Perceptions of mental health and its treatment have changed enormously over the past 250 years. This #WorldMentalHealthDay we're pleased to announce you can now view records from 3 of York's historic psychiatric hospitals online: Bootham Park, Clifton and The Retreat discover.york.ac.uk/collections/

Explore the strange, unsettling tale of Hannah Beswick, the 18th-century woman whose body was preserved and placed on display in Manchester. Long wrapped in folklore as the 'Manchester Mummy', author Hannah Priest reveals the truth: open.spotify.com/episode/4hsi... @uoyborthwick.bsky.social

New Podcast Alert!! Out of the Archive Box, our Borthwick podcast, is BACK! Join Access & Digital Engagement Archivist @Lauray-archives.bsky.social as she chats to Hannah Priest, author of 'Unburied: The True Story of Hannah Beswick, the Manchester Mummy' about her research! buff.ly/HHS9V4o.

It's 1st October and time for the latest edition of the Borthwick Newsletter! This month we feature 4 new catalogues, 3 new podcasts, some early comedy scripts, and a look behind the scenes of the famous Jorvik Viking Centre. www.york.ac.uk/borthwick/ne...

Our new Borthwick Paper podcast is now available for your listening pleasure - Ruby Hogan examines changing conceptions of childhood, 1870-1914, through the archives of the Mount School, York, here at the Borthwick. open.spotify.com/episode/0S8P...

This painting was created by George Isaac Sidebottom, a patient at The Retreat psychiatric hospital in York from 1894-1912. It shows the hospital grounds and some of the pastimes available to patients - with 4 dogs, a rat (?) and an elusive cat included for today's #OnlineArtExchange animal theme!

Love books? Us too! From now until 3rd October there’s a chance to get your hands on some of the Borthwick's back catalogue - with all available stock 50% off. Browse online or pop by our searchroom in person. On Friday 3rd we'll be open 10am-3pm, with bundle discounts on selected titles

As it's a Victorian theme for this week's #OnlineArtExchange for @artukdotorg.bsky.social we couldn't resist adding this entertaining mathematical sketch from one of the girls of the Mount School, York, in 1895.

Latest Ep out now. We chat about the road trip to the Galton & Simpson archive @uoyborthwick.bsky.social and review the Desperate Hours: linktr.ee/steppodandson

If you're in the Burton Library @uoylibrary.bsky.social, don't miss our new student-curated archives exhibition! The cases include copies of items from the Rowntree & Co archive curated by our Archives Insight Week students back in June. We had so much fun working with them on this project!

We're back at University of York Open Days with an archives display in our searchroom @uoylibrary.bsky.social! Pop in and see us on the first floor of the Burton Library to find out more about our amazing collections and how we support teaching and learning. We'll be here between 10am and 3pm!

Another fascinating item from the Alfred Peacock Archive (currently being catalogued). This small stiff piece of fabric is labelled as a relic of a German aeroplane, retrieved on 9th August 1918 at the Battle of Amiens. The design suggests the printed 'lozenge camouflage' in use from late 1916.

September is finally here and so is our latest newsletter! This month featuring The Goon Show Preservation Society, the first census, a surprise accession (often the best kind) and the charitable legacy of the remarkable Lady Elizabeth Hastings. www.york.ac.uk/borthwick/ne...

Among the records of the York Spiritualist Centre we have a fascinating album of 'spirit photographs' taken at York by William Hope in 1930 & 1932. These ghostly images purported to capture local people with their 'psychic extras', some of whom were known to the sitters #WorldPhotographyDay

Another fascinating find in the Peacock Archive - picture postcards sent home by Private Clarence Long which show life at Heuberg Prisoner of War camp. Clarence was from Bradford & joined up in 1915 but was captured at the Somme on 1st July 1916, spending the remainder of the war as a German POW.

