Read about some of the fascinating research being carried out on our recently catalogued Poor Law records...our guest blogger from Clements Hall Local History Group tells us about their project. What was it like to be poor in 19th century York? Clements Hall Local History Group is using recently catalogued Explore York Poor Law … Continue reading
One hundred years ago, the ‘Spanish Influenza’ attacked York Hello, I'm Chloe - from January to March of this year I've been on a placement at York Explore, researching the impact the 1918-1919 Spanish Flu had on York. As a History Masters student, I'm used to research, but this has been a new and exciting … Continue reading York and the 1918 ‘Spanish’ Influenza Pandemic
Hello all, As we near the end of conserving the Poor Law Union and Workhouse Records, I have been busy completing the final lot of repairs to especially damaged material and creating bespoke boxes. Today I thought I would share how I've been making the enclosures. Around fifty of the Poor Law Union volumes are too large, too … Continue reading Action packed boxmaking
Three months go really fast, especially when you always have something to do and you enjoy what you do. So have been my three months working at York Explore Archive: quick, but really interesting. Certainly, working with Julie-Ann, Tiffany and the volunteers who work in this project has been a wonderful experience that I will … Continue reading Final thoughts…
This month we have a post from the newest Past Caring team member: our fantastic Erasmus intern from Spain... Hello everybody, I’m writing on this blog to introduce myself as the Erasmus intern who will be working at York Explore Library and Archive during the following months. My name is Carlos Parra and I am a graduate … Continue reading Initial impressions…
It has been a busy start to the autumn for the Past Caring team. Tiffany, our conservator, has been working hard along with her volunteers to repair, clean and package the Poor Law records. Meanwhile I have moved on to the records of York’s Medical Officer of Health and the Health Department, which date from the … Continue reading York’s sanitary inspection books – more than just old drains
We have a new opportunity to volunteer with our fabulous Past Caring archives project at York Explore. You will be helping us to catalogue and conserve York’s healthcare records dating from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This is a fantastic opportunity to gain experience working with original archives in a friendly group environment. Volunteers for this … Continue reading Archive volunteers needed!
Throughout the Past Caring Project we’ve often mentioned the term red rot as a major part of the collection’s conservation issues. As I’ve recently completed consolidating one hundred degraded leather bindings of the Poor Law Union and Workhouse collection, it feels like a great time to write a post on the topic. However foreboding the name, red rot … Continue reading Conquering the Dreaded Red Rot
York's City Commissioners (aka the Improvement Commissioners) Many of you may not be familiar with York’s City Commissioners, a group of officials who had the unenviable task of improving the condition of York’s streets in the first half of the nineteenth century. At the moment I am working on the catalogue for their records and … Continue reading Improving York one street at a time
Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Teesside Archive in Middlesbrough and speak with conservator Helen Kendall (ACR) about some conservation/preservation techniques, as well as have a tour of the building and archive store. I’d been having several practical issues while consolidating degrading leather bindings of the Past Caring Project. Some of the bindings are … Continue reading A Visit to the Teesside Archive
