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Newsletter No 19 Autumn 2015
For our autumn meeting, on 19 September, we were again at the King's Manor, by kind permission of the Department of Archaeology, University of York. 12 members of TYP attended and 8 group reports were given, revealing as usual a huge variety of research and of community involvement. There was discussion about the preparation and distribution of the newsletter and about the form and content of our meetings; some small changes were decided upon.
Our next meeting will be at 2pm on Saturday at King’s Manor on 12 March 2016. Details of the agenda (which will include a presentation) will be given nearer the time.
GROUP REPORTS
Bishopthorpe Local History Group
Bishopthorpe Local History Group has had a successful year. The Bishopthorpe Archive, organised by Linda Haywood, has attracted visitors from far and wide. In some cases, the visitors have brought items for the Group Archive.
Susannah Smith produced an interesting year's programme. Attendance at these meetings have varied greatly – mostly because of weather or conflicting meetings! Topics have ranged from “The Wagoners' Memorial, Sledmere”, to “Scorched by the Rising Sun” (a talk given by someone who had spent her early years in a Japanese internment camp in Indonesia during WWII) and more recently “The Nurses of Middlethorpe Hall” (the story of Florence Nightingale Shore Ethel Bedford Fenwick). On 29 October, Peter Addyman’s subject is “Mapping the Ages of York”.
Further information about the Group can be found on the website: www.bishopthorpe.net/mt/history or email [email protected]
Cawood Castle Garth Group
This year we were lucky to be awarded Heritage Lottery Funding for an archaeological investigation of Keesbury Manor, a little-known site in the centre of the village of Cawood. We received £9,800 to investigate the archaeology and the horticultural heritage of the village.The site, a scheduled ancient monument, was once the medieval home of the de Cawood family from 1201.
Saturday 24th October 2015 was an open day in the village school with displays of our findings, a talk and guided tour of the site by Jon Kenny and some gooseberry pies to taste.
We warmly invite you to come along and share our discoveries.
Contact: Margaret Brearley – [email protected]
Clement’s Hall Local History Group, York
In August we submitted a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund First World War “Then and Now” programme. The aim is to fund our project to explore the impact and legacy of WW1 on our neighbourhood, with a focus on involving local schools and older residents. We will be contributing to a Fishergate, Fulford & Heslington Local History Society event at York Cemetery Chapel on Saturday 21 November, to give a talk and to exhibit some of our WW1 findings. Members of our group are also compiling short biographies of soldiers remembered on local war memorials.
Research on the history of our local shops is continuing, but lack of access to important uncatalogued material in the York Civic Archive, such as City Engineer’s plans, will delay publication. Bishy Road has again been shortlisted for a GB High St award and our researches have been used to support this.
We are currently engaged in expanding our structure for 2016, designing a programme of regular talks in the Main Hall at Clements Hall. To fund this we are launching a membership scheme with a paid subscription.
We’re delighted that later this year Pen & Sword Books will publish Early Victorian Railway Excursions by one of our members, Susan Major.
For more information visit http://www.clementshallhistorygroup.wordpress.com or see us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/clementshallhistorygroup
Dringhouses Local History Group
Our monthly programme of walks, talks and visits continues to be well supported – we now have over 180 members, although currently renewing, so the number may decrease. We had a very successful coach outing to Saltaire, a World Heritage Site; some members participated in a walk around Saltaire guided by two local history group stalwarts, both of whom were in costume and in role, one as a mill worker and the other as the wife of a superintendent. This walk was humorous and instructive and is highly recommended!
Fame at last for Samuel Parsons: his wonderful map of the manor of Dringhouses, 1624–29, was the subject of an article by Victoria Hoyle (York City Archives) in the August edition of Who do you think you are? magazine.
Our website gives details of our 2015–16 programme and accounts of our recent meetings, as well as of the talks we offer, a selection of photos of Dringhouses, etc.
