On Tuesday the venerable prelate consecrated the [new] church and churchyard …. at Ardsley, whence his Lordship proceeded, shortly after 2 o'clock, by railway, to the palace at Bishopthorpe, accompanied by the Rev. W. H. Dixon, one of his Grace's chaplains [and vicar of Bishopthorpe].  Before dinner the Archbishop took a walk in the fields in the vicinity of the palace, accompanied by Mr. Dixon, and as they were crossing an ancient drain, arm in arm, the united weight of the two gentlemen caused the arch of the drain to give way, and they both instantly plunged into the filthy water and mud beneath, almost up to their chests. 

Fortunately, Mr. Egerton Harcourt, one of his Grace's sons, who was walking at a short distance in the rear of the two reverend personages, witnessed the occurrence and immediately hastened to their assistance.  Owing to the perpendicular construction of the drain, their release was a matter of some difficulty; but we are happy to say that it was effected without other injury, either to the venerable prelate or to his chaplain, than what may arise from their sudden and involuntary immersion. 

After undergoing the requisite lustration and changing his apparel, his Grace partook of dinner as usual, and was, we understand, not a little jocose upon the consternation which their sudden intrusion into the domains of the frogs and tadpoles must have occasioned the reptiles in the vicinity of the accident. 

His Grace consecrated the new church at Clifford on the following day (Wednesday); and we are glad to be able to say that his Grace had not experienced any unpleasant consequences from the accident. 

Indeed, the Archbishop's accident did not appear to have caused him any harm whatsoever.  He lived for a further five years, dying at Bishopthorpe Palace on 5th November 1847 at the age of 90, having served as northern primate for a record 40 years. 

The Times, 14 June 1842, p4.

York Herald, 18 June 1842, p2. 

THE HISTORY OF THE ALLOTMENTS begins with an 18^th century Enclosure Act. At this time, allotment meant a piece of land given to a parish or manor official in exchange for rights and holdings held in the open fields system. 

In 1760, an enclosure act was drawn up for Bishopthorpe in which 2 acres 1 rood and 2 perches of land on the ings were given freehold to the “Trustees of Bishopthorpe Poor”. We do not know exactly what happened to this land, but on the Ordnance Survey map of 1851, which was surveyed in 1846, there is an area shown as "Field Garden Allotments".

 

In January 1895, the first meeting of the Bishopthorpe Parish Council took place. The early minutes were concerned with the provision of allotments. Various land owners were contacted to see if they would let land for this purpose. At the March meeting of the Parish Council, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners replied offering several fields including fields 119 and 126 shown on the O. S. map of 1893. These two fields became the present garden allotments. 

Allotment Holders Societies

The first record of one of these societies that we have in Bishopthorpe is in the Robin Hill Collection.  This tells us that in 1948 there was a Bishopthorpe Allotment Holders and Gardeners Association with 153 members. This seems quite a large number considering the size of the village at the time. Members paid 1s 6d (8p) per year. For this, they were able to buy supplies at favourable prices. There were seed potatoes at 3s (15p) per stone, vegetable and flower seeds, hop manure, artificial and organic manures ranging from basic slag at 1s (5p) per stone to fish guano at 5s 9d (32p) a stone; and lime at 1s 6d (8p) for a cwt bag. The secretary was H. Roberts and as well as organising the sales, he arranged several social events. There were film shows and lectures, an outing in 1948 to Sledmere Hall, a social evening with whist (to which members could take ONE lady), a ventriloquist, refreshments and dancing. 

But the big events were the Annual Shows. These took place in the Reading Room, now the Village Hall.  One such Show was held on Saturday, September 4, 1948.  There were 34 classes for vegetables, fruit, flowers and preserves and one class for children under 15 years for a posy or display of wild flowers. It must have been quite a formal affair and was opened by Lt. Col. W. F. Tyndale G.M.G., D.S.O., J.P. Each class had three prizes of 3s (15p), 2s (10p), and 1s (5p), and 12 special prizes of 5s (25p) were given also, but the top prize was 10s (50p) for the best potatoes. At the end of the show, the exhibits were sold.  

Tom Evans (1919 - 2004)

Tom Evans has left the Bishopthorpe Archive a lot of information about the allotments. He was a very successful allotment holder, winning prizes for his vegetables during the 1960s. He served on the committee of the Bishopthorpe Gardens Guild and was also the Honorary Secretary of the Bishopthorpe Social Club, Allotment and Garden Section. 

