Spring Bank holiday

If you are planning to visit Claremont next week please remember that the library and archives will be closed on Tuesday 28th May.

 

A Birthday Honour for Yorkshire Family History

On 10 May, Mrs Pauline Litton was presented with the MBE by the Prince of Wales for her services to genealogy and family history. Pauline, for many years the secretary of the Yorkshire Parish Register Section of the YAS, was accompanied by her husband, Roger, her daughter and her grandson. Because of an injury from which he is now recovering well, her husband attended the ceremony in a wheelchair, but at least it secured for him, and the family, front-row seats to witness Pauline's investiture.    

A generous gift from an anonymous donor

The YAS relies for all its income upon voluntary sources to finance its varied work in promoting, publishing and preserving the archaeology and history of Yorkshire, England’s largest historic county. Making ends meet, especially in the present economic climate, is a perennial headache for the Hon. Treasurer.

So it is with the greatest of pleasure, and a very lively sense of gratitude, that we can now acknowledge a recent splendid gift, a cheque for £,3000, towards our work. The way in which the donation was received ensured that the donor remained anonymous.

The members of Management Board have decided that the only way in which they can express their thanks to our unknown benefactor is to announce our appreciation on the website. We can only hope that the donor looks at the website from time to time, and so will find this message when he or she does so.

Weekend of archaeology at Claremont

As part of our 150th celebrations the YAS and the WEA held a weekend of community archaeology from Sat 13-Mon 15 April 2013.

The weekend gave a taster of what archaeologists do and a chance for people to get their hands dirty and try digging themselves with the help of professional archaeologists.

Thanks to everyone who made this event a success – both participants and organisers. We hope it inspired people to learn about the past. You can read more here.

 

 

Food for All Seasons exhibition

The YAS is delighted to be working with Wakefield Museum and the You Are What You Ate project to display one of the YAS's archive treasures to the public. Until September visitors to the Food For All Seasons exhibition at Wakefield One will be able to see an original Wakefield manor court roll. You will also be able to find out about one of the manor's residents. Alice Gerbod lived in the Manor of Wakefield in the early 14th century. The rich detail of the Manor Court rolls gives us a fascinating glimpse into her family, the Gerbods of Sandal, and what their lives as medieval peasants were like.

 

Access to Brotherton Library collections for YAS members

The YAS has set up a reciprocal agreement with the University of Leeds which will allow YAS members to use the Brotherton Library collections for reference purposes.

From 1 March 2013 Individual and Associate YAS members will be able to use the Brotherton Library for reference purposes by showing their YAS Library Borrowing card. YAS members eligible to borrow books at Claremont can purchase a Borrowing Card, costing £1, from library staff at Claremont. Individual, Associate, Family, and Family Associate members of the YAS can apply for a Library Borrowing card - this card gives borrowing rights at Claremont (but not the Brotherton) as well as allowing access to the Brotherton Library for reference.


The Brotherton Library, located in the Parkinson Building, contains the main collections for the arts, social sciences and law.

 

Celebrating 150 years of collecting

To celebrate its fantastic library and archive collections in its anniversary year the Society has published 'The Yorkshire Archaeological Society: A Celebration of 150 years of Collecting'. This book features highlights from our library and archive collections selected and described by staff, volunteers, members and researchers who have worked with them over the years.

We hope this book will inspire readers to look at historical collections anew and be enthused to pursue their own research.

We hope that it will remind members of the important role the YAS has in providing access to research materials on all aspects of Yorkshire's past and inspire people to use our collections if they have not already done so.

The book is available for purchase from Claremont for £5, from our online shop or by contacting the Sales Officer yas.shop@gmail.com or buy now from our online shop

 

 

New publication on twelfth-century Yorkshire

The latest volume in our occasional paper series is 'Romanesque Yorkshire' by Rita Wood

Whereas Pevsner described architecture after the Conquest as 'Norman' and 'late Norman', the inclusive term preferred nowadays would be Romanesque; in England this covers the period 1066 to 1200. The Romanesque style, in illumination and metalwork as well as architecture and its allied crafts, is recognisable throughout the Christian West and spans a longer period than is relevant in England, at least two centuries.

