Pippa MyringDuring 2012, York 800 festival will be taking place, which is a celebration that culminates on the 9th of July of the 800th anniversary of York becoming a self-governing city. 800 years ago, King John granted York a Royal Charter, which allowed the city to elect its own council and give a voice to its people. As part of this, York Council’s Archives and Local History services are undertaking a project called A City Making History.
The Archive and Local History service has been awarded £38,400 from the National Cataloguing Grants Scheme to assist in carrying out the project. The money will be used to permanently commemorate York 800, updating the archives, which were begun by William Giles, the deputy Town Clerk, in 1909. The current paper catalogue will be replaced, and the first online database of York’s civic archives can now be created.
Richard Taylor, Archives Development Manager for City of York Council, said, “This award means that at last we have the resource to give Giles an honourable retirement by creating a fitting replacement for his pioneering work”.
The collection, which contains documents that pre-date York Minster and the City Walls, is considered an important part of the city’s identity, community, and history, and has been in constant use since its creation in 1909. The archives contain memories of thousands of York citizens, and original records from York city’s government, with the earliest record dating from 1155.
Now, A City Making History, has the opportunity to make the archives more accessible, and make it easier for more people to take a greater interest in York’s history. An online, searchable database will be created, with the archives broken down into sections with their own descriptions.
This will allow for historical research, assist learning activities, and increase the amount of people who use the archives to explore York’s heritage. Furthermore, the public will be able to stay constantly updated as the project archivist will be blogging about their experience, and any discoveries or documents which are particularly interesting. A City Making History will also be part of the York: Gateway to History HLF project at York Explore Library Leaning Centre, which will provide state of the art access to the archives.
Reinforcing the importance of these archives, Cllr Sonja Crisp, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Social Inclusion, said of the archives, “the civic archives are one of York’s most important heritage collections and are recognised as one of the most significant civic archives outside London”.
As one of only twelve successful bids to the National Cataloguing Grants Scheme, York Council’s Archives and Local History services have a fantastic opportunity to vastly improve the archives and celebrate this important part of York’s heritage.