When the Church Commissioners wanted to terminate the lease for the allotments in 1968, he fought passionately to prevent this.  Tom enlisted help from the National Allotments and Gardens Society Ltd. and the Parish Council to see if two fields on Acaster Lane (126 and 139) could be registered as a common. In the same year, he also formed the Allotments and Garden section of the Bishopthorpe Social Club one aim of which was to, “form a united front to obtain security of tenure for allotment holders”. It is not clear from his notes how successful this action was, but plans to terminate the lease for field 126 seem to have been abandoned, whilst field 139 was built on as part of Keble Park. 

However, in 1990 planning permission was sought for the building of houses on the Appleton Road allotments (field 119) as there were many vacant plots. After considerable negotiation between the planners, Church Commissioners and the Parish Council, development was granted on part of the site which is now The Orchard.  It was recommended that the Church Commissioners should transfer ownership of the rest of the site to the Parish Council thus ensuring that the land should remain as allotments “so long as it is required for that purpose or some other form of public space”. 

Diana Forrester 

Sources:

Parliamentary Enclosure Act for Bishopthorpe of 1760.

Allotment Rent Books 1931 to 1980 and Parish Council Minutes 1895. (Bishopthorpe Parish Council).

The Robin Hill Collection and Tom Evans Collection. (Bishopthorpe Archives).              

IN FEBRUARY, Elaine Pearce, Secretary of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, wrote to the vicar of St. Andrew's Church to inform him that the Bishopthorpe War Memorial had been designated a listed structure.  The reasons for the Grade II listing were given as follows: 

• It forms a poignant reminder of the effects of tragic world events on this local community.

• It is a well-designed monument by a well-known architect, Walter Brierley.

• It is made of high-quality materials, executed with excellent craftsmanship.

• It has group value with the adjacent church, Archbishop's Palace and other designated buildings.

• Its proximity to and historic association with the Archbishop of York's Palace gives it added significance.
  

The memorial now joins several other listed buildings in the village that enjoy the protection of the law.  These include Bishopthorpe Palace, St. Andrew's Church, houses in Chantry Lane and The Ebor.  For a roll of these buildings, click onto the history site here. 

The memorial joins several listed buildings and structures in the village.  These include Bishopthorpe Palace, St. Andrew's Church, several houses in Chantry Lane and The Ebor.  English Heritage has recently made its database of listed buildings available online.  To view those in the village key  in "Bishopthorpe" on the Heritage Gateway site here.  (The War Memorial has not yet been added to the site,) 

Linda

Edward Anson, an adult negroe[sic], baptised in the Archbishop's Chapel. 

Black people were not always identified in the records so this entry in the parish register is unusual in itself.  So who was Edward Anson?  By 1796, he was not likely to have been a slave here, in Britain.  The fight to abolish the slave trade was quickly gaining ground and the work of campaigners such as William Wilberforce M. P. and Granville Sharp (grandson of former Archbishop of York, John Sharp [1691 - 1714]), received much support. 

Edward Anson's name is hardly of African origin, which indicates that he or his forebears were likely to have once been slaves, probably in the West Indies where it was not unusual for them to be renamed by their masters.  Estate owners from the West Indies frequently brought their household slaves to Britain to work as servants, so it could be that this is what happened to Anson.

If that was the case, why was he in Bishopthorpe?  Did he work for Archbishop William Markham [1777-1807], or one of his visitors, or a member of his family?  It is interesting to note that, at that time, two of the Archbishop's children had connections with the West Indies and possibly had the opportunity to bring black people to the Palace. 

First, the Archbishop's son, John Markham, a naval officer, was sent out to the West Indies in May 1795 in the Hannibal.  The following year - the year of the baptism - he was invalided and returned home to England. 

Second, in March 1797, Elizabeth, the Archbishop's daughter and her husband, William Barnett of Aberford, were at the Palace where their eldest son was baptised (at St. Andrew's Church on this occasion).  From this entry in the parish register, we learn that Elizabeth's father-in-law, the Honourable William Barnett, was "of the Island of Jamaica".  Was either party responsible for bringing Edward Anson to the christening in the Chapel? 

