Henrietta lived in Belgium between 1829 and 1836 and was a frequent guest of the Bishop of Liege, who was in 1831 the Dutch born Cornelius Richard Anton van Bommel - evidently a fan of a 'sable draught'!
You can read more about Henrietta on Borthcat:
borthcat.york.ac.uk/crewe-henrie...
Image of a delicate china tea cup and saucer with a quote overlaid by Henrietta Crewe, December 1831, 'We had a charming evening & plenty of his anything but charming strong Dutch tea, which after the fashion of his country he drinks, oh! ye powers, of a strength that frightens one! It fell to my lot to pour it out, which as it was necessary to dilute it most copiously to suit the weak taste of the Liegois ladies was no enviable task let me tell you, with a tea pot & a perforated basket (as they all have in this country) suspended from the spout which always pours forth the sable draught in too large quantities.'
It's #NationalTeaDay today. As we all know, tea strength can be a very personal (some say even controversial) choice. Do you prefer yours delicate and mild, or 'of a strength that frightens one' - like that experienced by Henrietta Crewe in this 1831 letter from our Milnes Coates Archive...
This funded PhD will use one of our recent accessions, the archive of Fair Trade pioneer Robin Murray. More details at the link below...
Olivia @uoyarchaeology.bsky.social explores York’s #antiapartheid solidarity with South Africa’s liberation through @uoyborthwick.bsky.social archive materials shown w. Kaplan’s art in 'All Shall Be Afforded Dignity!'
'til 30/04, Thin Ice Press #York
@actsa-uk.bsky.social @aamarchives.bsky.social
Photograph of Terrance Dicks' BBC ID badge, valid to December 1988, lying on top of Doctor Who magazines and proof covers of his Target novelisations.
Novelist and Doctor Who legend Terrance Dicks was born on this day in 1935! His extensive archive is one of our newest and most popular additions.
borthcat.york.ac.uk/tdic
That's so great to hear! Probate and cause papers working together to fill in some gaps in the family tree 😊
Black and white newspaper advertisement showing a kitten and a bottle of milk next to a 4 finger Kit Kat. The slogan says 'It's thick with real full-cream milk chocolate!'
Colour advertisement showing a kitten asleep next to a pint of milk. In front of the kitten is a Kit Kat in a red wrapper. The slogan says 'Milk Chocolate Plus!'
The milk chocolate Kit Kat returned after the war but the name 'Chocolate Crisp' did not and it was forever after known as just 'Kit Kat' - as advertised by the adorable Kitty the Cat in these advertisements from the late 1940s and early 1950s.
A dark blue Rowntree's Kit Kat wrapper with an explanation stating that the milk chocolate version of the Chocolate Crisp will be unavailable until after the war.
It wasn't until the Second World War that that name 'Chocolate Crisp' was dropped entirely and Kit Kat took over. At first it was used as the name of a plain milk version, sold in a blue wrapper as a replacement for the Chocolate Crisp while milk was rationed. But then it seems to have stuck.
Red and cream Kit Kat Chocolate Crisp wrapper, dated 1938.
A newspaper advertisement from 1938 promoting the 'Chocolate Crisp - nicknamed "Kit Kat".
Nor was the Kit Kat chocolate wafer called the Kit Kat to begin with. It began life as the Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp in 1935 and only acquired the 'nickname' of Kit Kat two years later
Page from a Rowntree sales catalogue showing an open box of 'Kit-Cat Chocolates', with two further closed boxes of the same, wrapped with a light green ribbon.
Here's a Fun Kit Kat Fact for your Friday - it was NOT the first Rowntree product to use the name! Before the delicious chocolate wafer we know and love, there was a Kit-Cat Chocolate assortment sold from 1915-1932.
A display case containing 10 examples of Kit Kat wrappers, most are red but there are also two blue wrappers, a green wrapper and a black wrapper. There is also a photograph of a shop window in the 1930s advertising the new Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp and a small information board setting out the history of the Kit Kat.
We were pleased to be invited to the unveiling of a @yorkcivictrust.bsky.social blue plaque at the former Rowntree's Cocoa Works on Haxby Road today. The event had a distinct Kit Kat theme so we made sure to take along some examples of historic packaging from the archive. Which ones do you remember?
In case you missed it, we had an eventful Easter! 16 million of our records, including our massive collection of wills, are now available to search and view on Ancestry.com (and can be accessed for free onsite at the Borthwick).
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Photograph of a very dapper looking chick in a scarf, top hat and monocle, holding a cane, riding on a ribbon wrapped easter egg. The words 'Rowntree & Co Ltd, York' can be seen in the top right.
Heading back into the office after the Easter weekend...
Although our archive reading room is closed over the Easter weekend, why not explore our newly launched collections - we’d love to hear what you find!
www.ancestry.co.uk/search/colle...
