The museum was designed by William Wilkins in 1829 to house a geological collection it quickly began to attract large numbers of visitors. However, due to a lack of sufficient finance and neglect it soon fell into disrepair and a few exhibits were lost. In 1961 ownership was handed over to the City of York and public money helped to build the popular museum which is best known as the home of the Coppergate Helmet. Dating back to the 8th Century, the helmet was discovered in 1982 by a workman at the Jorvik centre and is only the third Anglo-Saxon helmet ever discovered.