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Newsletter No 20 Spring 2016
Timeline York Plus is an informal association of historical and archaeological societies in the area of Greater York, providing a forum for the exchange of news and views.
in the area of Greater York, providing a forum for the exchange of news and views.
Our spring meeting on 12 March at King’s Manor included a presentation from Pat Smith (a Masters Degree student) who is developing a revamped website for the TYP. We plan to have the website in commission by the summer; meanwhile all groups should check their own websites to ensure that any reference / inclusion in the new TYP website will reflect their current status. Any queries should be addressed to Pat Smith at: [email protected]
Events & Exhibitions – Yorkshire Histories & WW1 on Tuesday 26 April, 9.30am-6pm
Clements Hall, YO23 1BW
The whole day (including lunch) is FREE, and will entitle you to free or reduced-rate attendance at York St John’s 2-day 'BABITME' conference on June 17–18.
The 'King’s Book of York Heroes' + recent research (a.m.) 'Beyond the Western Front'; pacifism, Rowntrees etc. (pm)
Other topics (some to be confirmed) include: Mark Sykes of Sledmere, Hull and Jerusalem, The Great War in Africa and the Middle East, 'The Waggoners' and Yorkies in Egypt & Palestine, WW1 cartoonists.
19.30 YPS lecture by Cyril Pearce on Pacifism & Conscientious objectors, Tempest Anderson Hall
FREE ADMISSION to daytime sessions incl. lunch + special offers for BABITME conference (June 17–18)
We are still accepting displays and 5-minute papers if you have something you would like to say or show. Please email [email protected] with title & summary. Further information: www.TinyURL.com/BABITME and JOHN BIBBY 01904 330334
GROUP REPORTS
Bishopthorpe Local History Group
The Bishopthorpe Archive, located in a upstairs room of the Village Hall, continues to go from strength to strength – led by Linda Haywood and ably assisted by other members of the Group. Visitors come from far and wide during opening hours (Monday afternoons 2.30 – 5pm except on Bank Holidays). Many want information of where relatives used to live but others also bring items to be stored in the Archive. We have links with North Yorkshire Cycle Touring Club who have donated Ron Healey's Archive on the Selby – York Cycle Track. Linda has also developed links with the local Junior School. One of the teachers encourages the children to go to the Library when we display photos of local interest on a theme. We have received: a silver cup, a number of books (including some on extended loan, an autographed copy of the 1970 Bishopthorpe Pageant Programme, and a collection of old 'Link' magazines (the local church and district magazine) which has almost completed the series of these magazines that we hold.
Our programme of events for 2015 was well supported, the most successful being a talk by Peer Addyman on 'The Mapping of York'.
Susannah Smith, our Programme Secretary, has planned an interesting Programme for 2016:
Tuesday 12 April 'Georgian York: Rise and Fall' by Mrs Julia Mander, Fairfax House
Tuesday 10 May 'Lutyens, War Memorials and the City of York' by Dorothy Nott
Tuesday 14 June 'Stained Glass – A Mystery Trade' demonstration about history and making of stained glass by Ian Tomlinson, Master Glazier
Tuesday 12 July 'Land Girls of Yorkshire – Digging for Victory' re-enactment by Sharon Garner, actress and story teller
Tuesday 13 Sept 'History and Workings of the Theatre Royal' by Kaeli Wishart, Theatre Royal
All Meetings are held at the Methodist Church Hall, Bishopthorpe, at 7.30 pm. The Church Hall is at the junction of Sim Balk Lane, Main Street and Copmanthorpe Lane.
Please note our new internet address: www.bishopthorpe.net/bishnet/local-history
Clement Hall History Group
The group has been awarded £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards a two-year project, which started in January 2016, exploring ‘The Impact and Legacy of the First World War on our Neighbourhood'.
We are encouraging local residents, including both young people and older people, to explore aspects of the War: responses to it and the impact it has had on subsequent generations. This includes looking at local records such as school log books, York Citizens’ Committee records, York Cemetery records, newspapers and correspondence. We also planning reminiscence sessions, using historic photographs and collection boxes to stimulate memories. Throughout the two-year project there will be evening talks and exhibitions and, finally, walking trail leaflets.
The involvement of young people is important to the project. The neighbourhood suffered a devastating Zeppelin attack in May 1916 and so the Group will work with local secondary schools to live tweet the 100th anniversary of the raid, together with its aftermath (follow Zeppelin Raid York on Twitter at @zeppelinWW1live). When local school students recently visited the Western Front battlefields, the Group was able to supply biographical details of people from the area who are commemorated at the Menin Gate and Thiepval Memorial. Primary and secondary school students are also contributing displays to a Zeppelin commemorative event on 6 May.