The above suggestions are, admittedly, a matter of conjecture, but are plausible.  The baptism raises a number of  intriguing questions, but provides no easy answers!  Let us hope that Edward Anson spent a contented life, whatever his circumstances.  One thing that is certain: the Act of 1807 ensured it was illegal for British ships to trade in slaves and eventually led, in July 1838, to the freedom of enslaved people in the British Caribbean.

For more information on Black History, visit the exhibition site at The National Archives http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/

Linda Haywood

Sources:

The Parish Registers of Bishopthorpe

Dictionary of National Biography: John Markham and Granville Sharp

James Walvin, Black Ivory: A History of British Slavery ( London, 1992)

2 January 1907 [Yorkshire Gazette] 

Ouse in Flood

A wild snow storm had hit the area welcoming in the New Year.  This was followed by a quick thaw and consequently the Ouse flooded during the night of the 2nd January.  The river rose rapidly the next morning, rising in the city at a rate of 1 foot per hour.  Heavy rain then fell, clearing the remaining snow.  The following day, the water rose to 9 feet above the summer level;  by the 4th January, the flood was  subsiding. 

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January 1907 [Yorkshire Gazette] 

Bread & Water in the Workhouse

At a meeting of the York Joint Board of Guardians, the Workhouse Master reported that 100 vagrants had, during the month, returned to the Union the same day as they were discharged and occupied the tramp ward.  The Workhouse Committee, therefore, resolved that in all cases during the winter months where vagrants returned on the day of their discharge, they should be served with bread and water instead of gruel.

 Bishopthorpe Poor Law Guardian, John H. Shouksmith.

 [Photo: Thanks to Mrs. K. Shouksmith.]

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12 January 1907 [Yorkshire Gazette]

Meeting of The Hunt

 The York and Ainsty Hunt to meet 12 January at Naburn Ferry at 10.45 a.m.

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4 February 1907 [Yorkshire Gazette and Bishopthorpe Parish Magazine]

Evils of Betting: Mr. Seebohm Rowntree at Bishopthorpe Palace

The sociologist, businessman and Quaker, Mr. B. Seebohm Rowntree, gave “a most able and deeply interesting lecture” on “The Evils of Betting and Gambling”, in the large hall at Bishopthorpe Palace.  The event was hosted by Archbishop & Mrs Maclagan. 

In 1901, Seebohm Rowntree published, Poverty: a Study of Town Life, based on the poor of York, and four years later in 1905, he edited the publication, Betting and Gambling. 

In his talk, which was warmly received, Mr. Rowntree suggested that gambling was the effect of underlying causes.  He argued that what was wanted were better living conditions and increased wages so that men would be enabled to live a life of adequate fullness.  One thing that would have a great effect would be to give men better housing with gardens.  He felt that every town should have an anti-gambling society, and that meetings should be held to expose the folly of those lads who put their "bob" on horses. 

Bishopthorpe vicar, Rev. Pennyman, expressed thanks to Mr. Rowntree and said he hoped they would be able to tell him some day soon that they had an anti-gambling society in Bishopthorpe.

Writing of this event in the Bishopthorpe Parish Magazine, Rev. Pennyman described what occurred following the talk:

"A general move was made towards the tea-room where a very tempting looking table was prepared, adorned with all manner of dainties.”  The evening was rounded off with “sweet music” from the Choral Society which performed under considerable difficulties as the gas lighting, "which had up till now only been moderately and as usual bad, began to flicker and splutter and perform sundry gymnastical movements suggestive of an expiring nature, which plunged the room into oft-repeated semi-darkness: however, we all did our best."

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5 February 1907 [Bishopthorpe Parish Council Minutes]

The Parish Drain
It was announced that for the first time a Special Rate had been ordered by the Rural District Council. This it was explained was to defray the cost of erecting air shafts to the parish drain [in Main Street].

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23 February 1907 [Yorkshire Gazette]

Diphtheria Closes the School

The Archbishop of York's School was closed for three weeks on account of an outbreak of diphtheria in the village.  Dr. Raimes, the District Medical Officer reported to the Bishopthorpe Rural District Council, that the death rate for the district in January had been 24 per 1,000 per annum.  There had been two cases of diphtheria in Bishopthorpe and both were removed to Acomb Fever Hospital.  Dr. Raimes had to close the building because one of the patients was a child who attended the school.  

