
Yorkshire Archaeological Society News
Ronald Butler
We have just received notice that Ron died on Thursday last week. Members
will know him from his years as Editor of the YAJ, and also serving
on the Council of the YAS.
Our sympathies go to his family, and surviving brother, Lawrence.
The funeral service will be held on Monday, January 30th at 1 p.m.
in the Church of Our Lady (R.C.), Gale Lane, Acomb, York;
followed by interment in Fulford Cemetery, York.
Family flowers only
21/01/12
Change to Opening Hours
In the new year there are going to be changes in our staffing arrangements.
In view of this we are currently reassessing the opening times of the
Library and Archives.
Tuesday and Wednesday are currently our afternoon and late evening days
when we are open until 8pm, however, these evening sessions are largely
unused.
The new opening times will be:
Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday 10.00am - 17.30pm
Friday 10.00am - 13.00pm
Saturday 9.30am - 17.00pm
These changes will take effect from 1st January 2012.
It is hoped that these new arrangements will be more convenient for
members who wish to spend some time in the Library or Archives, but
do not wish to be there late into the evening.
Pontefract Friary Excavations - Summer 2011
St RICHARD’S FRIARY - EXCAVATIONS 2011 -WHAT WE FOUND!
A PUBLIC MEETING TO REPORT ON THE RESULTS OF THIS IMPORTANT DIG WILL
BE HELD ON FEBRUARY 21st 2012 AT 7-15pm, IN THE CENTRAL
METHODIST CHURCH, NEWGATE, PONTEFRACT, WF8 1NB.
Excavation Director Simon Tomson, and others, will give illustrated
lectures outlining the discoveries made during August and September
2011 beneath the old infirmary, Pontefract.
Admission is free, and there is plenty of parking on site.
Announcing the latest publication in the Wakefield Court Roll Series
The Wakefield Court Roll publishing section of the YAS has just published the fifteenth in its series of volumes of the court rolls of the manor of Wakefield. This volume, edited by Dr Constance Fraser, is an edition of the manorial court roll for the three years 1433 to 1436.
As recently as September the national importance of the records of
the manor of Wakefield, now held by the YAS, was recognised by the UK
committee of the Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation of
the United Nations (UNESCO),
at a reception to celebrate the 2011 enrollments on the UNESCO UK Memory
of the World Register.
The Wakefield manorial court rolls begin in 1275 and have survived almost complete for the six centuries from 1328 down to the last manorial court held in 1925. There are more than 670 court rolls in the archive and many other types of records.
Since a publishing committee for the Wakefield court rolls was established
in 1977, its volumes have come to be recognised as a unique project
in both its aim and scope.
Its intention is to publish court rolls from all centuries and to produce
them translated from their original Latin into English and, usually,
as a detailed summary of the contents, rather than a word-for-word transcript,
with the many repetitions and redundancies of language this would entail.
There are now fifteen volumes in the series, publishing rolls from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century. If you would like to obtain a copy of the newly-published court roll or any of the earlier volumes still in print, you can find the details on the Wakefield Court Rolls page of the website.
Luddite Link
The Yorkshire Archaeological Society is proud to be a contributor to the Luddite Link partnership which provides a gateway to information and resources about the Luddite movement in West Yorkshire. Other partners include University of Huddersfield, Kirklees Museums & Libraries, West Yorkshire Archive Service, Sheffield Archives, Huddersfield Local Studies Library, Mikron Theatre Company, Lawrence Batley Theatre and the Colne Valley Museum.
Throughout the bicentenary year (2012) there will be commemorative events by the partners and a developing resource here about the Luddites and Luddism. See www.ludditelink.org.uk for more information.
The YAS has a number of books on the Luddites including:
Frank Peel, The Risings of the Luddites, Chartists and Plugdrawers (Brighouse, 1895)
D.F.E Sykes and G.H. Walker, Ben o' Bill's, the Luddite: a Yorkshire Tale (1898)
Proceedings under the Special Commission at York... 2nd to 12th January 1813, for the trial of offences connected with the late offences in the West Riding of [Yorkshire] (Leeds, 1913)
An historical account of the Luddites 1811,1812 and 1813, with report of their trials at York Castle from the 2nd to the 12th of January 1813, before ... the Special Commission (J Cowgill, Huddersfield, 1862)
A full reading list covering material held by all partners in the project is available here http://ludditelink.org.uk/reading.php
We also hold the original watercolours for George Walker's Costume of Yorkshire which depict industry in Yorkshire at the time the Luddites were active.
