The blog for the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York.
Written by David Pilcher, Retreat Digitisation Assistant This is the second 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 … Continue reading Spotlight on the Retreat archive: A splendid time is guaranteed for all!
Written by Sally-Anne Shearn, Genesis Project Archivist ‘Well I far from home but you are not out of my mind. I hope to be home by Christmas, if not before then.’ These words were written by 18 year old Private Thomas John Morgan to his 7 year old brother Llewellyn in May 1916. Two months … Continue reading Remembering Private Thomas John Morgan
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 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
‘We had a boy of 17 with us in the holidays, one of the dearest people I’ve ever known. He was asked to write the enclosed for someone in Canada, & did it in the hope that it might help people to understand that the persecution is not made up of isolated pogroms, but of … Continue reading Holocaust Memorial Day
Written by Matthew Badham George Harris was a confectionery manufacturer who is generally credited with the renaissance of the York-based Rowntree business during the 1930s. This paper is an account of Harris’s life which begins by tracing his involvement in World War I through to his marriage in 1923 to Frieda Rowntree. Enrollment in his … Continue reading Borthwick Publications: George Harris and the Marketing Revolution at Rowntree
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