This volume is divided into two sections. Firstly a 31 page introduction featuring a glossary of architectural terms and map of Romanesque sites in Yorkshire also gives background information to Romanesque topics as these are experienced in Yorkshire. The text often suggests a few sites where features under discussion can be seen.

The second part of the volume is a gazetteer listing over 300 sites with appreciable Romanesque remains. Arranged by place name, the location of the site (usually a parish church) is given in brackets e.g. FOUNTAINS ABBEY (WR/SE 274 683/National Trust/90.B3). The book is fully illustrated with black and white plates and the photographs have been chosen to cover the range of work to be seen in the county and to illustrate as many as possible of the features described in the text.

This publication is available to buy through our online shop or by contacting Claremont or yas.shop@gmail.com.

 

150th anniversary

2013 is the YAS's 150th anniversary. Since 1863 we have been promoting the study of Yorkshire's past through talks, excursions, publications and access to library and archive collections.

To find out more about what's happening in our anniversary year click on the 'YAS 150 years' button on the menu on the left.

 

YAS online developments

We can now accept online payments for photocopying, publication sales, membership renewal, research and excursions. We will also be launching our online shop later this year.
If you would like to comment on any aspect of our website or online activities please get in touch.

Please remember we are also now on Facebook.

 

YORKSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL JOURNAL
Volume 84 (2012)

Prehistoric Pits at Auchinleck Close, Driffield, East Yorkshire by Andrew Walsh, Terry Manby and Ian Roberts

Finding a Dim Far-away Past: Nineteenth Century Archaeological Endeavour in Cleveland by Blaise Vyner

Assessing the Contribution of Commercial Archaeology to the Study of Roman South and West Yorkshire 1990-2004 by Nick Hodgson

A Review of Large-scale Man-made River and Stream Diversions in the Humberhead Region by Geoff Gaunt

The Church of St Edith, Bishop Wilton, East Riding: A Sympathetic Nineteenth Century Restoration allows an Interpretation of the Romaneque Sculpture by Rita Wood

Politics and Patrimony During the Wars of the Roses: The Probable Sheriff's Seal of Sir John Neville of Liversedge by David Marcombe

'Some Rarityes that Lye in this Lordshippe of yours Called Gisbrough': The Cottonian Manuscript Transcribed by Dan O'Sullivan

A County Election in Miniature? Electing the Yorkshire Registrars of Deeds, 1701-1884 by Brian Barber

The Effects of Enclosure on Ancient Roads: A Case Study of Weeton Township, Lower Wharfedale by Roger Davis

Yorkshire Days in Edwardian England: E.I.Watkin's Diary and his Friendship with Christopher Dawson by Joseph T. Stuart

Dr R.M Butler [obituary]
Kenneth Emsley [obituary]]
Dr R.A.Hall [obituary]

Buy Now from our online shop

 

`The Great Trial': A Swaledale Lead Mining Dispute in the Court of Exchequer, 1705-1708, edited by Tim Gates

The latest volume to be published in the YAS Record Series will be launched on Saturday 26th May at Fremington Sunday School, North Yorkshire.

From 1705 to 1709, a legal battle was fought out in the court of exchequer between Thomas, Lord Wharton, and Reginald Marriott Esq. over the lead mines on Grinton moor in Swaledale. In its day this was a cause célèbre due to the high political office occupied by Lord Wharton and because of the vast sums of money that were at stake. Large numbers of local people were drawn in as witnesses on both sides and their testimony provides a fascinating insight into the life of this remote Yorkshire valley in the opening years of the eighteenth century. The book follows the course of the action, step by step, and contains full transcriptions of all the substantive documents in the case, most of which appear here for the first time; it also raises important questions about the truthfulness of witnesses, the process of taking oral evidence, and the likelihood of jury tampering. The result will be of great value not only to historians of the law but to anyone interested in the history of the Yorkshire Dales.

The launch event will run from 11.30 am - 4.30pm and will be held at Fremington Sunday School (roadside parking nearby). Dependent on weather there will be a walk in the afternoon around Grinton to look at the boundaries of Harkaside and the mines at Grinton Greets where the contested shafts are.

