New exhibitions at the Record Office:
Archives at Dusk returns… for one night only!
Thursday 25th May 2023
6.00pm to 8.30pm
Free admission, no need to book
Join us for an evening of archive adventure ….
Through our fascinating archive collection, we’ll take you on the Grand Tour to 18th-century Italy, adventure through the Arctic with Thomas Blanky, enjoy the heyday of Harrogate’s Victorian spa, explore the British in India, and global trade to the Yorkshire coast.
Closer to home, we’ll be travelling Yorkshire’s highways by coach and horses, guided by early road maps and some of the first leisure guides produced. All this via a stunning collection of maps and plans which we’ll have on display throughout the building.
This year we will be joined by very special guests. Craven Museum and Gallery will transport us to Elbolton cave in the Yorkshire Dales with Neolithic archaeology & artefacts. We’ll learn about the strategic importance of the map in military history from experts from The Green Howards Museum and travel along the tracks with the Wensleydale Railway, with a chance to see original documents and artefacts and to meet some of the railway workers.
This is a rare and exciting chance to see behind the scenes at the Record Office and glimpse some of the wonderful and unique archival history on your doorstep.
Follow this link to see material that was on display for the evening
The Lure of Antiquity: 200 years of travel to Italy
Journey with us to Italy through the eyes of 18th and 19th-century travellers to visit the ancient sites of Rome and the Bay of Naples in our new exhibition at the Record Office.
25th May to 31st August 2023
Tuesday to Friday 9.30am to 4.00pm
Free admission, no need to book
See the earliest 17th-century guidebook to Italy, travel journals, diaries, sketches and correspondence; read contemporary accounts of visits to ancient sites: the Colosseum by moonlight, ancient sculpture by torchlight, Pompeii, Herculaneum and Paestum. Marvel at adventurous ascents of Mount Vesuvius to reach the fiery crater of the volcano.
See what a passport looked like in the 1800s and, in the days before planes, trains and automobiles, discover how tourists travelled, where they stayed, what they bought and who they met.
House History on tour!
If you missed our recent house history exhibition, there’s a second chance to view the display boards when they tour North Yorkshire’s libraries over the next few months. Come along for ideas, inspiration and practical advice on how to begin to research your own property.
The exhibition will visit Harrogate Library (May 2023), Ripon (June), Scarborough (July), Whitby (August), Great Ayton (September), Pickering (October), Northallerton (November), Derwent Valley Bridge (December), Stokesley (January 2024) and Thirsk (February 2024).
Look out for further details to be advertised locally.
Don’t forget to take a look at our accompanying online house history guide packed with information on how to get started on your research, the range of resources in our collections here and how to use them.
Popping up around the county!
We will be taking our pop-up archive to venues around the county this year. Each event is an opportunity to view a range of historic maps, photographs and other records relating to the local area. Archive staff will be on hand to answer any questions you may have and to offer advice and guidance. Come along and let us know what you’re researching.
In 2023, we’ll be visiting:
Skipton library: Wednesday 10 May: 10.00am to 2.00pm
Whitby library: Friday 12 May: 10.00am to 2.00pm
Richmond community library: Monday 15 May: 10.00am to 1.00pm
Newby and Scalby library: Monday 25 September
Thirsk community library: Thursday 28 September
North Yorkshire County Record Office 