The First World War pages on the project website include:
Illustrated details of themes being researched:
The experiences of WW1 soldiers, sailors and airmen
The role of uniformed youth organisations in the War
Responses to food shortages, shops, rationing and the development of allotments
Women and work during the War
The role of religion in influencing attitudes to the War locally
The impact of the May 1916 Zeppelin raid
The impact of the War on local schools
Project leader Dick Hunter states 'These themes involve clusters of project volunteers, more experienced researchers supporting those less experienced. We welcome new interests and ideas for themes.'
For further information contact [email protected] or visit: clementshallhistorygroup.wordpress.com/our-first-world-war-themes.
Dringhouses Local History Group
Our programme of monthly talks continues to be very well supported by our membership and usually we have a few non-members attending, too. The details of the talks programme are on our website. We continue to answer enquiries regarding family history from researchers in distant parts and are always happy to search our map and document collection to provide help. Recently, one such enquiry led to a family member from New Zealand calling in at the church and signing the visitors' book.
We have been helping the York Civic Trust with information in connection with two plaques. A new plaque was due to be unveiled on the library on 18 March and the pinfold plaque (which mysteriously disappeared a year or so ago) is to be reinstated on the same occasion.
We are pleased that the historical maps being offered for sale in all York libraries include the fabulous Map of the Manor of Dringhouses drawn by Samuel Parsons in 1624–29. The maps are A2, in colour, unframed and are generally priced at £8.99.
Some of us are busy working on a second book about the history of Dringhouses, which we hope to publish in the autumn. More about that at a later date …
Contact: our Secretary on (01904) 708700. Website: dlhg.weebly.com
Friends of York Cemetery
Many of our walks are on Sunday afternoons, they last about an hour from 2pm, and finish with refreshments in the Grade II* listed Chapel. There is a suggested donation of £3 per adult.
Please meet at the Cemetery entrance, Cemetery Road, YO10 5AJ
Walks and Events Spring 2016:
On Sunday 1May, David Poole, a Cemetery Genealogist and York local historian, will lead a walk called ‘Monuments and Masons’, looking at a variety of tombstones, their styles, symbolism and their makers.
On Sunday 8 May, Sheila Bartlett will lead a walk entitled 'The History of York Cemetery’, exploring its story from its opening in 1837, through a chequered history, to rescue from dereliction in 1987 by the York Cemetery Trust.
Many walks are based on themes of the professions of those buried in the Cemetery: Lord Mayors, Publicans, Industrialists and Military Heroes. Others draw attention to the Cemetery’s wildlife : a Garden Walk, Moth and Bat Nights, a Butterfly and Tree Walk.
Details of these, and the concerts and exhibitions to be held in the Chapel can be found on the Cemetery website – www.yorkcemetery.org.uk
Or email: [email protected]
Or telephone the office – 01904 610578 or Sheila Bartlett 01904 411836
Holgate Windmill Preservation Society
We had an exciting Christmas with over 300 children visiting Santa; the mill looked lovely decorated in twinkly lights and boughs of greenery and baubles.
Nearly 800 visitors came on Residents First weekend; many were local who had never been before – we still have a long way to go till everyone has visited inside the mill.
Sales of flour and merchandise; our members and visitors; and talks and group visits have produced a good income which is building up in the bank.
This year we will probably be repainting the outside: clearly a costly undertaking. The north side of the mill has already a green mossy sheen, and the undersides of the fantail stage show paint peeling off.
Our exhibition this year is on the properties of wood from different types of trees and the timber used in the mill.
The mill will be fluttering in red, white and blue bunting for our Yard Sale on Sunday 12th June. 10am – 4pm. (Please park on Acomb Road. Maps from the mill).
In the evening we will celebrate the 90th birthday of the Queen and our wonderful community.
We had a great weekend with a young Australian who’s been writing to us since the restoration started when he was about 10; he’s now at university and spent his summer holiday in England and Holland visiting and working in mills. We needed an instant repair and he put on the harness and climbed up the sails to insert a wedge and tighten a loose bolt and saved us waiting for our monthly maintenance visit.
We have recently presented a framed copy of the Notice of Auction of Holgate Mill to the Windmill Hotel on Blossom Street, where the auction took place in May 1855. A new Inn sign with an image or our mill has been installed, although the Hotel was probably named after the 4-sailed mill on The Mount where the Innkeepers’ family had been millers for five generations until 1690.
Contact: Jen Hay on 01904 792638; website: www.holgatewindmill.org
Poppleton History Society.