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23 February 1907 [Yorkshire Gazette and Bishopthorpe Parish Magazine]

Cross Erected to Canon Keble in St. Andrew's Churchyard

The parishioners of Bishopthorpe erected a cross to the memory of Canon J. R. Keble, who had died four years earlier in February 1903.  Rev. Keble was vicar of Bishopthorpe from 1891 until his death at the age of 46.  His grave was situated beneath the east window of St. Andrew's Church, where the eight-foot carved cross was placed.  A chaplain to, and long-standing friend of Archbishop Maclagan, he also wrote the History of the Parish and Manor-House of Bishopthorpe, which was published posthumously in 1905. 

Canon Keble's wife, Florence, wrote to St Andrew’s churchwardens thanking all her friends at Acaster and Bishopthorpe for erecting such a "beautiful" cross on her husband’s grave.  The designer was York sculptor G. W. Milburn.

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12 January 1907  [Yorkshire Gazette]

The Housewife's Notebook 

The Mode of the Moment

A Useful Laundry Hint

A good plan for holding out a rather heavy skirt after being washed is to peg it by the waist on the line, then get an old umbrella (crooked handle is the best), open it out and hang on the line in the space between the pegs.  Spread the bottom of the skirt all over it pushing the points of the ribs up a little to prevent working through the skirt.  This keeps the skirt open and lets the air through the material, and also keeps it in good shape.

Mrs. T. Meek, Scarborough Terrace, York

A Penny Stove

To keep not only the frost, but the chill night air out of your bedroom, office, or workshop, procure a common penny paraffin lamp at the oilshop.  Place this alight in a six-inch flower-pot, and invert another flower-pot upon that one.  Both will become hot, and will keep the room cosy during the bitterest night.  There will be no smoking of the lamp, and it is very inexpensive.

Mrs. J. Gaffick, 5, Cromer Street, York

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 The medieval Chapel at Bishopthorpe Palace, photographed c1905. 

In 1693, Archbishop John Sharp (1691-1714) began to write in a large book an account of the estates and revenues of the Archbishop of York.  On the last page, he compiled an inventory of the effects that belonged in the Palace Chapel.  He wrote that it was, "An Account of goods, which I Recd. And which are always to go along with the Archbishop of York".  The latter part of this statement was, unfortunately, over-optimistic. John Sharp's successor, Sir William Dawes (1714-1724), hardly had time to settle in at the Palace when his housekeeper, Mrs. Elizabeth Newton, "embezzled" a number of items.  A note to this effect was added to some of the articles within the list. 

The parish registers of Bishopthorpe reveal that the light-fingered Mrs. Newton was married to Thomas Newton, a coachman from London and, in 1715, they had a child christened in St. Andrew's church.  No subsequent events were recorded so, perhaps, the couple returned hotfoot to the capital with their booty!

In spite of this regrettable episode, Archbishop Sharp's inventory gives a colourful image of the Chapel interior in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.  The following is a transcription; comments added to the account at a later date are given in square brackets.

In the Chappel at Bishop's thorpe

Communion Plate all gilt.  A large Basin, a Chalice & Cover, A Patten, with Cases to them all. [an Ewer int-nd-d by the ArchBp & given by Sr Darcy Dawes.]
A large piece of Tapestry at the Altar, of Ananias & Sapphira &c.
A Purple Damask Covering, fring'd with Gold, for the Communion Table both lower and upper part, a Cushion and two Stools, of the same.
A Turkey work'd Carpet, on the floor within the Rails.
A Dammask Linnen Cloth & Napkin, for the Communion.
A Bible, in two Volumes, bound in blew Turkey Leather, Gilt & filleted. Folio.
Two Folio Common Prayer books.
Two Crimson stuff Curtains & two Cushions of ye same, one of Crimson Damask to lay the Common prayer book upon, the other to kneel on, in the Throne.  A Bass Vallens & 2 Curtain Rods.
A large Folio Common prayer book bound in blew Turkey Leather, Gilt, & filleted.
A Cushion to sit on.
For the Pulpit, A Purple Damask Cushion, with deep Gold fringe & Tassels.  A Bass.
For the Desk, A Purple Damask Vallen, with deep Gold fringe.  A Folio Bible, & two Folio Common prayer books [†] A Surplice & a black hood.
Two Basses, two Iron Candlesticks.
A Litany desk, cover'd with Purple Damask & Gold fringe [† embezzled by Mrs Newton housekeeper to Abp Dawes]
Seven prayer books in Folio, 2 of them large paper.  Six in quarto, besides the Chappel Clerk's, eight in Octavo.  Most of them old & pretty much worne.  Three Douzen of Large Basses, a douzen & half of smaller.

