Cliffe Castle was built in the 1870s for Henry Isaac Butterfield, a prosperous textile merchant, and extended in the following decade in a flamboyant style that mixed Gothic Revival with French château elements. The mansion was acquired by the local authority in 1949 and opened as a museum the following year. The building itself is as interesting as the collections inside.
The museum covers natural history, geology, and local industrial heritage — the wool combing and textile machinery displays give a real sense of how the Worth Valley economy worked during Keighley's industrial peak. The mansion's ornate Victorian interiors survive in several rooms, including a mirrored drawing room. The grounds include a small arboretum, a walled garden, and an aviary. Admission is free.