04.11.15. 'The Chocolate Letters: the Lord Mayor’s Gift to York servicemen, Christmas 1914 and their response' by Ken Haywood. Attendance 41
02.12.15. 'Keep the Home Fires Burning: a programme of songs and readings from The Great War' by Steven Goulden and Amy Butler. Attendance 34
06.01.16. 'Early Steam Railways' by Roger Backhouse (a tribute to Geoff Bird – PHS member and Railway enthusiast). Attendance 58
03.02.16. 'Recollections of Life in Poppleton from 1945 to 1991': a tribute to Sue Wright by Julian Crabb, Gillian Duxbury and Christine Barrass. Attendance 76
02.03.16. 'The Millers of Holgate' by Anna Cook. Attendance 33
Total attendances for the 6 ordinary meetings = 284.
04.05.16. AGM. 'Poppleton’s Oral History Project, Part 2 – Ethel Clayton interviewed by Sue Wright by Christine Barrass and Julian Crabb.
Organised by the PHS committee and held in the Tithe Barn, Nether Poppleton. It was not possible to stage the banquet in June.
77 covers of which 46.8% were members, 41.5% non-members and 11.7% guests.
A proportion of diners came in costume of the Regency period and the tables were named after commanders of both English and French armies. Michael Crumplin gave short talks between courses on Quatre Bras, Ligny and Waterloo. Songs of the Redcoats were sung by Steven Goulden accompanied by Amy Butler and after the Dessert the 33rd Foot Re-enactment Society from Halifax performed ‘Drill’ and answered questions about their role at Waterloo.
Each transcription is carefully searched for topics and names and then typed in alphabetical order and attached to the file relating to the interviewee. A master index is being compiled involving all the transcripts so anyone can search for a topic or name and find them in the appropriate transcripts. All the tapes are being added to hard drive for posterity and this still remains the most laborious process.
Is there an original?
Is the original easily accessible?
What is the value?
Who is going to read it or make use of it?
If you are not ruthless you end up with mountains of paper and nowhere to store it.
Even so once you have a named system of cataloguing like that of Explore York you have to start pruning each individual file eg Maps are often available from the Central Archives so do not need to be kept locally.
We have submitted an article on the Nether Poppleton War Memorial to the website ‘Landscapes of Remembrance’ run by Jon Kenny, former Community Archaeologist. Much of my research came from old parish records of Nether Poppleton. Strangely there is little or no record currently found about the more formal War Memorial at Upper Poppleton.
In summary, a most interesting year with the surprising rise in attendance at our talks and of course our funds (as we charge £3 for visitors). Perhaps it is the subjects but we also have excellent audio and screen facilities, air conditioning plus refreshments at the conclusion of the evening.
For further details, contact 01904 338610 and our website at Poppleton.net/history society
North Duffield Conservation and Local History Society
Following a combination of rotting of the fastenings we used to hold down the thatch of the roundhouse and the inclement weather over the Christmas period, we found a hole had appeared in the roof of the roundhouse. Fortunately we had already had in place an arrangement with the staff at Blacktoft Sands nature reserve to use some of the water reeds (Phragmites Australis) or Norfolk Reed of which they have acres and acres. A band of volunteers duly attended, and with RSPB staff and volunteers a huge amount of reed was bundled and transported to the roundhouse site. We have now had several sessions of reed-combing and thatching and the bottom ring of thatch is complete, the second ring is about a third done and the roof is looking more authentic than the Elephant Grass we used originally.
We are currently processing the soil samples that were obtained over the three-year period of the excavation of an Iron Age monumental ring ditch roundhouse. The soil has been processed using the flotation method and then examined under a stereo-zoom microscope extracting anything of interest. A member of York University staff, Anita Radini, is helping to identify the flora and fauna remains. Her initial interpretation supports the view that the site has not been under cultivation from the end of the Roman period until Victorian times when the farm which hosts the roundhouse was built. For most of the Medieval period the land was a wooded deer park..
We now have an extensive Reference Collection of pottery, flint, iron slag, glass etc. which is available to anyone wishing to compare with finds from their areas. All the items have been professionally identified by experts in their field and are properly labelled. We believe that this collection is specific to the Southern Vale of York; it is distinctly different to stuff found in York but has some similarity to items from East Yorkshire, particularly the Wolds/Holm-on-Spalding Moor area.
We have plans in place to continue with our Roundhouse Experience at our reconstructed roundhouse in 2016. Aimed primarily at children, we would be happy to host visits from adults/societies etc. To enquire contact Brian Elsey through our website: www.ndchs.org.uk
At last, after thirty years of trying, we have managed to obtain a space for all our records, finds and excavation equipment. It is a fairly new farm building with concrete floor, steel and concrete walls and is supplied with power. We share it with a full size church organ and the odd tractor and trailer. As there is no heating we have fitted our three cupboards with special cupboard heaters which keep the damp out and retain a suitable temperature for maps, papers, photographs and documents. We are now cataloguing all the mountains of records and at about four hours a week it will probably take another thirty years!