 

Facebook

The Yorkshire Archaeological Society is now on Facebook! Please find our page and "like" us. You will then be able to receive YAS news updates and information about events via Facebook.
If you have any feedback or ideas about how we can use our page please let us know.

 

Archive enquiries

Please note our new archive email address yas.archives@gmail.com .

 

Announcing the latest publication in the Wakefield Court Roll Series

The Wakefield Court Roll publishing section of the YAS has just published the fifteenth in its series of volumes of the court rolls of the manor of Wakefield. This volume, edited by Dr Constance Fraser, is an edition of the manorial court roll for the three years 1433 to 1436.

As recently as September the national importance of the records of the manor of Wakefield, now held by the YAS, was recognised by the UK committee of the Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation of the United Nations (UNESCO),
at a reception to celebrate the 2011 enrollments on the UNESCO UK Memory of the World Register.

The Wakefield manorial court rolls begin in 1275 and have survived almost complete for the six centuries from 1328 down to the last manorial court held in 1925. There are more than 670 court rolls in the archive and many other types of records.

Since a publishing committee for the Wakefield court rolls was established in 1977, its volumes have come to be recognised as a unique project in both its aim and scope.
Its intention is to publish court rolls from all centuries and to produce them translated from their original Latin into English and, usually, as a detailed summary of the contents, rather than a word-for-word transcript, with the many repetitions and redundancies of language this would entail.

There are now fifteen volumes in the series, publishing rolls from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century. If you would like to obtain a copy of the newly-published court roll or any of the earlier volumes still in print, you can find the details on the Wakefield Court Rolls page of the website.

 

 

Luddite Link

The Yorkshire Archaeological Society is proud to be a contributor to the Luddite Link partnership which provides a gateway to information and resources about the Luddite movement in West Yorkshire. Other partners include University of Huddersfield, Kirklees Museums & Libraries, West Yorkshire Archive Service, Sheffield Archives, Huddersfield Local Studies Library, Mikron Theatre Company, Lawrence Batley Theatre and the Colne Valley Museum.

Throughout the bicentenary year (2012) there will be commemorative events by the partners and a developing resource here about the Luddites and Luddism. See www.ludditelink.org.uk for more information.

The YAS has a number of books on the Luddites including:

Frank Peel, The Risings of the Luddites, Chartists and Plugdrawers (Brighouse, 1895)

D.F.E Sykes and G.H. Walker, Ben o' Bill's, the Luddite: a Yorkshire Tale (1898)

Proceedings under the Special Commission at York... 2nd to 12th January 1813, for the trial of offences connected with the late offences in the West Riding of [Yorkshire] (Leeds, 1913)

An historical account of the Luddites 1811,1812 and 1813, with report of their trials at York Castle from the 2nd to the 12th of January 1813, before ... the Special Commission (J Cowgill, Huddersfield, 1862)

A full reading list covering material held by all partners in the project is available here http://ludditelink.org.uk/reading.php

We also hold the original watercolours for George Walker's Costume of Yorkshire which depict industry in Yorkshire at the time the Luddites were active.

  

 

Vernacular Buildings Reports

As many members may be aware copies of building reports made by the Yorkshire Vernacular Buildings Study Group are held in the YAS Archives. Afull list is now available of all those reports held at the YAS on our website. To make an appointment to view a report or request a copy please contact the archives. Please note the building name, parish/township, building report number and archive reference number when enquiring about reports.

 

Art Researchers Guide

Yesterday saw the launch of ARLIS's Art Researchers Guide to Leeds to which the YAS is a contributor.

This handbook describes the major libraries and repositories in Leeds with art and design resources and directs researchers to the most appropriate libraries and archives to suit their research needs.

Whilst the Yorkshire Archaeological Society may not appear to be an obvious place for art researchers many of our collections are visual or relate to art, design, or architecture. Within the library is our print collection of Yorkshire people and places. Many books also relate to topography and buildings. Books on the ancient world, the middle ages and later periods of history contain illustrations of mosaics, pottery design, stained glass, monuments and churches. Some of our early printed books also feature impressive illustrations.