Contact: our Secretary on (01904) 708700; website: dlhg.weebly.com
Fishergate, Fulford & Heslington Local History Society
Society members have visited Water Fulford Hall and Heslington Hall. Meetings have heard speakers talk about Backhouses Nurseries in Fishergate and Holgate, and archaeological finds in our area.
During the summer we undertook a geophysical investigation of the lawns surrounding the Sir John Hunt Memorial Cottage Homes. Technical and archaeological leadership was given by Paul Durdin, a very capable local student who has written the final report, available at https://york.academia.edu/PaulDurdin.
As expected, no earth-shattering discoveries were made, but we found what seems to be a continuation of the medieval ridge and furrow cultivation which was uncovered during archaeology on the adjacent site and a ditch and bank which may also be linked to the Roman building materials found close by.
We have continued our research into the 86 men named on the Fulford WW1 memorial and are working towards publication of the second and third volumes of their biographies, covering the 49 men of Fishergate. This research will be presented at an all-day event at the York Cemetery Chapel on Saturday 21st November. Other groups will also be exhibiting some of their research. If any groups would like to join this event please get in touch with Chris Rainger at [email protected] or contact: [email protected]
Poppleton History Society.
Our programme of talks was well received with 68 people arriving for the second presentation
01.10.14. 'The Great War comes to York' by Alison Bodley.
12.11.14 'Sons of Poppleton of the Great War Remembered' by PHS and scholars of Manor Academy.
03.12.14. 'Love Letters of the Great War' read by members of PHS and friends.
07.01.15. 'Conserving a Medieval masterpiece – John Thornton's Stained Glass Apocalypse' by Sarah Brown.
04.02.15. 'Poets and Poems of the Great War' read by members of PHS and friends.
04.03.15. 'Questions you never asked about the Great War' by Ted Kendall and Julian Crabb.
06.05.15. 'John Goodricke FRS – York's Greatest Astronomer' by Andrew Coatsworth.
The Oral History Project. This continued with the transcribing of tapes to hard copy followed by a careful note of all the 'topics' within each record. These were then added to the master index. This means that if you want to look up say 'cricket' then you refer to the master index which may give you 5 or 6 references to the hard copies and then you compile your notes from those people who have commented on the subject. The tapes are also being transferred to hard drive – a slow laborious process!
Archiving of our records. Previously all our records were stored in the attics, lofts and spare spaces in houses belonging to members. Following Explore York taking over management of the City's libraries we have worked with Sarah Tester, the Community Archivist, and others to sift what we possess and file into a better system. Explore have a blueprint form for use in deciding how to tackle the various items and this has been invaluable. Two four drawer filing cabinets in Poppleton Library now house all our material. However, much remains to be done in that we spend any odd session perusing each file to decide on the fate of the contents. Extensive duplication is reduced and irrelevant data and material discarded. Our experience is that YOU have to decide what to shed and our thinking has been along the lines of; is it of value to anyone and in particular to Poppleton? Will anyone ever read it or want to make use of it? How should the item be kept and where should it be stored? Precious material like an ancient document is best stored properly in the Central Library under controlled temperature and humidity conditions. We celebrated the opening of the PHS archives with a small party and with The Press present. Several courses on archiving have been held by Explore York and members of PHS have found these to be very beneficial.
Displays in the library. The Society have worked with Jenny MacGarvey from Explore York to put on a display entitled 'Recreation in Poppleton'. This related the history of our society and produced snapshots of activities in the past using photos and cutting from newspapers. We could not cover all activities and could easily produce several more on different subjects. The display described is on view until the end of the year.
Publications. We have six of these, all in A5 form covering aspects of Poppleton e.g. 'Public Houses of Poppleton,' '100 years of Poppleton Children's Sports Day'. They retail at £3 each and we sell them whenever we have a suitable function. They are also on sale in our local library. We are at present in discussion with Explore York as to storage and accounting systems.
