The blog for the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York.
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
Written by Lydia Dean, YWT Project Archivist On 2nd May 1946, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, then called Yorkshire Naturalists’ Trust, was legally incorporated. Founded in a post-war context, where the Government was keen to provide a ‘vision of a brighter Britain’1, the Trust’s first objective was “to protect places and objects of natural beauty or of … Continue reading Yorkshire Wildlife Trust: 70 years on
Written by Helen Watt, Marc Fitch Project Archivist When David Cressy examined aspects of marriage in Tudor and Stuart times, he asked whether or not love played a part in courtship and marriage then (1). Unlike other historians, such as Laurence Stone, he considered that love was fundamental to marriage in that era and in … Continue reading ‘Till death us do part’?: marriage, love and wills in the Archbishops’ Registers
Written by Sally-Anne Shearn, Genesis Project Archivist In April 2015 we launched Project Genesis, an ambitious two year project to create the Institute’s first online catalogue using AtoM, or Access to Memory, a web-based, open-source application for archival description and access. One year on, we are proud to announce that the Borthwick Catalogue (or Borthcat … Continue reading Introducing the Borthwick Online Catalogue
Written by Lydia Dean, YWT Project Archivist The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT) is one of the largest Wildlife Trusts in Britain and its 97 reserves cover some of the most varied landscapes in the UK. It works to protect and conserve Yorkshire’s wild places and wildlife, with reserves including Spurn National Nature Reserve, Flamborough Cliffs, … Continue reading Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Project
Written by Lydia Dean, Archives Assistant York County Hospital was established in 1740 and until 1977, when the current hospital opened, was the main hospital in York. The hospital was originally run as a charity, supported by wealthy subscribers. It continued to be run in this way right up to the 20th century when the … Continue reading York County Hospital and World War One