The blog for the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York.
Written by Lydia Dean, Archives Assistant Today is December 21st, Midwinter day and also the traditional date of the feast of St Thomas, which sees winter traditions continuing all over Britain, Europe and further afield. In York, the longest night and shortest day heralded the ancient custom of the Yule Riding and the beginning of … Continue reading Yule and Yule’s Wife
Written by Gary Brannan, Access Archivist We’re now coming to the end of a project which started life in October last year to conserve, digitise and make available online the Registers of the Archbishops of York 1225-1646. The project – generously funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation – will also develop new tools and … Continue reading Revealing the Registers: some personal highlights
Written by Sally-Anne Shearn, Genesis Project Archivist In 1975 a portion of the archive of the Christian Faith Society (CFS) was transferred to the Borthwick Institute from Lambeth Palace. The transferred records concerned the manor of Brafferton in Yorkshire, which had been purchased in 1694 as a landed endowment by the trustees of what would … Continue reading Brafferton Manor and the Indian School at the College of William and Mary, Virginia
Written by Catherine Dand, Conservator In August 2015 three members of Borthwick staff travelled across land and sea to present papers at the annual Archives and Records Association conference in Dublin. The theme of the conference was ‘Challenges, Obligations, or Imperatives? The moral and legal role of the Record Keeper today’. The three sessions that … Continue reading Professional Perspectives: Ethics in Conservation and Archives
Written by Sally-Anne Shearn, Genesis Project Archivist. In March 1915 an application was made for two little girls to be admitted to St Stephen’s Orphanage in York. Contrary to its name, those admitted to St Stephen’s were not necessarily orphans in the accepted sense of the word, the rules of admission required only that girls … Continue reading A Tale of Two Sisters
Written by Gary Brannan, Access Archivist Saturday 19th and Monday 21st September 2015 will see us undertake one of our yearly highlights – the annual University Open Day. Aimed primarily at students thinking of applying to study here in the near future, Open Day provides us with an opportunity to show off some of the … Continue reading Treasures on display: York University Open Day displays, 19th and 21st September
Written by Gary Brannan and Sally-Anne Shearn Sunday 13th September saw the presentation of the British Comedy Society’s Living Legends of Comedy Award to the writing partnership Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran. Often thought of solely as comedy writers, the Marks and Gran Archive held at the Borthwick illustrates their wider work in the development … Continue reading Living Legends: the Marks and Gran Archive at the Borthwick
Written by Tracey Wilcockson, Conservation Volunteering Co-ordinator Understanding the condition of an item is the first concern of a conservator when faced with a new object. A range of tools can be utilised to compliment the conservator’s knowledge of materials and degradation in this undertaking. Historically, microscopes, magnifying glasses and loupes have been used to … Continue reading Shedding new ‘Lite’ on Atkinson Brierley
Written by Sally-Anne Shearn, Genesis Project Archivist One of the most enjoyable aspects of Project Genesis are the personal stories that emerge from the many and varied archives held here at the Institute. Most recently the addition of the Borthwick’s charity records to the online catalogue revealed the story of Grace Green and, through her, … Continue reading The Sextoness of Goodramgate
Written by Ruth Mather, Volunteer, Atkinson Brierley Conservation Project One of the largest and most interesting sets of plans in the Atkinson-Brierley collection is that relating to the rebuilding of Sledmere, a country house in East Yorkshire. The house was built in 1751, and in the 1780s and 1790s underwent significant renovations. Like many grand … Continue reading Sledmere House – Rising from the Ashes