Banquets. We hold these every two years in our historic, 80-seat Tithe Barn. The first was in 2002. The latest (16th October 2015), with the title 'Waterloo', included entertainment during the three-course meal and the presence of the 33rd Foot Re-enactment Society, based in Halifax, who told us about the role of the 33rd at Waterloo. Some of us dressed-up for the period. The 80 seats were all filled.
War Memorials. We are researching the lives and deaths of the soldiers whose names appear on the two War Memorials of Poppleton and those who appear on the Roll of Honour displayed in the two churches but who are not registered on the memorials There are about 24 names and a subcommittee of four has taken equal numbers of soldiers and researched them. We meet to discuss our efforts and problems and expect to publish our findings in time for November 2016. We are seeking funding from various sources including our two Parish Councils. We are also looking at the erection of the War Memorials themselves by sourcing the parish records at that time. This subject is also being studied by 'Landscapes of Remembrance' under the guidance of Jon Kenny, now a freelance Community Archaeologist. PHS will provide an article about our own memorials from the relatively sparse information we have found so far.
Moated site survey. This was completed on the 28th September 2015 by Jon Kenny and members of PHS. This scheduled ancient monument abuts the River Ouse. The suggestion that there was at one stage a formal house built on the spot has yet to be proved. Jon was employed on a private basis by the society so that we could obtain a professional report and then decide if we wished to perform 'core' studies in suitable areas. We would have to seek approval from English Heritage before any action could be taken.
We are members of the OASIS project (University of York) which records the more localised reports on investigations of archaeological sites.
Contact: [email protected] and our website at Poppleton.net/history society
North Duffield Conservation and Local History Society
Our Heritage Lottery-funded project has now finished and all the £25,700 has been spent. The final element was the publication of a book to report on the success of the Project and it is now on sale at £12.50. It is lavishly illustrated and tells every aspect of how we applied for the money and what we did with it. All proceeds will go to the future archaeological activities of the Society so your support would be appreciated.
Most of the post-excavation analyses are now complete. We can say with some confidence that the site at Parkhouse farm was occupied in the Middle Iron Age, about 300BC, by a monumental ring-ditch roundhouse of 20m diameter with an internal circle of post-holes which almost certainly supported a roof. Evidence of wattle and daub walls and potential debris from a hearth or kiln were recovered, along with iron slag showing that iron was being worked on the site. The ceramic assemblage confirmed the 300BC date but later Roman pottery in the upper fills was suggestive of the surviving ring-ditch feature being reused in this period with the possible insertion of a doorway in the west side to complement the more standard southeast-facing doorway showing up in crop marks.
The pottery record also contains a small number of pieces thought to be of late Bronze Age date although insufficient in number to be diagnostic.
Some 21 pieces of worked flint and flint tools were recovered which have been placed in the early Neolithic with a couple of pieces venturing into the early Bronze Age and a couple indicating a late Mesolithic origin.
Two samples were submitted for radiocarbon dating. One returned a date of 361–176 cal BC (SUERC-60386), which is consistent with the suggested 300 BC date of the ceramic assemblage. The other returned a date of 3344–3096 cal BC (SUERC-60387), which is consistent with the middle Neolithic date of the flint assemblage.
All this evidence using Bayesian statistical modelling points to the site having been in use/occupation from the late Mesolithic to the Late Roman period – in other words starting roughly 6000 years ago. This is a remarkable result for our community-based group and gives us the confidence to move forward into the next phase of investigation.
We have started to use the reconstructed Iron Age roundhouse as an educational resource with visits by both adult groups and school children. On arrival on site, the children are assigned to one of four tribes: Parisii, Brigantes, Iceni or Corieltauvi and dressed in Iron Age costumes. They are taken into the roundhouse where they sit round the lit fire and told about what they will be doing and a little about the Celtic tribes of Great Britain.
They then split up into their respective tribes, usually six children per tribe, and are taught using hands-on methods, bread-making (which they cook on the fire and eat with honey), spinning (using spindle whorls), wool carding, weaving using both a loom and stick weaving, and flour milling (using both beehive and saddle querns). They are then taken to the barn where they sit on bales to have their lunch. After this they are armed with swords (aka pipe-lagging), shields, spears and helmets and a full-scale battle commences with much screaming and violence. No children, so far, have been killed.
