The blog for the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York.
Written by Alexandra Medcalf, Project Archivist for the Yorkshire Historic Dictionary Interactions between Scotland and Yorkshire were clearly, from the surviving terms in the dictionary, many and common-place. Those words which explicitly reference Scotland seem mostly to do with trade between the two areas, as Scottish men brought wares down from their home country to … Continue reading For Burn’s Night, Scotland in Yorkshire
The author of this blog is anonymous Walking through the strongrooms within the Borthwick, you never know quite what you will find. There is a Crown of Thorns, an ostrich egg, and a box simply labelled ‘Hair cuttings (family).’ So I was not surprised to learn that within the archive of the Wood family (later … Continue reading Food in the Archives
The author of this blog is anonymous This is the sixth in a series of blog posts celebrating the Retreat archive as we publicise the availability of the digitised archive. As we have worked on this digitisation project there have been many items that have caught our eye along the way. In this blog post, … Continue reading Eyewitnesses to History in the Retreat Archive
Written by Alexandra Medcalf, Project Archivist for Yorkshire Historic Dictionary (@YorksDictionary) “Wassail drink were allus best, when o’er a yule-clog boiled” I think I can safely assume that any Brit, at least, reading this blog will be familiar with the concept of a Yule log at Christmas. These days, it probably takes the form of … Continue reading A Yule… Clog?
Written by Jenny Mitcham, Digital Archivist for International Digital Preservation Day Most of us have a computer of some description (sometimes more than one!). Working with digital has become very much a part of our everyday life, but what do we do with the stuff that we create on the computer? How do we make … Continue reading “Save your digital stuff!”
Written by Sally-Anne Shearn, Project Archivist. In August 2017 the Borthwick Institute launched a new 27 month project ‘The Rowntree Archives: Poverty, Philanthropy and the Birth of Social Science.’ The project, which is funded by the Wellcome Trust, will arrange, describe, publicise and make publicly available the archives of the four Rowntree Trusts, the Rowntree … Continue reading The Rowntree Archives: Poverty, Philanthropy and the Birth of Social Science
Written by Sally-Anne Shearn ‘Fun like sunshine, mixed with sense like salt’ was how an anonymous correspondent in The Times described Lady Victoria Bullock following her untimely death in November 1927, at the age of only 35. This description is borne out in the lively bundle of letters by Lady Victoria which were deposited at … Continue reading An English Socialite in Paris: The Letters of Lady Victoria Stanley
Written by Graham Hughes, Archives Assistant. Anyone attending the Great Industrial Exhibition in London in 1862 could have been forgiven for passing by the sight of two circular blocks of glass, 26 inches in diameter and two inches thick, standing on their edges being displayed by Messrs Chance of Birmingham. Impressive though they were these … Continue reading The World’s Largest Telescope
Written by Lydia Dean, project archivist As we come into the last days of this year’s #30DaysWild campaign, it seemed fitting to celebrate the end of my year-long project cataloguing the archive of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust – and what a year it’s been! I’ve been lucky enough to delve right into the most detailed … Continue reading 71 Years Wild: cataloguing and exploring the archive of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Written by Nathan Williams, Archives Assistant This is the fifth in a series of blog posts celebrating the Retreat archive and our digitisation project as it nears completion. The Retreat is one of the most important institutions in the care and treatment of mental health patients. Over the last two and half years, staff at … Continue reading Spotlight on the Retreat archive: An unexpected find