A small surprise found tucked away in the pages of this First World War Field Service Pocket Book this morning! The book belonged to William Thomas Benfield of the South Wales Borderers and it's part of the archive of local military historian Alfred Peacock: borthcat.york.ac.uk/pea

🚨Just a reminder that we'll be in the Yorkshire Room from 11am-1pm today with an array of documents and photographs telling the story of Joseph Rowntree. If you'd like to come along, head to the J.B. Morrell Library on the main university campus. We're through the turnstiles and then to the right 😊

Alright so it's not an animal (although animals were definitely involved) but we have an Absolute Unit* of a probate register out in our searchroom today worthy of @themerl.bsky.social *pencil pot provided for scale

As part of the Joseph Rowntree Centenary we've partnered with The Rowntree Society to curate a display of original archival documents exploring Joseph's life and legacy & we'd love you to come and see it! Drop into The Yorkshire Room any time between 11-1 this Friday 8th August to find out more🍫

It's the 1st August AND Yorkshire Day so double the reason to share what we've been up to via our brand new Borthwick Newsletter. This month we feature a new podcast, writer and actress Yvonne Mitchell, a forthcoming Joseph Rowntree display & some Borthwick lore! www.york.ac.uk/borthwick/ne...

If you're at #DCDC25 today why not come and say hello! We're taking part in this year's History Day North from 12.30-16.30, where Lydia and Laura will be ready and waiting to answer all your Borthwick history questions :)

Spotted in the parish register of St Michael le Belfrey, York. The next few pages of the register tell their own story. The clerk has hastily scribbled out the headings of multiple pre-prepared 'baptisms' and 'Weddings' columns and inserted a new heading of 'Buryalls' instead.

We have a brand new catalogue online to start a brand new week! The archive of multi-talented actress and writer Yvonne Mitchell is now available to search on Borthcat: borthcat.york.ac.uk/ymit

If you were a child of the 1970s, you may have had a copy of a small colourful book called 'But Wednesday Cried', telling the story of 7 cats named for the days of the week. The archive of its writer, the talented actress & novelist Yvonne Mitchell, includes these charming early drafts of the story.

This year The Rowntree Society have been sharing the #JR100 list to mark the centenary of Joseph Rowntree, featuring quite a few items from the Borthwick's extensive Rowntree holdings! You can read a blog about the challenge of limiting it to just 100 here: www.rowntreesociety.org.uk/researching-...

The latest Borthwick Newsletter is here - this month featuring the new catalogue of Terry's of York, the confectionery maker that gave the world the Chocolate Orange, All Gold, York Fruits - and the Oliver musical?? Find out all about this (and more) at the link: www.york.ac.uk/borthwick/ne...

If you're planning a trip to the Family History Fair in Acomb this Saturday, please come and say hello! We'll be bringing our new leaflets and pencils (as well as our enthusiastic selves) and will be very happy to talk at length about our archives and answer any and all questions about them :)

Today we're having a gander at the minute books of the Merchant Adventurers. The archive is held with our friends @uoyborthwick.bsky.social and contains documents from the 1200s to the present day. The minutes from meetings are from the 17th to the late 20th century. A short thread...

When you work with parish records you get used to seeing a lot of interesting historical names, but we particularly enjoyed spotting 'Boylling Knight' in the register of St Michael le Belfrey. It seems especially apt given the mini heatwave we're having here in Yorkshire! 🌞🌞🥵

#ICYMI An interview with our very own @gbrannanarchive.bsky.social featured on BBC Breakfast this morning, following a visit by the cast of The Last Laugh to see our Eric Morecambe archives on Wednesday. Thanks to Tom Ingall from BBC Look North for the report! 1/2

If you're suffering from the high pollen count at the moment, spare a thought for the days before antihistamines. OTD in 1832 Henrietta Crewe wrote to her sister to lament the effects of her annual 'Hay Cold' which kept her mostly indoors for weeks with coughing, sneezing, headaches & giddiness.

Celebrate the comedic genius of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson (Hancock’s Half Hour and Steptoe and Son) at an event showcasing the archive acquired by the University of York in 2024. Innit Marvellous? The world of Hancock and Steptoe - 8 Jun yorkfestivalofideas.com/2025/calenda...

June is finally here - which means so is the new Borthwick newsletter! Read all about our latest accessions, catalogues, conservation news, and events - as well as our appeal to save the archive of comedy legends Ray Galton and Alan Simpson... www.york.ac.uk/borthwick/ne...