Finally, the fire now out to stop all the children doing kipper impressions when they go home, they are given a card loom to weave a friendship bracelet as they are told stories of the Iron Age; one is a serious story and the other, written by me, is rather less-so but causes lots of giggles.
We have continued the Big School Dig of children digging test pits in the school playfield for 5th consecutive year as well as branching out to do the same in other local schools.
If any group or school would like to visit the roundhouse please get in touch through the North Duffield website www.ndchs.org.uk and we will be happy to entertain you.
Our ceramic reference collection is almost complete and available to any local groups wishing to compare their finds with ours for identification purposes. We are happy to loan out our excavation kit to any local groups wishing to try their hands and my colleague and I are regularly invited to other groups and societies to give presentations and advice on the work we are doing. Once again we can be contacted though our website.
Contact Brian Elsey 01757 288939 or Tony Stevens 01757 288941 or email [email protected]
Strensall Local History Group
Since the March TYP meeting, we’ve had our usual mix of meetings and visits. We started with a talk by John North on Crime in Strensall (as it was, not as it is/maybe), followed by a presentation on Richard III’s life in Yorkshire given by Lesley Lambert. At the May meeting, members were presented with a potted history of farming in the area with special reference to Rectory Farm in Thornton le Clay. The outdoor meeting in June was a “curiosity” walk looking at the various “gems” and “treasures” located around the village, but unfortunately was poorly attended. We had better luck with the July meeting: a tour of the Foss Navigation and locks within Strensall led by Tony Berry, which was well attended and received by members and non-members alike. Three meetings are planned for the remainder of 2015: Chris Rock will be telling us about the Battle of Stamford Bridge; Andrew “Bone” Jones will give a presentation on the excavations at Coppergate; and a social evening including The Quiz (!), following the AGM. The programme for the early part of 2016 is nearing completion. The ridge and furrow survey within the Strensall and Towthorpe parish is complete and the results have been forwarded to John Oxley for inclusion in the Historic Environment Record. A member of the archaeology sub-group has taken part in a geophysical survey in the grounds of the Sir John Hunt Memorial Cottage Homes in Fulford (the report may be obtained from Fishergate, Fulford and Heslington LHS). Two Group members attended the “Gateway to Your Archives” day school at York Explore in February. The setting up of our archive categories and hierarchies using the GYA templates has now been completed, and the process of cataloguing will begin shortly.
Contact: [email protected]
Absent Voters’ List Malton & Thirsk 1918 (from Ken Haywood)
After many years, I have been made aware that the October 1918 Absent Voters List for the Malton & Thirsk Constituency is held by the North Yorkshire Record Office in Northallerton.
This may not seem a big issue for us here in York, but, at that time, this constituency included many of the parishes immediately to the north and east of the City of York. I list below some of places included.
Contains the following Wards among others: Gate Helmsley, Sand Hutton, Haxby, Strensall, Wigginton, Heworth, Osbaldwick, Earswick, Huntington, Shipton, Skelton, Clifton Without, Rawcliffe
From conversations with many people over the years, who were struggling with First World War research, this information will be very much welcomed.
Ken Haywood - [email protected]>
MEETINGS SCHEDULE
Timeline York Plus holds twice-yearly meetings, usually hosted by one of the member groups.
The next meeting is scheduled to start at 2.00pm on Saturday 12 March 2016 and will be held at King’s Manor and run by Ted Kendall. More details will be circulated to groups nearer the date.
This newsletter is distributed to member groups and York Explore.
It is included on the Community Archaeologist website - http://yorkcommunityarchaeology.pbwiki.co The newsletter has been edited and distributed by Catrina Appleby and Ted Kendall. Comments and enquiries may be sent to the various Groups’ contacts where given, or to Ted Kendall at: [email protected] or telephone 01904 338610.
