YORK EXPLORE: ARCHIVE VISIT
All materials below provided by Laura Yeoman from York Explore
Why use an archive?
‘History is written by the victors’ is a common phrase, and to some extent this is true. History is often written by the rich and powerful, and many of the historical architectural developments we see in York today are the products of those people, their influence and their financial backing.
It is in archive collections, though, where we can sometimes see small glimpses into the lives of ‘ordinary’ citizens, and learn more about their lives and struggles. Yes, these documents are usually still written by the rich and powerful, or those in positions of authority, but they are often documenting those who cannot write themselves. Archives tell us stories in the words of people who were there - their own words – and that is what makes them powerful.
VIRTUAL MATERIALS FROM OUR VISIT
The items that we’ve selected for you to look at tell a range of stories – the maps chronicle the development of the city from the 17th century to the 19th century, as well as the history of cartography.
(Note - Have a look at Moodle for the better quality images for these maps (you can zoom right in!). They were a bit too big for the website. They are located in a folder in this week's materials).
Images:
1 - Speed Map, 1610
2 - Benedict Horsley Map, 1697
3 - Cossing Old Map, 1722
4 - Cossing New Map, 1722
5 - Drake Map, 1736
6 - Chassereau Map, 1750
RICHARD III CHARTER (AND OTHER DOCUMENTS)
See also - transcripts of related documents in the folder on Moodle.
The illuminated charter and the transcripts relating to King Richard III are even earlier, showing us the fifteenth century Wars of the Roses in a new light. They also document how the representatives of City of York Council felt about Richard III at the time, contrary to the depictions of him we have today.
Charter of King Henry VI, 6 November 1459
THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
Travelling forward in time, we have a range of documents from the 19th century, mainly as more documents were being created by this time, and they have survived the tests of time better. The Campaign for the Prosecution of Felons was a subscription-based insurance service in York before the days of the city police – looking after the interests of their paying subscribers (and their cucumbers). For those who were caught by the magistrates (and later, the police), the pages from the York Prison chaplain’s character books give us a real insight into the societal causes behind their imprisonment. We only have two volumes covering 1897 to 1898, but they document hundreds of lives, and the reasons behind the crimes they committed. Poverty, destitution, alcoholism, homelessness, being deserted by their partner are all listed, as well as a number of soldiers (could this be early cases of PTSD in the time of the Boer War?). These are citizens of the city like you, and it is interesting to see that some of the problems we have in society today are not necessarily new. (Note - images from the Chaplain's Book are also available on Moodle).
Images:
Campaign for the prosecution of Felons posters, 19th century
Chaplain’s Character Book, York Gaol, 1897-1898.
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Application and Report Book for out relief, York Poor Law Union, September 1906 (image above)
The Application and Report book we’ve chosen dates from the early 20th century, and is a rare survival in England and Wales, as most of these volumes were destroyed when the National Health Service began in 1948. We have 98 of these volumes, and they document those who applied to the York Poor Law Union for relief. These are the voices not usually heard in the history of York – those who were destitute, pregnant, disabled and elderly are all represented. There is a disproportionately high percentage of women applying for relief as well, so we can hear the voices of the ordinary female York citizen. We also get an insight into the reasons behind them requiring additional money (or food) to tide them over. In some cases, the workhouse (now The Grange on Huntington Road) was the only option, but it was a last resort. (Note - images for this resource are available on Moodle).
The 20th century arguably saw the biggest changes in York as a city, particularly with two World Wars and an extensive slum clearance programme. The Second World War bombing raids on York are well documented (including the 29th April 1942 Baedeker Raid) – Google ‘Raids over York’ to keep in touch with the current commemorations. Lesser-known though were the First World War Zeppelin bombing raids, which damaged a number of areas around the city, as documented in our surviving photographs.
Images of Zeppelin raids on York, 1915-1916.
York’s early 20th century slum clearances were fairly large-scale, with the building of Tang Hall as new accommodation in the suburbs, and the forced clearing of areas such as Hungate and Walmgate. Whilst it is well-known that these areas were made up of very poor housing, poorly ventilated and densely overcrowded, it had a clear community of its own, and this was disrupted by the slum clearances.
Images showing areas of Hungate before the clearances in the 1930s.
Archives are often portrayed in the media as being the playthings of historians, but they teach us about language, literature, printing, social policy, crime and punishment, poverty, housing, architectural development, the concept of families and so much more. Anyone can use our archives, whether you have a particular research interest or not. They were created by the citizens of York, and they should be used by the citizens of York.
Please see our website (www.exploreyork.org.uk) or drop us an email (archives@exploreyork.org.uk) if you want to see in person anything in the images, or if you have particular research interests in mind.
EXTRA RESOURCES
For more archival resources from York Explore:
Visit their images site at:
at https://images.exploreyork.org.uk/
Have a look at the archive resources including collections guides: on www.exploreyork.org.uk (there's an Archives drop-down)
See the Explore York Archives playlist on the York Explore YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UC21PkS0rKWJ5pYRAHp-CngA/playlists