Treasures of The Yorkshire Archaeological Society
The YAS library and archive contain many treasures and curious items
of
interest on all sorts of topics. These short articles will give you
a taste of some
of the fascinating things to be found in our collections.
A Tax on Bachelors and Widowers
The Thoresby Society Transactions Miscellanea volumes include many interesting
articles. Volume XXIV (Miscellanea VII) includes an article by H.W.
Thompson on a curious tax imposed in 1695. This was a Tax on Bachelors
and Widowers. An Act of Parliament granted the King certain rates continue
Cogan’s Charity School, Hull
The bookcases in the Octagon Room contain box files full of interesting
pamphlets. They range from histories of buildings through to clerical
sermons. Amongst these are many reports and descriptions of Charity
Schools. One that caught our attention is about a school in Hull.
“Rules to be strictly observed and enforced by the parents
or friends of girls admitted into the Subscription School Salthouse
Lane - continue
The York Mystery Plays
The bookcases in the Octagon Room contain box files full of interesting
pamphlets including some on the city of York. As you can imagine there
are quite a few on the York Mystery Plays. The booklet that particularly
caught our attention was a programme for the first production of the
Cycle, since 1572, in 1951. In medieval times the plays were continue
Dickens’s
Dictionary of London
The above book came to light during this year’s stock check. It
is subtitled An Unconventional Handbook and was published by
Charles Dickens, Office Of All The Year Round in London. The
book cost one shilling when first published and is a very interesting
read. It not only informs the reader of interesting places to visit
but of colloquial expressions, charities, clubs, churches, hospitals,
a list of Holy continue
The
Secret History of the Calves Head Club or the Republican Unmasked
This curious little book, printed in 1709, sets out to show “The
religion of the Calves Head heroes”. It is the 7th edition
with “large improvements”. It also contains an
“annex” which is a “vindication of the
ROYAL MARTYR King Charles 1st”
The club met every 30th January, the day Charles 1st
was beheaded, at different houses. In 1709 they were celebrating their
30th anniversary continue
Funeralia
The
“funeralia” is a detailed account of the funeral of Christiana
(1716-1767), wife of Francis Fawkes (1707-1789). Christiana died in
London on 14 July 1767, and was buried in All Saints Church, Otley on
Saturday 25 July. The journal is part of the Farnley Hall papers (DD146).
The funeral journal gives a detailed continue
Brawling
women in Skipton, 1671
The Yorkshire Archaeological Society is fortunate to have on deposit,
courtesy of the owners of Skipton Castle, an impressive set of court
rolls relating to the Skipton area dating back to the thirteenth century
(DD121).
I was looking at some of the seventeenth century Skipton Burgess court
rolls, which include many presentments for affray (fighting). Unfortunately,
few details are given apart from the continue
Dr
Heaton’s diaries
The Society is indebted to Dorothy Payne, for her recent donation of
John Deakin Heaton’s diaries to the Archives, in memory of her
late husband, Brian.
Brian and Dorothy Payne wrote about Dr. Heaton in the 1973 volume of
the Publications of the Thoresby Society, Miscellany 15. In this they
recalled that he was an eminent citizen of Leeds in the nineteenth century,
a physician at the General Infirmary, President of the Leeds Philosophical
and Literary Society, and one of the founders of the Yorkshire College
of Science, now the University continue
The
Yorkshire Post, Kriegie Edition
This edition of the Yorkshire Post (MS1553) was produced by a group
of Yorkshire airmen in a German POW camp in 1944. It was the idea of
Sgt Richard Pape who has worked on the editorial staff of the Yorkshire
Post prior to the outbreak of war. It took over five weeks of painstaking
work to complete.
The contents of the Kriegie Yorkshire Post are varied; from cartoons,
poems reports of life in the camp including entertainments, portraits
of some of the camp members to articles on sport, Yorkshire’s
heritage and buying a house.
The foreward by James A.G. Deans the Camp Leader reads:
“It is natural that the P.O.W. should think much continue
Mary Bateman, The Yorkshire Witch
The library’s copy of the EXTRAORDINARY LIFE & CHARACTER OF
MARY BATEMAN THE YORKSHIRE WITCH TRACED FROM THE EARLIEST THEFTS OF
HER INFANCY THROUGH A MOST AWFUL COURSE OF CRIMES & MURDERS, TILL
HER EXECUTION AT THE NEW DROP, NEAR THE CASTLE OF YORK ON MONDAY THE
TWENTIETH OF MARCH, 1809 was printed in 1811 only 2 years after Mary’s
continue
British
Public Characters
Sorting books for repair the other day I came across an interesting
set of volumes. They are entitled “British Public Characters”.
There are 8 volumes and cover the years 1798–1806. Each volume
has an index and some have a section for small pen portraits. The 1798
portraits include Nelson and Dr Priestley. The writer and politician
Benjamin Disraeli is also in this volume. His name is actually spelt
D’Israeli. Other volumes include biographies of Sir Robert Peel,
Mr Wilberforce, Edmund Cartwright, Lord Granville, Duke of Marlborough,
Richard Sheridan, William Cowper, Dr Jenner, Rowland Hill and William
Franklin. Surprisingly there are some Surprisingly there are some 20
entries for continue