Newsletter No 19 Autumn 2015
For our autumn meeting, on 19 September, we were again at the King's Manor, by kind permission of the Department of Archaeology, University of York. 12 members of TYP attended and 8 group reports were given, revealing as usual a huge variety of research and of community involvement. There was discussion about the preparation and distribution of the newsletter and about the form and content of our meetings; some small changes were decided upon.
Our next meeting will be at 2pm on Saturday at King’s Manor on 12 March 2016. Details of the agenda (which will include a presentation) will be given nearer the time.
GROUP REPORTS
Bishopthorpe Local History Group
Bishopthorpe Local History Group has had a successful year. The Bishopthorpe Archive, organised by Linda Haywood, has attracted visitors from far and wide. In some cases, the visitors have brought items for the Group Archive.
Susannah Smith produced an interesting year's programme. Attendance at these meetings have varied greatly – mostly because of weather or conflicting meetings! Topics have ranged from “The Wagoners' Memorial, Sledmere”, to “Scorched by the Rising Sun” (a talk given by someone who had spent her early years in a Japanese internment camp in Indonesia during WWII) and more recently “The Nurses of Middlethorpe Hall” (the story of Florence Nightingale Shore Ethel Bedford Fenwick). On 29 October, Peter Addyman’s subject is “Mapping the Ages of York”.
Further information about the Group can be found on the website: www.bishopthorpe.net/mt/history or email [email protected]
Cawood Castle Garth Group
This year we were lucky to be awarded Heritage Lottery Funding for an archaeological investigation of Keesbury Manor, a little-known site in the centre of the village of Cawood. We received £9,800 to investigate the archaeology and the horticultural heritage of the village.The site, a scheduled ancient monument, was once the medieval home of the de Cawood family from 1201.
Saturday 24th October 2015 was an open day in the village school with displays of our findings, a talk and guided tour of the site by Jon Kenny and some gooseberry pies to taste.
We warmly invite you to come along and share our discoveries.
Contact: Margaret Brearley – [email protected]
Clement’s Hall Local History Group, York
In August we submitted a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund First World War “Then and Now” programme. The aim is to fund our project to explore the impact and legacy of WW1 on our neighbourhood, with a focus on involving local schools and older residents. We will be contributing to a Fishergate, Fulford & Heslington Local History Society event at York Cemetery Chapel on Saturday 21 November, to give a talk and to exhibit some of our WW1 findings. Members of our group are also compiling short biographies of soldiers remembered on local war memorials.
Research on the history of our local shops is continuing, but lack of access to important uncatalogued material in the York Civic Archive, such as City Engineer’s plans, will delay publication. Bishy Road has again been shortlisted for a GB High St award and our researches have been used to support this.
We are currently engaged in expanding our structure for 2016, designing a programme of regular talks in the Main Hall at Clements Hall. To fund this we are launching a membership scheme with a paid subscription.
We’re delighted that later this year Pen & Sword Books will publish Early Victorian Railway Excursions by one of our members, Susan Major.
For more information visit http://www.clementshallhistorygroup.wordpress.com or see us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/clementshallhistorygroup
Dringhouses Local History Group
Our monthly programme of walks, talks and visits continues to be well supported – we now have over 180 members, although currently renewing, so the number may decrease. We had a very successful coach outing to Saltaire, a World Heritage Site; some members participated in a walk around Saltaire guided by two local history group stalwarts, both of whom were in costume and in role, one as a mill worker and the other as the wife of a superintendent. This walk was humorous and instructive and is highly recommended!
Fame at last for Samuel Parsons: his wonderful map of the manor of Dringhouses, 1624–29, was the subject of an article by Victoria Hoyle (York City Archives) in the August edition of Who do you think you are? magazine.
Our website gives details of our 2015–16 programme and accounts of our recent meetings, as well as of the talks we offer, a selection of photos of Dringhouses, etc.