Richard Hall
It is with sincere regret that we announce the death of Dr. Richard Hall on Tuesday 13th September 2011. Richard was President of the YAS from 2005-2010.
His death was sudden although he had been ill for some time. He will be sadly missed by his family and everyone who had met him.
Jo Heron
The funeral service was held on Monday 26 September in the choir of York Minster.
Memory of World Celebration
Representatives from the Yorkshire Archaeological Society were amongst guests at the House of Lords on Mon 5 September to celebrate this year's UNESCO Memory of the World UK Register inscriptions.
UNESCO's (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) UK Memory of the World Register aims to highlight documentary heritage which holds cultural significance specific to the UK. The UK Register helps raise awareness of some of the UK’s exceptional, but lesser-known documentary riches by awarding them with the globally-recognised Memory of the World status.
2011's twenty inscriptions include two collections from Yorkshire: the Wakefield Court Rolls (Yorkshire Archaeological Society) and Anne Lister's diaries (West Yorkshire Archive Service)

Teresa Nixon of West Yorkshire Archive Service with Dr Paul Harvey, Chairman of Wakefield Court Rolls Publishing Section and Dr Brian Barber, YAS Management Board. Photograph reproduced with the permission of Parliament.
Yorkshire Archaeological Journal 2011
The 2011 YAJ has now been sent out to members. If you are an individual
member of the Society and have not recived your journal it is likely
that your subscriptions are in arrears. From 2011 the YAJ will be sent
out directly by Maney Publishing, however, all enquiries from Individual
YAS members and Affiliated Societies (excluding Instutional members)
should be directed to the Membership Secretary. Only Institutional members
who have not received their YAJ should contact Maney direct. If you
are not a member and would like to purchase a copy of the Journal please
contact Sales at Claremont.
The contents of the 2011 journal include:
Some Recent Research at two Yorkshire Long Barrows: Denby House, Rudston & Esh's Barrow, Helperthorpe by Alex Gibson
J.M.N. Colls and the Baildon Moor Prehistoric Field Complex by Keith Boughey
Bronze Age Cremations, Iron Age and Roman Settlement and Early Medieval Inhumations at the Langeled Receiving Facilities, Easington, East Riding of Yorkshire by Jane Richardson
Results of an Archaeological Test Pit Excavation in the Refectory Building at Rievaulx Abbey by Jane Wheeler and Gerry McDonnell
The Augustinians and the Romanesque Font from Everingham, East Riding by Rita Wood
The Court Records of the Diocese of York 1300-1858: An Under-Used Resource by Philippa Hoskin, Simon Sandall and Emma Watson
William Wrightson, the Yorkshire Whigs and the Yorkshire 'Peterloo' Protest Meeting of 1819 by Brian Barber
'Blending Instruction with Amusement': The Huddersfield Philosophical Society Exhibition of 1840 by David Griffiths
An Eisteddfod for Yorkshire? Professor Moorman and the Uses of Dialect by William Marshall
Walter Bentley [obituary]
Peter B. Davidson [obituary]
Jean Le Patourel [obituary]
2011-12 Programme of Events
The YAS's 2011-12 programme of
events is now available online. The programme includes all YAS events,
YAS section events and those of our affiliated societies.
As well as the lecture programme there are two excursions
planned for autumn 2011: Glasshouses: a Wesleyan model village
& the Nidderdale Metcalfes (Tue 4th October) and Norton
Conyers, architecture & landscape history (Sat 5th November)
for more information please email Janet
All members will receive a printed copy of the programme and more information
about up-coming events with their latest copy of Update in the post
later this week.
Vernacular Buildings Reports
As many members may be aware copies of building reports made by the Yorkshire Vernacular Buildings Study Group are held in the YAS Archives. A full list is now available of all those reports held at the YAS on our website. To make an appointment to view a report or request a copy please contact the archives. Please note the building name, parish/township, building report number and archive reference number when enquiring about reports.
Art Researchers Guide
Yesterday
saw the launch of ARLIS's Art Researchers Guide to Leeds to which the
YAS is a contributor.
This handbook describes the major libraries and repositories in Leeds with art and design resources and directs researchers to the most appropriate libraries and archives to suit their research needs.