Contact Brian Elsey 01757 288939 or Tony Stevens 01757 288941 or email [email protected]
South Ainsty Archaeological Society
We are a small community group researching the history and archaeology of the South Ainsty area, which lies to the south-west of York. Our area of interest is bounded by the A64 and the rivers Ouse and Wharfe. This includes the villages of Copmanthorpe, Acaster Malbis, Appleton Roebuck, Bolton Percy, Acaster Selby and Colton.
We hold regular lectures, visits and field-trips as well as carrying out fieldwork – excavation, field-walking and geophysical surveys.
We have carried out excavations at the site of the Knights Templar Preceptory at Copmanthorpe and are researching a deserted medieval village near Bolton Percy.
In 2010 we published a history of Copmanthorpe: From Coppenthorpe to Copmanthorpe, Aspects of life in an Ainsty village. Copies are still available.
New members are always welcome. For more information, contact Mike Rogers: [email protected]
Strensall Local History Group
Since the September TYP meeting, we’ve had our usual mix of meetings and visits. We started with a talk by Chris Rock who described the two other battles in 1066: Fulford and Stamford Bridge, followed by a presentation on the excavations at Coppergate given by Andrew 'Bone' Jones. The final meeting of 2015 was a social evening and a quiz, following the AGM. The History of The Strensall Tannery was the subject of a well-attended January 2016 meeting, given by members of the Group: advertisement of the meeting particularly targeted the new Tannery housing development. In February, John North presented some highlights of 19th-century Strensall as reported in York’s old newspapers. March’s meeting was given over to reviewing Strensall’s historical timeline after some 10 years of research. Future meetings include a presentation on archaeology in the landscape around Strensall, and visits to Howsham Mill and to St Mary’s Church (coinciding with its 150th anniversary celebrations). The programme for the latter part of 2016 is nearing completion. The setting up of our archive categories and hierarchies using the 'Gateway to Your Archives' templates has been completed, and the process of cataloguing and storage of the archive material has begun. After more than a year of toil by members of the Group (and sometimes despair at City of York planning rules and regulations), the Strensall History Board has been installed and is situated next to the old telephone box outside Albert Hall Farm on the corner of Church Lane and The Village.
Contact: [email protected]
The Story of the Red Tower so far...
What is the Red Tower?
You may know that the Red Tower is a 15th-century building which has undergone Victorian restorations, most recently in 1857–58. It is situated on York's City Walls (Foss Island) on the north-east side of the city.
Over the centuries the Red Tower has been used for storage, artillery and farm use. The Red Tower was left mostly unused after the Victorian period, although some work was done to it in the 1950s.
In 2014, a leopard gecko was found inside by the Friends of York Walls. In the same year, it was used as a part of an art installation for the Festival of Ideas.
In 2015, an informal 'Red Tower Project group' was formed through the help of The Incredible Movement. This is the group I have been working alongside, and over the summer we organised pop-up cafes, an edible raised bed and several public events (Open Residents weekend, Heritage Open day, and the Heritage Jam).
Contact: Katrina Foxton at [email protected]
A Local Heritage List for York - an update
Two or three years ago Councillors in York agreed to add a Local List to the proposed York Local Plan. The Local List had been compiled by York Open Planning Forum, with help from Council Officers, after nominations from the public.
Unfortunately for the Local List, the Local Plan was not adopted and the List did not become part of Supplementary Planning Guidance.
The List is planned to cover those places, buildings, etc. which cannot be added to the Historic England grades, but which local people would like see given some protection. This protection would not be the same as that given by an HE listing but would mean that local views could be heard in the event of a planning application or similar being submitted.
It is understood that the present Council would like see a Local List in force and money has been allocated in the present budget to progress it.
Because of this, those of us responsible for the List are updating it, obtaining photographs, making sure the places are still there and determining whether there have been any other changes or any more information is required. Original nominations came from many sources including Parish Councils, local people, Village Design Statement compilers, local history groups and many others. In some cases the original nominator is no longer with us. In such cases we shall try to contact local groups who may be able to help. This could mean your local group being asked to assist and if this happens we hope you will answer our requests or tell us who can.
We are also able to accept new nominations, see our website (www.yorklocal list.org.uk) for details and a nomination form.
Submitted by Alec Acomb for the York Open Planning Forum
The next TYP meeting
The next, planned, TYP meeting will be held on Saturday 10 September 2016, starting at 2pm. It will be hosted by the Cawood Castle Garth Group. Agenda and details of location will be circulated by the Group in August 2016. If Group representatives have any agenda items for the meeting they should contact the Cawood Group. Contact: Margaret Brearley at [email protected]
This newsletter is distributed to member groups and other interested organisations.
It has been edited by Ted Kendall and Catrina Appleby and it is included in the TYP website.
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 20 Spring 2016
Timeline York Plus is an informal association of historical and archaeological societies in the area of Greater York, providing a forum for the exchange of news and views.
in the area of Greater York, providing a forum for the exchange of news and views.
