Heritage projects are a great way for communities to come together to learn about their past, to take part in fun and inspiring activities, to share their experience and knowledge and to develop new skills.
If you would like to discuss setting up a community heritage project then please contact the archives. We can offer digitisation and conservation services, meeting space, advice on sources of funding and more.
To keep up-to-date with events and exhibitions, please see the North Yorkshire archives blog.
Uncovering the stories and keepers of the records
For the first time we are taking a tour of the archives to mark 75 years of preserving North Yorkshire’s history and taking a closer look at some of the treasures it holds.
Watch as we explore stories behind the records and meet the people who care for them.
North Yorkshire Archive is celebrating its 75th anniversary with a series of special events offering the public a rare chance to go behind the scenes of one of the county’s most important heritage collections.
Journeying through 800 years of history Kimberley Starkie, Senior Manager of North Yorkshire Archives, highlights some of the “treasures” of our collections giving you the chance to take a closer look at some of the unique records that have been collected and preserved by the Archives over the past 75 years.
For the first time, visitors will be able to explore areas usually closed to the public through exclusive tours giving a glimpse into how North Yorkshire’s records are preserved and protected.
The celebrations will run throughout the year, with talks, exhibitions and hands-on activities showcasing the incredible stories which are held in the five miles of records from centuries-old documents to local treasures.
Find out what’s on and how to book a tour on the North Yorkshire archives blog website.
Rachel Greenwood is the Conservation and Digitisation Manager looking after the millions of important documents, which come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and materials. Watch, in the video above, how Rachel explains how to handle these items carefully and store them properly in special packaging, so they don’t get damaged. This helps keep them safe for a long time and makes sure people can still look at them in the future.
Sue Thorn is a volunteer at the Archives – she first came to explore the records herself! Volunteers help look after North Yorkshire’s history. As Sue explains, you can help with old records, gather stories, it’s a great way to learn, help out and discover amazing local history.
Past projects
Attics and Acres
'Attics And Acres' focused on the archive of the Graham family of Norton Conyers and was funded by Heritage Lottery Fund, Friends of the National Libraries and Northallerton and District Local History Society. With the help of volunteers, our project archivist worked to make the archive accessible to all by developing an online catalogue and holding a series of talks, exhibitions and workshops.
Home Comforts
The Heritage Lottery Funded 'Home Comforts' researched the history of the 32 Voluntary Aid Detachment Hospitals set up across the North Riding during the First World War. Up to 1,500 beds for the care of wounded soldiers returning from the front were provided in buildings as diverse as town hall, stately homes and workhouses, with local women taking the lead in organising this provision. Project volunteers researched and wrote a 212 page, fully illustrated book telling the story of each of the hospitals and a programme of talks, exhibitions and activities reached over 4,000 people. The project was long-listed for the 2015 National Lottery Awards. You can learn about more projects at the Heritage Lottery Fund website.
Grounds for Appeal
In April 2016 the County Record Office was delighted to be awarded £8,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to make the North Riding Military Tribunal Papers 1916 to 1918 widely available.
We hold nearly 6000 appeal papers of men who wished to defer their military service or who conscientiously objected to it. In 1921 the Board of Health issued instructions that all tribunal records be destroyed. There were two exceptions to this, Middlesex and Lothian and Peebles appeal records. These were retained as a benchmark for possible future use. By an oversight the North Riding Tribunal papers have survived.
You can read more on The Grounds for Appeal project blog or see our our Flickr album
Trawling Through Time
For nearly 100 years Cochrane’s shipyard was a vital part of life in Selby. Opened by the then Beverley-based Andrew Cochrane, Cochrane and Sons became one of the most significant employers in the Selby region. In many cases, working at Cochrane shipyard was something that ran in the family, with generation after generation working at the yard. When the yard closed in 1993, not only did it result in the loss of hundreds of jobs, but it signalled the end of the shipbuilding tradition in Selby, a tradition which was first recorded in the 15th century.
The company archive represents one of the most important pieces of evidence for the history of Selby. The North Yorkshire County Record Office was awarded a grant of £48,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to work on our project ‘Trawling Through Time’ which aimed to make this fascinating collection accessible to everyone.
You can view more images from the project on our Flickr album.
