’

Malton Museum opens for the 2024 season on Saturday, March 30 and will be open on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays until the end of October. The opening times on these days is 10.30 am to 3.30 pm

In our 2024 exhibition 'A Sense of Place 2' we continue to tell stories of life in our community. The story of dairy farming and the importance of butter to our town's trade is just one of them. If you can help with any information, be it family stories, items or photos/pictures we would love to hear from you.

Our Roman collection has some important objects made of jet and the accompanying photo is of a jet bear. In the Roman period, jet was worked in Norton and used widely for decorative objects, being readily available from outcrops at Whitby

To help us tell the story of jet in more recent years, the museum is also asking local people if anyone has pieces of Victorian mourning jewellery or other examples of Whitby jet which they would be happy to loan to the museum for a short period.

Please contact us at enquiries.maltonmuseum@gmail.com if you can help on either of these items.