About the project

In 2015, North Yorkshire County Record Office (now known as North Yorkshire Archives) was awarded £96,300 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), to catalogue and open up access to the hitherto unseen archive of the Graham family of Norton Conyers. Partnership funding was also generously supplied by the Friends of the National Libraries and Northallerton and District Local History Society.

A selection of documents from the Graham Family of Norton Conyers archive [ZKZ]

The Attics and Acres Project provided an exciting opportunity to explore the heritage of the region’s landed estates by making this untapped resource accessible to the public through outreach events and exhibitions, thus encouraging people to learn about, and celebrate, their own local heritage and its relevance in the national sphere.

Under the guidance of project archivist Maxine Willett, a dedicated team of volunteers helped to document the collection. As the project progressed through 2015 and 2016, regular updates were provided through a blog, sharing the discoveries that had been made and particular items and stories of interest. These blog posts can be viewed via the links below, and/or by following the ‘Next’ button on each page.

Attics and Acres project blog posts 2015-2016

• What’s in a name?
• Decay and dilapidations
• Alms-houses and A B C
• Festive frolics
• From Latin documents to Pontefract cakes
• ‘I’ve been at Mr Bull’s’
• Familial ties
• Teasing out the truth
• Games people play
• If you could just sign here
• Blacklands House
• Lady Day
• The Mint and a master
• The Brontë connection
• Proverbial phrases
• Surrender the straw
• A hand bag!
• Viva Villiers: Archival research throws new light on an old story
• Celebrating project volunteers
• Seasonal sentiments
• Attics and Acres project exhibition banners
• Other highlights from the Graham family collection

Accessing the online catalogue

A summary overview of the collection can be found in our online catalogue under reference ZKZ. Access to details of specific items can be gained through the search functions, or via the ZKZ hierarchical list, which can be expanded by clicking on the plus [+] signs. Clicking on blue hyperlinks in the online catalogue will open up particular record entries.

Screenshots from North Yorkshire Archives’ online catalogue showing extracts from the summary description of collection ZKZ; the expandable hierarchical tree and the specific record entry for item ZKZ 1/1 (catalogue powered by Axiell CalmView © 2008-2026).

Overview of the collection

The records within the Graham family archive, a sample of which are shown here, relate to the North Yorkshire estates of the Graham family encompassing Norton Conyers, located just outside of Ripon, Melmerby, Nunnington near Helmsley, and Pickhill amongst others. There are also papers from estates further afield at Kippax, West Yorkshire and Bowland, Lancashire. There are a small number of medieval deeds, but the majority of the papers date from the 16th to the 20th centuries; the collection is particularly rich in 17th- and 18th-century material. Accordingly, the archive is relevant to the history of both North and West Yorkshire over five centuries.

Patent of Baronetcy granted to Richard Graham, creating him the first Baronet of Norton Conyers, 1662. This came soon after the restoration of the monarchy. The illustration used across the top of the document indicates its importance as much as its size [ZKZ]

Both King Charles I and King James II are said to have stayed at Norton Conyers. The author Charlotte Bronté is reputed to have taken inspiration from this historic house as a model for Thornfield Hall and, in particular, Mrs Rochester’s room, in Jane Eyre.

Extensive personal papers and correspondence give a clear insight of Graham family life through the ages. Other notable records include papers relating to the purchase of the estate in the 1620s, a fine Pickhill survey of 1765, early-18^th-century court rolls, and the Grant of the Manor to Sir Simon Musgrave, 1574.  An autograph album contains letters from the poet Lord Byron, artist Sir Joshua Reynolds and American politician Jefferson Davis. Other notable manuscripts include a letter signed by King Charles II whilst in exile, requesting a loan for £200 (see below).

Letter from King Charles II to Richard Graham, 1st Baronet, requesting a loan of £200. This demonstrates that the loyalty of the first Norton Conyers Baronet was in no question. It is signed off: ‘your loving friend Charles R’. Dated Brussels, 14 January 1660, it was written during the future King Charles II’s exile. Whether the loan was ever paid back is another matter… [ZKZ]

Nunnington Hall, near Helmsley, another very important North Yorkshire house, now a National Trust property, passed to the Norton Conyers branch of the Graham family in the mid-18th century. It remained in their ownership until 1839, when debts forced its sale. Surviving documents include rentals, details of renovations, court rolls of 1632 and 1639, and title deeds from the late-medieval period onwards.

The Kippax Manor records include court rolls from the time of King Henry VIII, plus later colliery accounts as well as Slingsby and Cage family correspondence. For properties in Bowland, there is an important group of rentals, accounts and letters from the earlier part of the 18^th century.