Much has been altered in the Chapel over the years and the listed property would have become worn, faded and not always replaced.  The pulpit and throne mentioned above, for example, were removed following major restoration in 1892.  Despite this - and Mrs. Newton - we are rewarded with John Sharp's detailed account which provides an insight into the lavish world of York's eighteenth-century Archbishops. 

Linda Haywood

Reference
Archbishop Sharp's Manuscript, Volume 2: Borthwick Institute: Bp.Dio2.

Glossary
Ananias:              The name of a man who 'with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession and kept back part of the price'.  (Acts v. 1,2)

Bass:                   hassock

Filleted:               Plain lines impressed on leather binding and, in the above examples, filled with gold.  

Turkey carpet:     A carpet manufactured in or imported from Turkey, or of a style in imitation of this.  It was made in one piece of richly-coloured wools, without imitative pattern and, having a deep pile, cut so as to resemble velvet.

Vallen/s:            valance

Definitions taken from the Oxford English Dictionary.



 

Dr. William Thomson, the 86th Archbishop of York, had hardly set foot in Bishopthorpe when the appearance of the village dramatically changed.  Only months following his enthronement in February 1863, the Archbishop removed the antiquated machinery which pumped water into the Palace from the murky depths of the Ouse, and built a water tower and pump house in Acaster Lane.  This, presumably, drew water from an underground spring which was probably somewhat cleaner than the supply his predecessors had used.

On his arrival in Bishopthorpe, the new Archbishop would soon have become aware of the pitiful state of his drinking water.  Three miles up river, the increasing numbers of York citizens were discharging raw sewage straight into the Ouse; not to mention the detritus from slaughterhouses, pigsties and dung heaps.   The situation had been eased in 1846 when the York New Water Works Company built a filtration works at Acomb Landing.  This meant that, happily for the inhabitants of York, their domestic water supply was extracted upstream of the city's foul outlets.   However, downstream, this was not the case with the Archbishop's household. 

It was to be many years before further utility improvements materialised in the city and, in turn, Bishopthorpe.  In 1880, the village worthies became impatient at the situation and sought to interest the directors of York New Water Works Company in laying a mains water supply.  The response to a letter from Bishopthorpe vicar Rev. Hudson was positive, but a guaranteed rental of £80 per annum was demanded.  The idea was dropped and another fifteen years passed before the Company expanded its plans to include Bishopthorpe. 

Three years later, in 1898, water was finally laid on to supply the whole village; the water tower and horse-driven pump house in Acaster Lane at last became redundant.  Archbishop Thomson had died in 1890, but would surely have welcomed such developments. Succeeding Archbishops did not find further use for the buildings, neither were they unduly bothered about what became of them.  The two buildings, therefore, remained in the village landscape resembling misplaced follies.  

Pigeons moved into the tower and made nests which were raided by young boys keen to take eggs and enjoy a furtive drag or two on a cigarette. These activities came to a head in 1935 when ten-year-old Alwyn Seward fell from the tower.  He died from his injuries in hospital the following day.  Despite this tragic event, the tower remained in place. 
 

During World War II, the Home Guard found the tower a useful place in which to store ammunition, but years of neglect had taken their toll.  Villagers were concerned about loose tiles being a danger to pedestrians.  The Ecclesiastical Commissioners now owned the two structures and W. J. Simpson, the well-known local builder, carried out repairs on their behalf as were required to make it safe.  Following the war, Mr. Simpson, who was chairman of the Parish Council, came up with an idea on how to recycle the circular, tiled roof of the pump house; after all, building materials were in short supply at the time. 

The Parish Council had been negotiating with the West Yorkshire Road Car Company over the installation of a bus shelter.  Mr. Simpson offered to reconstruct the pump house roof on to the circular pinfold wall, which was situated at the junction of Main Street and Copmanthorpe Lane, thus converting it into the much-needed shelter.  He measured both structures and knew they would be a perfect match.  However, the West Yorkshire County Council turned down the proposal telling Mr. Simpson that the shelter would constitute an encroachment and obstruct the visibility across the road.  The pinfold was eventually used as a bus stop, but the villagers went without protection from the weather.  