Our archives include estate and family collections containing illustrated manuscripts and travel journals, maps, plans, architectural details and photographs. Illuminated deeds, decorative seals and heraldic manuscripts are also to be found in our archive collections along with posters, scrapbooks, drawings, cartoons and printed ephemera. The original watercolours for Walker's Costume of Yorkshire published in 1814 are also one of our most notable holdings.

14/07/2011

 

Online archive guide

It is now possible to search the archive holdings on the YAS website.

The Guide provides an overview of the contents of the YAS’s collections. It currently covers all items deposited or gifted to the archives between 1867 and 2008.

The collection descriptions derive from the two published guides to YAS records; “Catalogue of Manuscript and Deeds in the Library of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society 1867-1931” by E.W. Crossley and “Guide to the Archive Collections of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society 1931- 1985” by Sylvia Thomas, plus details of new collections drawn up by previous and current archive staff.

Some collections are only one item, in other cases one collection may extend to many boxes. In this guide the contents of each collection is summarised; the degree of detail given in many cases depends on to what extent the collection has been catalogued. You will find more in-depth listings of some collections on Access to Archives or the West Yorkshire Archive Service's online catalogue, for other collections detailed lists are only available in paper form at Claremont.

Please contact the archives to find out if more information is available on particular collections. When enquiring about collections please quote the Collection Reference.

The archive guide

 

 

Unesco status for Wakefield court rolls

It was announced today that the Wakefield court rolls held in the YAS archives will be amongst the new additions to the UNESCO UK Memory of the World Register

The Wakefield court rolls record the business of Wakefield manor (one of the largest in England) from the 13th to the 20th century and offer a unique insight into the life of the manor's inhabitants. Covering not just Wakefield, but a huge area of the West Riding from Holmfirth to Halifax, Heptonstall, Dewsbury and Normanton (31 miles from east to west, 21 miles from north to south), these historical documents are probably the most complete set of surviving English court rolls.

The rolls are written in ink on parchment and after 1737 on paper, bound together at the top and originally rolled up (hence the name “court rolls”). Until 1733 the rolls are written in Latin (with the exception of the Commonwealth period), and thereafter are in English.

UNESCO's (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) UK MoW Register aims to highlight documentary heritage which holds cultural significance specific to the UK. The UK Register helps raise awareness of some of the UK’s exceptional, but lesser-known documentary riches by awarding them with the globally-recognised Memory of the World status.

The majority of the 670 court rolls were gifted to the Society by the the Lord of the Manor the Earl of Yarborough in the 1940s along with other historical documents relating to the manor. A few rolls which got detached from the main collection are held in other archives including the University of Leeds, Sheffield Archives, the British Library and The National Archives.

As the manorial administration was centred in Wakefield, the rolls were originally stored in the Wakefield Rolls Office, an eighteenth-century building (demolished in 1913). After 1913 the records were stored in the cellars of the offices of the manor steward, where the damp conditions led to considerable deterioration in the condition of the documents. A conservation appeal was launched by the YAS in the 1990s and many of the rolls were repaired thanks to grants and private individual and corporate donations. Today the rolls are housed in a secure and climate-controlled environment at the YAS's headquarters.

We are delighted at being awarded this prestigious status and hope that it will highlight the importance of our archive collections and encourage more people to use them.

 

 

 

Claremont windows repair

Claremont is well over 200 years old and it’s feeling its age! It has 17 Georgian and 15 Victorian windows (330 panes in total), all of which were in desperate needed of repair. As a grade II listed building this had to be done sensitively by specialist joiners.

If you have visited Claremont recently you will have seen that work is in progress and noticed the improvement that the renovation and repainting have made to the look and functionality of the windows.

The Claremont windows appeal was launched last year to raise money to finance this huge undertaking. Members have been generous in donating, however, we still need your help!

To donate to the Claremont Windows Appeal click here

 

Journal articles

For details of how to submit articles for consideration for the YAJ, please contact the YAS Secretary by email or post.