The blog for the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York.
Written by Lydia Dean, Archivist Earlier this year we were gifted a very exciting archive – the archive of James Hornby, head gardener at Heslington Hall between 1870 and 1902. This small but fascinating group of records gives us some real insights into the day-to-day role of a Victorian head gardener, and well as a … Continue reading James Hornby: Heslington Hall Horticulturalist
Written by Lydia Dean, YWT Project Archivist So, I’m about halfway through the 12 months of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust archive project – and what a six months it’s been! The time is going quickly; summer was filled with continuing the survey of deposited material, drafting and re-drafting an archival structure and finishing off my … Continue reading The nature of the job: surveying the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust archive
A year has flashed by and the project to index two of the registers of the Archbishops of York, 1576-1650, will very soon come to an end. However, both registers are now fully indexed and the results are available for searching on line at https://archbishopsregisters.york.ac.uk Looking back over the work, it was perhaps a little … Continue reading Archbishops’ Registers Revealed: final thoughts of an indexer
Written by Helen Watt, Marc Fitch Project Archivist As a recent authority states, we have been naming animals for thousands of years; not only did the ancient Egyptians give names to animals, but also the ancient Greeks, for example, Alexander the Great called his horse, Bucephalas (‘ox-head’)1. Apart from horses, other types of animal, particularly … Continue reading Thoughts of an Indexer: I name this cow….
Written by Lydia Dean, YWT Project Archivist Since April, I have been steadily working through the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s fascinating and extensive archive. I have now surveyed over half of the records that have been deposited here at the Borthwick Institute – about 84 boxes, or 570 files! – and along the way have rediscovered … Continue reading Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Operation Cleft Stick
Written by Gaby Davies, archives intern and University of York History undergraduate I didn’t really know what to expect when I first started interning at the Borthwick; I had never visited the institute before, but as a history student I knew that spending eight weeks surrounded by old papers and documents, in one of the … Continue reading Cardigans, Cake…Career? My 8 weeks at the Borthwick Institute
Written by Catherine Dand, Conservator Our Conservation department is pleased to report that we have a number of archives and special collections that will be going on loan this year. Loaning archival material, especially for the purpose of display, is an exciting way to increase access to the archives. It is an excellent opportunity to … Continue reading Archives on Loan
Written by Sally-Anne Shearn, Genesis Project Archivist, with thanks to Major Graeme Green of the York Army Museum for his invaluable help and advice. In 1860 Major Alexander Elliot exhibited a new painting in London. Entitled ‘The Charge of the Heavy Brigade, Balaklava, Ukraine’, it commemorated a remarkable but often overlooked action of the Crimean … Continue reading ‘Scarlett’s Three Hundred’: The Charge of the Heavy Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava
Written by Gaby Davies, Borthwick Summer Intern (and York history student). Whilst looking through the York Medical Society records, it was interesting to find the York County Hospital ‘Wines and Spirits book’ 1861-1865. The pages contain lists of names of doctors, rooms and incidents, and the corresponding number of servings of port, sherry, brandy or … Continue reading Just what the Doctor ordered?
Written by Helen Watts, Marc Fitch Fund Project Archivist Our Marc Fitch Fund Project Archivist, Helen Watt, gives us some thoughts and reflections following the completion of initial work in indexing one of our Archbishops’ Registers and attempts to answer an old indexers’ question – can you ever really be sure when using a previous … Continue reading Revealing the Registers: thoughts of an indexer