Our spring meeting on 12 March at King’s Manor included a presentation from Pat Smith (a Masters Degree student) who is developing a revamped website for the TYP. We plan to have the website in commission by the summer; meanwhile all groups should check their own websites to ensure that any reference / inclusion in the new TYP website will reflect their current status. Any queries should be addressed to Pat Smith at: [email protected]
Events & Exhibitions – Yorkshire Histories & WW1 on Tuesday 26 April, 9.30am-6pm
Clements Hall, YO23 1BW
The whole day (including lunch) is FREE, and will entitle you to free or reduced-rate attendance at York St John’s 2-day 'BABITME' conference on June 17–18.
The 'King’s Book of York Heroes' + recent research (a.m.) 'Beyond the Western Front'; pacifism, Rowntrees etc. (pm)
Other topics (some to be confirmed) include: Mark Sykes of Sledmere, Hull and Jerusalem, The Great War in Africa and the Middle East, 'The Waggoners' and Yorkies in Egypt & Palestine, WW1 cartoonists.
19.30 YPS lecture by Cyril Pearce on Pacifism & Conscientious objectors, Tempest Anderson Hall
FREE ADMISSION to daytime sessions incl. lunch + special offers for BABITME conference (June 17–18)
We are still accepting displays and 5-minute papers if you have something you would like to say or show. Please email [email protected] with title & summary. Further information: www.TinyURL.com/BABITME and JOHN BIBBY 01904 330334
GROUP REPORTS
Bishopthorpe Local History Group
The Bishopthorpe Archive, located in a upstairs room of the Village Hall, continues to go from strength to strength – led by Linda Haywood and ably assisted by other members of the Group. Visitors come from far and wide during opening hours (Monday afternoons 2.30 – 5pm except on Bank Holidays). Many want information of where relatives used to live but others also bring items to be stored in the Archive. We have links with North Yorkshire Cycle Touring Club who have donated Ron Healey's Archive on the Selby – York Cycle Track. Linda has also developed links with the local Junior School. One of the teachers encourages the children to go to the Library when we display photos of local interest on a theme. We have received: a silver cup, a number of books (including some on extended loan, an autographed copy of the 1970 Bishopthorpe Pageant Programme, and a collection of old 'Link' magazines (the local church and district magazine) which has almost completed the series of these magazines that we hold.
Our programme of events for 2015 was well supported, the most successful being a talk by Peer Addyman on 'The Mapping of York'.
Susannah Smith, our Programme Secretary, has planned an interesting Programme for 2016:
Tuesday 12 April 'Georgian York: Rise and Fall' by Mrs Julia Mander, Fairfax House
Tuesday 10 May 'Lutyens, War Memorials and the City of York' by Dorothy Nott
Tuesday 14 June 'Stained Glass – A Mystery Trade' demonstration about history and making of stained glass by Ian Tomlinson, Master Glazier
Tuesday 12 July 'Land Girls of Yorkshire – Digging for Victory' re-enactment by Sharon Garner, actress and story teller
Tuesday 13 Sept 'History and Workings of the Theatre Royal' by Kaeli Wishart, Theatre Royal
All Meetings are held at the Methodist Church Hall, Bishopthorpe, at 7.30 pm. The Church Hall is at the junction of Sim Balk Lane, Main Street and Copmanthorpe Lane.
Please note our new internet address: www.bishopthorpe.net/bishnet/local-history
Clement Hall History Group
The group has been awarded £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards a two-year project, which started in January 2016, exploring ‘The Impact and Legacy of the First World War on our Neighbourhood'.
We are encouraging local residents, including both young people and older people, to explore aspects of the War: responses to it and the impact it has had on subsequent generations. This includes looking at local records such as school log books, York Citizens’ Committee records, York Cemetery records, newspapers and correspondence. We also planning reminiscence sessions, using historic photographs and collection boxes to stimulate memories. Throughout the two-year project there will be evening talks and exhibitions and, finally, walking trail leaflets.
The involvement of young people is important to the project. The neighbourhood suffered a devastating Zeppelin attack in May 1916 and so the Group will work with local secondary schools to live tweet the 100th anniversary of the raid, together with its aftermath (follow Zeppelin Raid York on Twitter at @zeppelinWW1live). When local school students recently visited the Western Front battlefields, the Group was able to supply biographical details of people from the area who are commemorated at the Menin Gate and Thiepval Memorial. Primary and secondary school students are also contributing displays to a Zeppelin commemorative event on 6 May.