A fundraising campaign has been launched by @york.ac.uk @uoyalumni.bsky.social @uoyborthwick.bsky.social to secure the archive of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson - the comedy script writing duo inventing the British sitcom. Find out more & help us secure the archives: yustart.hubbub.net/p/galtonands...

A lot of pupils in the UK will be doing exams this week, and it's important to keep them in perspective. Unlike the young S.R. Macluskie of the Mount School, York, who left us this fulsome memorial to an embarrassing maths mistake in the 1920 school magazine...

If you're in York and free this Saturday 17th May, why not join in with this fantastic project? It draws on the archive of The Retreat hospital, which you can search online: borthcat.york.ac.uk/ret

Just a quick reminder that our archives reading room is closed for the bank holiday on Monday 5th May. The microform room will be open on a self-service basis between 8am and 9.30pm. We'll be back open as usual on Tuesday 6th May, from 9.30am. Have a good weekend everyone!

Spring has definitely Sprung and so has our new Borthwick newsletter. Featuring new accessions, catalogues, a new exhibit and podcast, and a glimpse into the home life the 19th century Archbishop Thomson of York - including his daughter Ita and family dog Scamp... www.york.ac.uk/borthwick/ne...

We're pleased to say that our online catalogue Borthcat is now back up and running: borthcat.york.ac.uk Rest assured we're all celebrating with the enthusiasm of this noisy gentleman, painted by the young Laura Hannam in the early 19th century.

Our online catalogue Borthcat will be moving to a new and improved server tonight so there may be some downtime tonight and tomorrow. As always you can find most of our catalogues on the Archives Hub archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/locat... We'll let you know as soon as things are back to normal!

In 1912, as muddled reports of the Titanic's fate began circulating, the Earl of Derby wrote to his wife: 'Terrible details, the Captain, officers & crew behaved splendidly. Astor also behaved well - but here everybody is open mouthed about Ismay... he is done for with the people of Liverpool.'

Until 2023 it lived here at the Hall with the rest of our archive. However we wanted lots of people to see the charter and use our archives for research, so it now has a fancy new home @uoyborthwick.bsky.social. It still returns to the Hall for special occasions like today!

The scribe of these 1626 entries in the parish register of York, St Michael Spurriergate, took pride in their work to a whole new level 😍 [PR/Y/MS/1].

It's not an April Fool, we do actually have a new Borthwick Newsletter for you. This month we feature the return of a parish register to the Caribbean, some fantastic 19th century York sketchbooks (see York Hospitium below), new podcasts, a new exhibition, & more. www.york.ac.uk/borthwick/ne...

Blue Peter is in the news - and also in the Terry's of York archive! In 1967 the team visited the replica Terry's shop at York Castle Museum & tried some 'Conversation Lozenges' - a kind of early Love Hearts, with mottos like 'Spare My Blushes', 'Can You Polka?', 'Kiss Me Quick' & 'You Vixen' 😳

Here's a Borthwick fact for World Poetry Day! Did you know that our first Director, Canon John Stanley Purvis, was a war poet? During WW1 he published poems under the pseudonym 'Philip Johnstone'. Perhaps the most famous is High Wood (1917) which imagines a brisk battlefield tourist trade post-war.

I was delighted to have the opportunity to chat all things Isabelle German with the lovely team @kickasswomenof.bsky.social! It's amazing what you can find in the archives @uoyborthwick.bsky.social!

Reasons why employees left Terry's of York (according to the 1910s staff leavers book) Dismissed for using shovel to mix drops in sifting trough. Left to go to Rowntrees (ouch). Skylarking. Went home and did not return. Very fast. Refused to do labouring work. Caught by Police with 25 bars choc.

We hope you're as excited for Shrove Tuesday, aka Pancake Day, as these young boys of the Blue Coat School, York. The charitable school was opened in 1705 and lasted until 1947 - and in case you can't guess, it owed its name to the colour of the coats worn by its pupils!

It might be Monday again but it's also time for the brand new Borthwick newsletter! This month we feature satirical student newspapers, trade unions in Southern Africa, and what we got up to during our annual Collections Development Week... www.york.ac.uk/borthwick/ne...