Contact: our Secretary on (01904) 708700; website: dlhg.weebly.com
Fishergate, Fulford & Heslington Local History Society
Society members have visited Water Fulford Hall and Heslington Hall. Meetings have heard speakers talk about Backhouses Nurseries in Fishergate and Holgate, and archaeological finds in our area.
During the summer we undertook a geophysical investigation of the lawns surrounding the Sir John Hunt Memorial Cottage Homes. Technical and archaeological leadership was given by Paul Durdin, a very capable local student who has written the final report, available at https://york.academia.edu/PaulDurdin.
As expected, no earth-shattering discoveries were made, but we found what seems to be a continuation of the medieval ridge and furrow cultivation which was uncovered during archaeology on the adjacent site and a ditch and bank which may also be linked to the Roman building materials found close by.
We have continued our research into the 86 men named on the Fulford WW1 memorial and are working towards publication of the second and third volumes of their biographies, covering the 49 men of Fishergate. This research will be presented at an all-day event at the York Cemetery Chapel on Saturday 21st November. Other groups will also be exhibiting some of their research. If any groups would like to join this event please get in touch with Chris Rainger at [email protected] or contact: [email protected]
Poppleton History Society.
Our programme of talks was well received with 68 people arriving for the second presentation
01.10.14. 'The Great War comes to York' by Alison Bodley.
12.11.14 'Sons of Poppleton of the Great War Remembered' by PHS and scholars of Manor Academy.
03.12.14. 'Love Letters of the Great War' read by members of PHS and friends.
07.01.15. 'Conserving a Medieval masterpiece – John Thornton's Stained Glass Apocalypse' by Sarah Brown.
04.02.15. 'Poets and Poems of the Great War' read by members of PHS and friends.
04.03.15. 'Questions you never asked about the Great War' by Ted Kendall and Julian Crabb.
06.05.15. 'John Goodricke FRS – York's Greatest Astronomer' by Andrew Coatsworth.
The Oral History Project. This continued with the transcribing of tapes to hard copy followed by a careful note of all the 'topics' within each record. These were then added to the master index. This means that if you want to look up say 'cricket' then you refer to the master index which may give you 5 or 6 references to the hard copies and then you compile your notes from those people who have commented on the subject. The tapes are also being transferred to hard drive – a slow laborious process!
Archiving of our records. Previously all our records were stored in the attics, lofts and spare spaces in houses belonging to members. Following Explore York taking over management of the City's libraries we have worked with Sarah Tester, the Community Archivist, and others to sift what we possess and file into a better system. Explore have a blueprint form for use in deciding how to tackle the various items and this has been invaluable. Two four drawer filing cabinets in Poppleton Library now house all our material. However, much remains to be done in that we spend any odd session perusing each file to decide on the fate of the contents. Extensive duplication is reduced and irrelevant data and material discarded. Our experience is that YOU have to decide what to shed and our thinking has been along the lines of; is it of value to anyone and in particular to Poppleton? Will anyone ever read it or want to make use of it? How should the item be kept and where should it be stored? Precious material like an ancient document is best stored properly in the Central Library under controlled temperature and humidity conditions. We celebrated the opening of the PHS archives with a small party and with The Press present. Several courses on archiving have been held by Explore York and members of PHS have found these to be very beneficial.
Displays in the library. The Society have worked with Jenny MacGarvey from Explore York to put on a display entitled 'Recreation in Poppleton'. This related the history of our society and produced snapshots of activities in the past using photos and cutting from newspapers. We could not cover all activities and could easily produce several more on different subjects. The display described is on view until the end of the year.
Publications. We have six of these, all in A5 form covering aspects of Poppleton e.g. 'Public Houses of Poppleton,' '100 years of Poppleton Children's Sports Day'. They retail at £3 each and we sell them whenever we have a suitable function. They are also on sale in our local library. We are at present in discussion with Explore York as to storage and accounting systems.