Whilst the Yorkshire Archaeological Society may not appear to be an obvious place for art researchers many of our collections are visual or relate to art, design, or architecture. Within the library is our print collection of Yorkshire people and places. Many books also relate to topography and buildings. Books on the ancient world, the middle ages and later periods of history contain illustrations of mosaics, pottery design, stained glass, monuments and churches. Some of our early printed books also feature impressive illustrations.
Our archives include estate and family collections containing illustrated
manuscripts and travel journals, maps, plans, architectural details
and photographs. Illuminated deeds, decorative seals and heraldic manuscripts
are also to be found in our archive collections along with posters,
scrapbooks, drawings, cartoons and printed ephemera. The original watercolours
for Walker's Costume of Yorkshire published in 1814 are also one of
our most notable holdings.
14/07/2011
Online archive guide
It is now possible to search the archive holdings on the YAS website.
The Guide provides an overview of the contents of the YAS’s collections.
It currently covers all items deposited or gifted to the archives between
1867 and 2008.
The collection descriptions derive from the two published guides to
YAS records; “Catalogue of Manuscript and Deeds in the Library
of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society 1867-1931” by E.W. Crossley
and “Guide to the Archive Collections of the Yorkshire Archaeological
Society 1931- 1985” by Sylvia Thomas, plus details of new collections
drawn up by previous and current archive staff.
Some collections are only one item, in other cases one collection may
extend to many boxes. In this guide the contents of each collection
is summarised; the degree of detail given in many cases depends on to
what extent the collection has been catalogued. You will find more in-depth
listings of some collections on Access to Archives or the West Yorkshire
Archive Service's online catalogue, for other collections detailed lists
are only available in paper form at Claremont.
Please contact the archives to find out if more information is available
on particular collections. When enquiring about collections please quote
the Collection Reference.
The archive guide
Unesco status for Wakefield court rolls
It was announced today that the Wakefield court rolls held in the YAS
archives will be amongst the new additions to the UNESCO
UK Memory of the World Register
The Wakefield court rolls record the business of Wakefield manor (one of the largest in England) from the 13th to the 20th century and offer a unique insight into the life of the manor's inhabitants. Covering not just Wakefield, but a huge area of the West Riding from Holmfirth to Halifax, Heptonstall, Dewsbury and Normanton (31 miles from east to west, 21 miles from north to south), these historical documents are probably the most complete set of surviving English court rolls.
The rolls are written in ink on parchment and after 1737 on paper, bound together at the top and originally rolled up (hence the name “court rolls”). Until 1733 the rolls are written in Latin (with the exception of the Commonwealth period), and thereafter are in English.
UNESCO's (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) UK MoW Register aims to highlight documentary heritage which holds cultural significance specific to the UK. The UK Register helps raise awareness of some of the UK’s exceptional, but lesser-known documentary riches by awarding them with the globally-recognised Memory of the World status.
The majority of the 670 court rolls were gifted to the Society by the the Lord of the Manor the Earl of Yarborough in the 1940s along with other historical documents relating to the manor. A few rolls which got detached from the main collection are held in other archives including the University of Leeds, Sheffield Archives, the British Library and The National Archives.
As the manorial administration was centred in Wakefield, the rolls were originally stored in the Wakefield Rolls Office, an eighteenth-century building (demolished in 1913). After 1913 the records were stored in the cellars of the offices of the manor steward, where the damp conditions led to considerable deterioration in the condition of the documents. A conservation appeal was launched by the YAS in the 1990s and many of the rolls were repaired thanks to grants and private individual and corporate donations. Today the rolls are housed in a secure and climate-controlled environment at the YAS's headquarters.
We
are delighted at being awarded this prestigious status and hope that
it will highlight the importance of our archive collections and encourage
more people to use them.
Claremont windows repair
Claremont is well over 200 years old and it’s feeling its age! It has 17 Georgian and 15 Victorian windows (330 panes in total), all of which were in desperate needed of repair. As a grade II listed building this had to be done sensitively by specialist joiners.
If you have visited Claremont recently you will have seen that work is in progress and noticed the improvement that the renovation and repainting have made to the look and functionality of the windows.
The Claremont windows appeal was launched last year to raise money to finance this huge undertaking. Members have been generous in donating, however, we still need your help!
To donate to the Claremont Windows Appeal click here
Journal articles
For details of how to submit articles for consideration for the YAJ, please contact the YAS Secretary by email or post.