The blog for the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York.
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 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 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 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 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 Sally-Anne Shearn, Genesis Project Archivist. A month into Project Genesis and work has progressed from the horticultural records of James Russell to the Borthwick’s ‘private deposits,’ a group of some fifty archives that range in date from the 11th to the 20th century and in subject from the manors of mediaeval Yorkshire to … Continue reading The School Books of Thomas Skaife
Written by Sally-Anne Shearn, Genesis Project Archivist This week is National Gardening Week which ties in perfectly to the first subject of Project Genesis, the archive of renowned horticulturist and landscape gardener James Russell. In many ways James Russell makes an ideal starting point for the project. Unusually for a Borthwick collection, the archive of … Continue reading Project Genesis takes root!
Written by Sally-Anne Shearn, Genesis Project Archivist The Borthwick Institute holds archival collections that range in date from the 11th century to the present day. If you have visited the Institute yourself you will be all too familiar with the numerous paper catalogues that take up an entire wall of the searchroom reception, serving as … Continue reading Introducing the Genesis Project