Banquets. We hold these every two years in our historic, 80-seat Tithe Barn. The first was in 2002. The latest (16th October 2015), with the title 'Waterloo', included entertainment during the three-course meal and the presence of the 33rd Foot Re-enactment Society, based in Halifax, who told us about the role of the 33rd at Waterloo. Some of us dressed-up for the period. The 80 seats were all filled.
War Memorials. We are researching the lives and deaths of the soldiers whose names appear on the two War Memorials of Poppleton and those who appear on the Roll of Honour displayed in the two churches but who are not registered on the memorials There are about 24 names and a subcommittee of four has taken equal numbers of soldiers and researched them. We meet to discuss our efforts and problems and expect to publish our findings in time for November 2016. We are seeking funding from various sources including our two Parish Councils. We are also looking at the erection of the War Memorials themselves by sourcing the parish records at that time. This subject is also being studied by 'Landscapes of Remembrance' under the guidance of Jon Kenny, now a freelance Community Archaeologist. PHS will provide an article about our own memorials from the relatively sparse information we have found so far.
Moated site survey. This was completed on the 28th September 2015 by Jon Kenny and members of PHS. This scheduled ancient monument abuts the River Ouse. The suggestion that there was at one stage a formal house built on the spot has yet to be proved. Jon was employed on a private basis by the society so that we could obtain a professional report and then decide if we wished to perform 'core' studies in suitable areas. We would have to seek approval from English Heritage before any action could be taken.
We are members of the OASIS project (University of York) which records the more localised reports on investigations of archaeological sites.
Contact: [email protected] and our website at Poppleton.net/history society
North Duffield Conservation and Local History Society
Our Heritage Lottery-funded project has now finished and all the £25,700 has been spent. The final element was the publication of a book to report on the success of the Project and it is now on sale at £12.50. It is lavishly illustrated and tells every aspect of how we applied for the money and what we did with it. All proceeds will go to the future archaeological activities of the Society so your support would be appreciated.
Most of the post-excavation analyses are now complete. We can say with some confidence that the site at Parkhouse farm was occupied in the Middle Iron Age, about 300BC, by a monumental ring-ditch roundhouse of 20m diameter with an internal circle of post-holes which almost certainly supported a roof. Evidence of wattle and daub walls and potential debris from a hearth or kiln were recovered, along with iron slag showing that iron was being worked on the site. The ceramic assemblage confirmed the 300BC date but later Roman pottery in the upper fills was suggestive of the surviving ring-ditch feature being reused in this period with the possible insertion of a doorway in the west side to complement the more standard southeast-facing doorway showing up in crop marks.
The pottery record also contains a small number of pieces thought to be of late Bronze Age date although insufficient in number to be diagnostic.
Some 21 pieces of worked flint and flint tools were recovered which have been placed in the early Neolithic with a couple of pieces venturing into the early Bronze Age and a couple indicating a late Mesolithic origin.
Two samples were submitted for radiocarbon dating. One returned a date of 361–176 cal BC (SUERC-60386), which is consistent with the suggested 300 BC date of the ceramic assemblage. The other returned a date of 3344–3096 cal BC (SUERC-60387), which is consistent with the middle Neolithic date of the flint assemblage.
All this evidence using Bayesian statistical modelling points to the site having been in use/occupation from the late Mesolithic to the Late Roman period – in other words starting roughly 6000 years ago. This is a remarkable result for our community-based group and gives us the confidence to move forward into the next phase of investigation.
We have started to use the reconstructed Iron Age roundhouse as an educational resource with visits by both adult groups and school children. On arrival on site, the children are assigned to one of four tribes: Parisii, Brigantes, Iceni or Corieltauvi and dressed in Iron Age costumes. They are taken into the roundhouse where they sit round the lit fire and told about what they will be doing and a little about the Celtic tribes of Great Britain.
They then split up into their respective tribes, usually six children per tribe, and are taught using hands-on methods, bread-making (which they cook on the fire and eat with honey), spinning (using spindle whorls), wool carding, weaving using both a loom and stick weaving, and flour milling (using both beehive and saddle querns). They are then taken to the barn where they sit on bales to have their lunch. After this they are armed with swords (aka pipe-lagging), shields, spears and helmets and a full-scale battle commences with much screaming and violence. No children, so far, have been killed.
