We are delighted to welcome you to our new blog. We’ll be sharing some of the amazing stories from North Yorkshire’s past to be found amongst the five miles of archive collections that we hold. We’ll give you an insight into those collections; how we look after them, with the help of our dedicated team… Read More Welcome to our blog
The life and work of 19th-century geologist Martin Simpson is the topic of this blog post. An exhibition of related archive material originally formed part of our 2026 Archives Discovery Day, ‘North Yorkshire: A Living Landscape’ and is on display at North Yorkshire Archives from 1 September to 27 November 2026.… Read More Martin Simpson – North Yorkshire Rocks
This blog post explores records in North Yorkshire Archives reflecting the popularity of natural history and floriography in the 19th and 20th centuries. An exhibition of related archive material originally formed part of our 2026 Archives Discovery Day, ‘North Yorkshire: A Living Landscape’ and is on display at North Yorkshire Archives from 1 September to 27 November 2026.… Read More Botanical Notes and Sketches: Natural History and Floriography in the Archives
Link to website → Tithe Maps Project by Mia Cox, Archivist We recently launched our Tithe Maps Website, the result of an ongoing project that started in 2020 to transcribe and digitise the tithe maps and apportionments we hold here at North Yorkshire Archives. We look after around 370 tithe awards, and currently over 300… Read More North Yorkshire Tithe Maps Website
A project to catalogue the archive of the Graham family of Norton Conyers was undertaken between 2015 and 2016. This post provides an overview of the collection and links to a series of previous blog posts that were originally posted on a separate blog site during the life of the project and which have now been brought within nycroblog.com.… Read More Attics and Acres project
In our latest exhibition, whether in person or online, you can explore how fields and their boundaries have shaped the countryside from the medieval period to the present day, and discover the hidden history of North Yorkshire’s landscape using a selection of historic maps and documents from the archives.… Read More Exhibition: Fields in the Landscape
Read all about the Rowntrees of Scarborough collection, containing a window into the world of retail in times gone by including a wealth of information on life as an employee as well as some curiosities!… Read More Rowntrees of Scarborough
This post features a selection of artwork from the 18th-and 19th-century sketchbooks of two talented, amateur artists that are held in the Archives. Thomas Orde (1746-1807) drew portraits and cartoons of friends, family and society ladies. Henrietta Matilda Crompton (1793-1881) sketched and painted the local landscape on her visits to the country estates of family and friends, and on excursions around Yorkshire and further afield.… Read More North Yorkshire Archive Treasures: Art in the archive
This post explores lead mining through a variety of records held by North Yorkshire Archives. Lead mining took place across Arkengarthdale and Swaledale, as well as parts of Nidderdale, Wensleydale, and Wharfedale. Lead mining has played a crucial part in the economy, industry and geography of the area.… Read More North Yorkshire Archive Treasures: lead mining in the Dales
By Mia Cox, Archivist In 2012, thanks to a grant awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, North Yorkshire Archives opened up the Cochranes of Selby Archive [ZZU] – cleaning, listing, and repackaging a significant amount of the collection. Alongside this we held outreach events for local groups and schools with the help from a great… Read More Cochranes of Selby
In a previous post, we explored the types of documents that form the working papers of the North Riding Quarter Sessions. This post focuses on an unusual set of documents that appeared in bundles for the Christmas and Midsummer Sessions of 1783. In January and July 1783, parish constables reported on the use of land for growing tobacco.… Read More Tobacco growing in the Vale of York in 1783