The First World War pages on the project website include:
Illustrated details of themes being researched:
The experiences of WW1 soldiers, sailors and airmen
The role of uniformed youth organisations in the War
Responses to food shortages, shops, rationing and the development of allotments
Women and work during the War
The role of religion in influencing attitudes to the War locally
The impact of the May 1916 Zeppelin raid
The impact of the War on local schools
Project leader Dick Hunter states 'These themes involve clusters of project volunteers, more experienced researchers supporting those less experienced. We welcome new interests and ideas for themes.'
For further information contact [email protected] or visit: clementshallhistorygroup.wordpress.com/our-first-world-war-themes.
Dringhouses Local History Group
Our programme of monthly talks continues to be very well supported by our membership and usually we have a few non-members attending, too. The details of the talks programme are on our website. We continue to answer enquiries regarding family history from researchers in distant parts and are always happy to search our map and document collection to provide help. Recently, one such enquiry led to a family member from New Zealand calling in at the church and signing the visitors' book.
We have been helping the York Civic Trust with information in connection with two plaques. A new plaque was due to be unveiled on the library on 18 March and the pinfold plaque (which mysteriously disappeared a year or so ago) is to be reinstated on the same occasion.
We are pleased that the historical maps being offered for sale in all York libraries include the fabulous Map of the Manor of Dringhouses drawn by Samuel Parsons in 1624–29. The maps are A2, in colour, unframed and are generally priced at £8.99.
Some of us are busy working on a second book about the history of Dringhouses, which we hope to publish in the autumn. More about that at a later date …
Contact: our Secretary on (01904) 708700. Website: dlhg.weebly.com
Friends of York Cemetery
Many of our walks are on Sunday afternoons, they last about an hour from 2pm, and finish with refreshments in the Grade II* listed Chapel. There is a suggested donation of £3 per adult.
Please meet at the Cemetery entrance, Cemetery Road, YO10 5AJ
Walks and Events Spring 2016:
On Sunday 1May, David Poole, a Cemetery Genealogist and York local historian, will lead a walk called ‘Monuments and Masons’, looking at a variety of tombstones, their styles, symbolism and their makers.
On Sunday 8 May, Sheila Bartlett will lead a walk entitled 'The History of York Cemetery’, exploring its story from its opening in 1837, through a chequered history, to rescue from dereliction in 1987 by the York Cemetery Trust.
Many walks are based on themes of the professions of those buried in the Cemetery: Lord Mayors, Publicans, Industrialists and Military Heroes. Others draw attention to the Cemetery’s wildlife : a Garden Walk, Moth and Bat Nights, a Butterfly and Tree Walk.
Details of these, and the concerts and exhibitions to be held in the Chapel can be found on the Cemetery website – www.yorkcemetery.org.uk
Or email: [email protected]
Or telephone the office – 01904 610578 or Sheila Bartlett 01904 411836
Holgate Windmill Preservation Society
We had an exciting Christmas with over 300 children visiting Santa; the mill looked lovely decorated in twinkly lights and boughs of greenery and baubles.
Nearly 800 visitors came on Residents First weekend; many were local who had never been before – we still have a long way to go till everyone has visited inside the mill.
Sales of flour and merchandise; our members and visitors; and talks and group visits have produced a good income which is building up in the bank.
This year we will probably be repainting the outside: clearly a costly undertaking. The north side of the mill has already a green mossy sheen, and the undersides of the fantail stage show paint peeling off.
Our exhibition this year is on the properties of wood from different types of trees and the timber used in the mill.
The mill will be fluttering in red, white and blue bunting for our Yard Sale on Sunday 12th June. 10am – 4pm. (Please park on Acomb Road. Maps from the mill).
In the evening we will celebrate the 90th birthday of the Queen and our wonderful community.
We had a great weekend with a young Australian who’s been writing to us since the restoration started when he was about 10; he’s now at university and spent his summer holiday in England and Holland visiting and working in mills. We needed an instant repair and he put on the harness and climbed up the sails to insert a wedge and tighten a loose bolt and saved us waiting for our monthly maintenance visit.
We have recently presented a framed copy of the Notice of Auction of Holgate Mill to the Windmill Hotel on Blossom Street, where the auction took place in May 1855. A new Inn sign with an image or our mill has been installed, although the Hotel was probably named after the 4-sailed mill on The Mount where the Innkeepers’ family had been millers for five generations until 1690.
Contact: Jen Hay on 01904 792638; website: www.holgatewindmill.org
Poppleton History Society.
- Previous Talks
04.11.15. 'The Chocolate Letters: the Lord Mayor’s Gift to York servicemen, Christmas 1914 and their response' by Ken Haywood. Attendance 41
02.12.15. 'Keep the Home Fires Burning: a programme of songs and readings from The Great War' by Steven Goulden and Amy Butler. Attendance 34
06.01.16. 'Early Steam Railways' by Roger Backhouse (a tribute to Geoff Bird – PHS member and Railway enthusiast). Attendance 58
03.02.16. 'Recollections of Life in Poppleton from 1945 to 1991': a tribute to Sue Wright by Julian Crabb, Gillian Duxbury and Christine Barrass. Attendance 76
02.03.16. 'The Millers of Holgate' by Anna Cook. Attendance 33
Total attendances for the 6 ordinary meetings = 284.
