Dr Kirk was fascinated by history and vanishing ways of life – mainly rural life. He lived at a time when the pace of industrialisation could be very keenly felt. Steam travel changed the world within his lifetime, and motor travel began. Cities were rapidly expanding, traditions and ways of working were changing forever, and many trade skills were becoming obsolete and forgotten.
On his travels through Yorkshire and further afield, he collected these obsolete and rare survivors of vanishing ways of life. He filled Houndgate with bygones, his collection growing year after year. Sometimes, Kirk accepted objects instead of payment for his medical services.
By 1918, his collection included everything from perambulators to antique weapons, potato dribblers to a Tudor barge, Victorian hypodermic needles to horse bridles, and it had outgrown Houndgate.
Dr Kirk was determined to find a permanent and publicly accessible home.
In 1935, Dr Kirk agreed to give his collection to the City of York but continued to be personally invested in every element of the museum and the display of his readers.
He oversaw all elements of the museum’s building work – from the colour of the walls and the layout of the displays to the heating system and the entrance fee. Historic shop fronts and interiors were painstakingly restored and reconstructed to create the street that Morrell suggested should be named after him.

Inspired by Dr Kirk’s efforts, the public immediately gave donations.

The museum opened on 23 April (St George’s Day) 1938.

York Castle Museum was the first new kind of museum in Britain. The traditional museum displays organised objects typographically and chronologically – all the things of one type were shown together so that the changes through time could be compared.

However, Dr Kirk wanted the focus of his museum to be on the objects, showing them in their original context. The street, workshops and domestic rooms were all created in the museum to show specific things. As the 20th century progressed, this style of museum display became firmly established.

Dr Kirk realised his vision for a museum that would transport people back in time, but his health deteriorated, and he died on 26 February 1940. His legacy was a museum that brought the past to life and continues to make memories for generations of visitors.