Finally, the fire now out to stop all the children doing kipper impressions when they go home, they are given a card loom to weave a friendship bracelet as they are told stories of the Iron Age; one is a serious story and the other, written by me, is rather less-so but causes lots of giggles.
We have continued the Big School Dig of children digging test pits in the school playfield for 5th consecutive year as well as branching out to do the same in other local schools.
If any group or school would like to visit the roundhouse please get in touch through the North Duffield website www.ndchs.org.uk and we will be happy to entertain you.
Our ceramic reference collection is almost complete and available to any local groups wishing to compare their finds with ours for identification purposes. We are happy to loan out our excavation kit to any local groups wishing to try their hands and my colleague and I are regularly invited to other groups and societies to give presentations and advice on the work we are doing. Once again we can be contacted though our website.
Contact Brian Elsey 01757 288939 or Tony Stevens 01757 288941 or email [email protected]
Strensall Local History Group
Since the March TYP meeting, we’ve had our usual mix of meetings and visits. We started with a talk by John North on Crime in Strensall (as it was, not as it is/maybe), followed by a presentation on Richard III’s life in Yorkshire given by Lesley Lambert. At the May meeting, members were presented with a potted history of farming in the area with special reference to Rectory Farm in Thornton le Clay. The outdoor meeting in June was a “curiosity” walk looking at the various “gems” and “treasures” located around the village, but unfortunately was poorly attended. We had better luck with the July meeting: a tour of the Foss Navigation and locks within Strensall led by Tony Berry, which was well attended and received by members and non-members alike. Three meetings are planned for the remainder of 2015: Chris Rock will be telling us about the Battle of Stamford Bridge; Andrew “Bone” Jones will give a presentation on the excavations at Coppergate; and a social evening including The Quiz (!), following the AGM. The programme for the early part of 2016 is nearing completion. The ridge and furrow survey within the Strensall and Towthorpe parish is complete and the results have been forwarded to John Oxley for inclusion in the Historic Environment Record. A member of the archaeology sub-group has taken part in a geophysical survey in the grounds of the Sir John Hunt Memorial Cottage Homes in Fulford (the report may be obtained from Fishergate, Fulford and Heslington LHS). Two Group members attended the “Gateway to Your Archives” day school at York Explore in February. The setting up of our archive categories and hierarchies using the GYA templates has now been completed, and the process of cataloguing will begin shortly.
Contact: [email protected]
Absent Voters’ List Malton & Thirsk 1918 (from Ken Haywood)
After many years, I have been made aware that the October 1918 Absent Voters List for the Malton & Thirsk Constituency is held by the North Yorkshire Record Office in Northallerton.
This may not seem a big issue for us here in York, but, at that time, this constituency included many of the parishes immediately to the north and east of the City of York. I list below some of places included.
Contains the following Wards among others: Gate Helmsley, Sand Hutton, Haxby, Strensall, Wigginton, Heworth, Osbaldwick, Earswick, Huntington, Shipton, Skelton, Clifton Without, Rawcliffe
From conversations with many people over the years, who were struggling with First World War research, this information will be very much welcomed.
Ken Haywood - [email protected]>
MEETINGS SCHEDULE
Timeline York Plus holds twice-yearly meetings, usually hosted by one of the member groups.
The next meeting is scheduled to start at 2.00pm on Saturday 12 March 2016 and will be held at King’s Manor and run by Ted Kendall. More details will be circulated to groups nearer the date.
This newsletter is distributed to member groups and York Explore.
It is included on the Community Archaeologist website - http://yorkcommunityarchaeology.pbwiki.co The newsletter has been edited and distributed by Catrina Appleby and Ted Kendall. Comments and enquiries may be sent to the various Groups’ contacts where given, or to Ted Kendall at: [email protected] or telephone 01904 338610.