04.05.16. AGM. 'Poppleton’s Oral History Project, Part 2 – Ethel Clayton interviewed by Sue Wright by Christine Barrass and Julian Crabb.
- Banquet
Organised by the PHS committee and held in the Tithe Barn, Nether Poppleton. It was not possible to stage the banquet in June.
77 covers of which 46.8% were members, 41.5% non-members and 11.7% guests.
A proportion of diners came in costume of the Regency period and the tables were named after commanders of both English and French armies. Michael Crumplin gave short talks between courses on Quatre Bras, Ligny and Waterloo. Songs of the Redcoats were sung by Steven Goulden accompanied by Amy Butler and after the Dessert the 33rd Foot Re-enactment Society from Halifax performed ‘Drill’ and answered questions about their role at Waterloo.
- Oral History Project
Each transcription is carefully searched for topics and names and then typed in alphabetical order and attached to the file relating to the interviewee. A master index is being compiled involving all the transcripts so anyone can search for a topic or name and find them in the appropriate transcripts. All the tapes are being added to hard drive for posterity and this still remains the most laborious process.
- Archiving records
Is there an original?
Is the original easily accessible?
What is the value?
Who is going to read it or make use of it?
If you are not ruthless you end up with mountains of paper and nowhere to store it.
Even so once you have a named system of cataloguing like that of Explore York you have to start pruning each individual file eg Maps are often available from the Central Archives so do not need to be kept locally.
- Poppleton Sons of the Great War Remembered
We have submitted an article on the Nether Poppleton War Memorial to the website ‘Landscapes of Remembrance’ run by Jon Kenny, former Community Archaeologist. Much of my research came from old parish records of Nether Poppleton. Strangely there is little or no record currently found about the more formal War Memorial at Upper Poppleton.
- Moated Site Survey
In summary, a most interesting year with the surprising rise in attendance at our talks and of course our funds (as we charge £3 for visitors). Perhaps it is the subjects but we also have excellent audio and screen facilities, air conditioning plus refreshments at the conclusion of the evening.
For further details, contact 01904 338610 and our website at Poppleton.net/history society
North Duffield Conservation and Local History Society
Following a combination of rotting of the fastenings we used to hold down the thatch of the roundhouse and the inclement weather over the Christmas period, we found a hole had appeared in the roof of the roundhouse. Fortunately we had already had in place an arrangement with the staff at Blacktoft Sands nature reserve to use some of the water reeds (Phragmites Australis) or Norfolk Reed of which they have acres and acres. A band of volunteers duly attended, and with RSPB staff and volunteers a huge amount of reed was bundled and transported to the roundhouse site. We have now had several sessions of reed-combing and thatching and the bottom ring of thatch is complete, the second ring is about a third done and the roof is looking more authentic than the Elephant Grass we used originally.
We are currently processing the soil samples that were obtained over the three-year period of the excavation of an Iron Age monumental ring ditch roundhouse. The soil has been processed using the flotation method and then examined under a stereo-zoom microscope extracting anything of interest. A member of York University staff, Anita Radini, is helping to identify the flora and fauna remains. Her initial interpretation supports the view that the site has not been under cultivation from the end of the Roman period until Victorian times when the farm which hosts the roundhouse was built. For most of the Medieval period the land was a wooded deer park..
We now have an extensive Reference Collection of pottery, flint, iron slag, glass etc. which is available to anyone wishing to compare with finds from their areas. All the items have been professionally identified by experts in their field and are properly labelled. We believe that this collection is specific to the Southern Vale of York; it is distinctly different to stuff found in York but has some similarity to items from East Yorkshire, particularly the Wolds/Holm-on-Spalding Moor area.
We have plans in place to continue with our Roundhouse Experience at our reconstructed roundhouse in 2016. Aimed primarily at children, we would be happy to host visits from adults/societies etc. To enquire contact Brian Elsey through our website: www.ndchs.org.uk
At last, after thirty years of trying, we have managed to obtain a space for all our records, finds and excavation equipment. It is a fairly new farm building with concrete floor, steel and concrete walls and is supplied with power. We share it with a full size church organ and the odd tractor and trailer. As there is no heating we have fitted our three cupboards with special cupboard heaters which keep the damp out and retain a suitable temperature for maps, papers, photographs and documents. We are now cataloguing all the mountains of records and at about four hours a week it will probably take another thirty years!