Following this episode, the Archbishop's water tower and pump house were demolished in July 1946.  The late Robin Hill, a former resident, recorded in his diary that the water tower was "…felled by having a hole blown out of the base on the E. side".  Apparently, the cap on top of the roof shot into the field on the opposite side of the Lane.  Mr. Hill further remarked that village opinion was divided as to whether the structures were demolished out of necessity - in order to build houses - or, that it was an act of vandalism. 

Would Archbishop Thomson have minded?  Being a man interested in science and all things mechanical, he would probably have knocked the tower down much sooner and moved on. 


Linda Haywood

email: historygroup@bishopthorpe.net 

Sources

P. M. Tillott (Ed.), Victoria County History: The City of York (1961), pp 281-286, 461.
John R. Keble, History of the Parish and Manor-House of Bishopthorpe (1905), pp 88, 30.
Rev. Hudson's letter to York New Water Works Company, 1 March 1880. 
    (Borthwick Institute PR BIS/113)
The memories of Mrs. Audrey Bastard, sister of Alwyn Seward.
Yorkshire Gazette: 31 May 1935, p5. (Report of the funeral of Alwyn Seward.)
Bishopthorpe Parish Council Minutes: 1945 - 1946
Robin Hill's Diary (Bishopthorpe Archive)
H. Kirk-Smith, William Thomson, Archbishop of York (1958), pp167-168.

   On the 18th May 2006, the restored Bishopthorpe sundial     
   was officially 'unveiled'. 
 

 

To be accurate, the explanatory plaque fixed to the shop wall was unveiled instead - as no one could be persuaded to shin up onto the Co-op roof!  Shown here are, from left to right: John Briddon, Co-op Senior Operations Manager; Stewart Harrison, Chair Bishopthorpe Parish Council; Tessa Chesworth, Manager Bishopthorpe Co-op; Michael Mathieson, Co-op; Linda Haywood, Bishopthorpe Local History Group and Brenda Lees, retired Co-op assistant.

Many well-wishers attended the unveiling ceremony - and some even stayed to have their photograph taken! 

Brenda Lees and Brian and Diana Forrester look at the historic photographs displayed outside the Co-op.  Brenda retired from the Bishopthorpe Co-op in 2000 after thirty years working there as a shop assistant.  

With many thanks to United Co-operatives for the photographs - and for restoring the sundial. 

Latitude 53° 55' 18" North, Longitude 1° 5' 45" West

Bishopthorpe Local History Group was awarded £5,000 from the Awards for All (Lottery) scheme to set up a Community Multimedia Archive.  The money enabled the Group to buy a computer, scanner and software to record photographs of Bishopthorpe people, buildings and events.  Oral reminiscences can also be included as well as cine and video footage and other memorabilia.  The aim is to present an archive created by the people who live in the community.  The result will eventually be published on a CDROM. 

The software we use is called COMMA (Community Multimedia Archive).  It was originally created by a Leeds co-operative called Storyville and first used by the Batley Community Archive in 1995.  Since then, many groups have built up similar archives in towns and villages throughout the UK and abroad including, more locally, at Poppleton and Tang Hall. The equipment is housed at Bishopthorpe Library in Main Street.

We have been working on the archive for some time and currently have about 1,200 photographs.  They range from the late 19th century to the year 2000.

How does it work? Once the material is scanned into the computer, it is catalogued and indexed thus making it easily searched by topic, name of person, place, location and date.  For example, searching an event such as the Bishopthorpe pageant will produce photographs and programmes dating from 1930 to 2000.   A local person can be followed through from childhood to adulthood and can even be identified within a group using a system called 'hot-spotting'. Photographs of buildings and streets reveal the growth and change in the village.  Creating a collection in this way reflects our cultural heritage and preserves village history for future generations.

We will continue publishing photographs from the archive on these pages. 

How can you help?

We always need help in identifying the people, places and events in photographs like the one illustrated.  The stories and memories which lie behind them are also of great interest and can be included in the 'reminiscence' sections.

In fact, we are interested in any Bishopthorpe-related material for the archive; not only photographs and slides, but also documents, newspaper articles and leaflets.  

We can be contacted through Bishopthorpe Library or:

Linda Haywood, 39 Acaster Lane, Bishopthorpe, York YO23 2SA. 

Telephone: 01904 704584

Email: