In times of worldwide upheaval, it can be comforting to focus on our surroundings. Even better if you can find a way to step into history and retreat from the news for a while. Now that archives and museums are temporarily closed, it might feel like our portals to the past have vanished. But there are so many ways to explore Yorkshire’s history online. Here are five sites to get you started.
Explore York Images
Did you know that we have a new website? There are thousands of images to explore and you might be surprised by what turns up. Elephants in York? Surely not…
York Gala, c.1910s / y_11707 / Copyright: City of York Council / Explore York Libraries and Archives Mutual Ltd 
Historic Pageant, 1909 / y_11765 / Copyright: City of York Council / Explore York Libraries and Archives Mutual Ltd 
St Peter’s School, 1990s /gor_01_02 / Copyright: City of York Council / Explore York Libraries and Archives Mutual Ltd 
Museum Street, 1930s /y98_3448_1 / Copyright: City of York Council / Explore York Libraries and Archives Mutual Ltd 
Elephants on Monkgate, 1908 /y942_843_loa_52 / Copyright: City of York Council / Explore York Libraries and Archives Mutual Ltd
York Museums Trust
The York Museums Trust has online collections on various themes, including Social History, Geology, Decorative Arts, Costume and Textiles, and Archaeology. Once you select a theme, you can refine the results to only include items with images.
Take inspiration from the collections. Could you make your own games for self-isolation, like this cup and ball or this board game from the early 1800s?
Yorkshire Film Archive at the BFI
The Shambles might be unrecognisably empty today, but what did they look like 100 years ago? Footage from the Yorkshire Film Archive takes us on a monochrome tour of York, starting at the busy railway station, winding through the city’s streets and into the Yorkshire School for the Blind (where we find children playing skittles!). Then onward to the crowded marketplace, the Shambles, and finally the River Ouse: the constant thread that runs between York then and now.
Art UK
Many of York Art Gallery’s collections can be found on Art UK. You can browse paintings by William Etty (a York-based artist), depictions of York itself, and many more artworks from around the world.
Etty, William; Monk Bar, York; York Museums Trust; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/monk-bar-york-7964 
Etty, William; The Graces; York Museums Trust; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/the-graces-8151 
M., S. ; Old Ouse Bridge, York; York Museums Trust; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/old-ouse-bridge-york-8646 
Nash, Paul; Winter Sea; York Museums Trust; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/winter-sea-7975 
Moore, Henry; Hob Moor; York Museums Trust; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/hob-moor-8289
Stay at Home VE Day 75
To celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day this Friday, Explore York Libraries and Archives has assembled a Stay at Home resource pack to help you mark this special occasion. Click here to find links to archival footage of VE day celebrations in Yorkshire, information about screenings, recorded testimonies, and educational tools for children.
You can also participate in York’s Stay at Home celebration by sharing your images of any VE day celebrations held over the last 75 years. Share your memories on Twitter with the hashtag #VE75York and on Facebook. We would love to know how you plan on spending your Stay at Home VE Day!
Welcome to the blog of the Explore York Archives Service 