Contact Brian Elsey 01757 288939 or Tony Stevens 01757 288941 or email [email protected]
South Ainsty Archaeological Society
We are a small community group researching the history and archaeology of the South Ainsty area, which lies to the south-west of York. Our area of interest is bounded by the A64 and the rivers Ouse and Wharfe. This includes the villages of Copmanthorpe, Acaster Malbis, Appleton Roebuck, Bolton Percy, Acaster Selby and Colton.
We hold regular lectures, visits and field-trips as well as carrying out fieldwork – excavation, field-walking and geophysical surveys.
We have carried out excavations at the site of the Knights Templar Preceptory at Copmanthorpe and are researching a deserted medieval village near Bolton Percy.
In 2010 we published a history of Copmanthorpe: From Coppenthorpe to Copmanthorpe, Aspects of life in an Ainsty village. Copies are still available.
New members are always welcome. For more information, contact Mike Rogers: [email protected]
Strensall Local History Group
Since the September TYP meeting, we’ve had our usual mix of meetings and visits. We started with a talk by Chris Rock who described the two other battles in 1066: Fulford and Stamford Bridge, followed by a presentation on the excavations at Coppergate given by Andrew 'Bone' Jones. The final meeting of 2015 was a social evening and a quiz, following the AGM. The History of The Strensall Tannery was the subject of a well-attended January 2016 meeting, given by members of the Group: advertisement of the meeting particularly targeted the new Tannery housing development. In February, John North presented some highlights of 19th-century Strensall as reported in York’s old newspapers. March’s meeting was given over to reviewing Strensall’s historical timeline after some 10 years of research. Future meetings include a presentation on archaeology in the landscape around Strensall, and visits to Howsham Mill and to St Mary’s Church (coinciding with its 150th anniversary celebrations). The programme for the latter part of 2016 is nearing completion. The setting up of our archive categories and hierarchies using the 'Gateway to Your Archives' templates has been completed, and the process of cataloguing and storage of the archive material has begun. After more than a year of toil by members of the Group (and sometimes despair at City of York planning rules and regulations), the Strensall History Board has been installed and is situated next to the old telephone box outside Albert Hall Farm on the corner of Church Lane and The Village.
Contact: [email protected]
The Story of the Red Tower so far...
What is the Red Tower?
You may know that the Red Tower is a 15th-century building which has undergone Victorian restorations, most recently in 1857–58. It is situated on York's City Walls (Foss Island) on the north-east side of the city.
Over the centuries the Red Tower has been used for storage, artillery and farm use. The Red Tower was left mostly unused after the Victorian period, although some work was done to it in the 1950s.
In 2014, a leopard gecko was found inside by the Friends of York Walls. In the same year, it was used as a part of an art installation for the Festival of Ideas.
In 2015, an informal 'Red Tower Project group' was formed through the help of The Incredible Movement. This is the group I have been working alongside, and over the summer we organised pop-up cafes, an edible raised bed and several public events (Open Residents weekend, Heritage Open day, and the Heritage Jam).
Contact: Katrina Foxton at [email protected]
A Local Heritage List for York - an update
Two or three years ago Councillors in York agreed to add a Local List to the proposed York Local Plan. The Local List had been compiled by York Open Planning Forum, with help from Council Officers, after nominations from the public.
Unfortunately for the Local List, the Local Plan was not adopted and the List did not become part of Supplementary Planning Guidance.
The List is planned to cover those places, buildings, etc. which cannot be added to the Historic England grades, but which local people would like see given some protection. This protection would not be the same as that given by an HE listing but would mean that local views could be heard in the event of a planning application or similar being submitted.
It is understood that the present Council would like see a Local List in force and money has been allocated in the present budget to progress it.
Because of this, those of us responsible for the List are updating it, obtaining photographs, making sure the places are still there and determining whether there have been any other changes or any more information is required. Original nominations came from many sources including Parish Councils, local people, Village Design Statement compilers, local history groups and many others. In some cases the original nominator is no longer with us. In such cases we shall try to contact local groups who may be able to help. This could mean your local group being asked to assist and if this happens we hope you will answer our requests or tell us who can.
We are also able to accept new nominations, see our website (www.yorklocal list.org.uk) for details and a nomination form.
Submitted by Alec Acomb for the York Open Planning Forum
The next TYP meeting
The next, planned, TYP meeting will be held on Saturday 10 September 2016, starting at 2pm. It will be hosted by the Cawood Castle Garth Group. Agenda and details of location will be circulated by the Group in August 2016. If Group representatives have any agenda items for the meeting they should contact the Cawood Group. Contact: Margaret Brearley at [email protected]
This newsletter is distributed to member groups and other interested organisations.
It has been edited by Ted Kendall and Catrina Appleby and it is included in the TYP website.
Comments and enquiries may be sent to the various Groups’ contacts where given, or to Ted Kendall at: [email protected] or telephone 01904 338610.