Our monthly newsletter is slightly later than usual - we wanted to tie in all our exciting news with the launch of our probate registers and Bishops’ Transcripts onto Ancestry! The probate collection is our Archive of the Month - read on to find out more
www.york.ac.uk/borthwick/ne...
A manuscript page with a large initial R formed to two intertwined dragons
Today we've launched our digitised Probate Registers and Bishops' Transcripts collections onto Ancestry. Together that's 16 million records covering 1389-1858 - these can be accessed via a subscription to Ancestry or for free here at the Borthwick!
www.ancestry.co.uk/search/colle...
Signal boosting this one - the deadline is 10th April so you still have time to get an application in if you're interested!
Two cut out illustrations of the Beatles drum kit on card.
Sheet with 2 sets of 3 guitar stickers affixed to it: an electric, a bass and an acoustic.
And here's some close ups to save you squinting.
Sessions of York originated with Quaker William Alexander in 1811. In 1865 the business was sold to a young William Sessions, who had come to York to serve an apprenticeship with grocer Joseph Rowntree.
borthcat.york.ac.uk/sessions-of-...
Photograph of a piece of paper on which is handwritten 'In 1963-64 The Beatles were Top of the Pops. When they returned from USA 10,000 teenagers besieged London airport etc. For a toy firm we produced these little cards for the Beatles Drum Kits & also these intricate guitar labels for sticking onto tiny cut-out plastic shapes - some for export to USA'. Beside the page is a sheet with 2 sets of 3 guitar stickers affixed to it and besides that are two cut out illustrations of the Beatles drum kit on card.
A fab little discovery today as we continue to list the archive of printing firm, Sessions of York. These drum kit cards and guitar stickers were made by Sessions for a toy firm in the early 1960s - intended for fans of some little known band called 'The Beatles'😉
Page from an illuminated Book of Hours showing the Virgin Mary in a blue robe kneeling before a table covered in a gold cloth and on which a book is placed. The Angel Gabriel, also in gold, kneels opposite her, with more angels behind him, and his arm raised. A white dove flies towards Mary. The border is decorated in a gold, red, blue and green pattern.
So Happy (Old) New Year to you - and we'll leave you with this beautiful miniature illuminated painting of Mary's meeting with the Angel Gabriel (the Annunciation), taken from a 16th century Book of Hours in our Takamiya Fragments Collection.
Lady Day has been known to cause confusion for researchers when working out dates. A document dated '16 February 1612' for example is likely to be dated 16 February 1613 in our modern calendar! It's why archival catalogues often record two years in the date field, eg. '16 February 1612/13'.
Lady Day was one of four 'Quarter Days' in the calendar so it is often noted as a date when rents or other payments are due. Even now the tax year still begins on 'Old Lady Day' (5th, later 6th April), as adjusted for the 11 days lost due to the switch to the new Gregorian calendar in 1752.
Section of a lease showing the words 'the feaste of thannuncacon of oure Lady next' in neat secretary hand.
Today is March 25th, also known as Lady Day (or the 'Feast of the Annunciation of Our Lady' as written in this 16th century lease from the archive of @merchantshallyork.org). Until 1752 this day marked the start of the new year in England and Wales and it pops up frequently in archival records.
A fantastic new exhibition, drawing on materials from our Southern African and University Archive collections to showcase the art of anti-apartheid activist Norman Kaplan. Open until 30th April at our old home of St Anthony's Hall in central York.
Close up of an ornately decorated capital I, taken from Archbishop's Register 28 in the Archdiocesan Archive.
🚨FIXED TERM ARCHIVE JOB KLAXON🚨
We are looking for an experienced archivist to develop and implement a scoping project to re-catalogue and make available the York Archdiocesan Archive (6 months full time, or 12 months part time).
Full details at the link:
jobs.york.ac.uk/vacancy/proj...
And for those who don't know, we are of course referring to his breaking news...
filmisfabulous.org.uk/missing-doct...
Photograph of typescript front pages of the camera scripts for Episode One: The Nightmare Begins, and Episode 3: Devil's Planet, from the 1965 Doctor Who serial 'The Daleks' Master Plan'.
Welcome back 👀(if you know, you know).
Photographed in our Terrance Dicks Archive #DoctorWho
In 1817 Aberford became part of the new system of National Schools offering elementary education to all children, and today it is a Church of England Primary School. You can find these records and more in our parish archives online: borthcat.york.ac.uk/parish-records #SchoolArchivesDay
List of purchases for the school in 1763, including Bibles, Testaments, Psalters, Common Prayer books, and Watts' Songs for Children.
In 1717-1718 the school purchased Bibles, testaments and catechisms for teaching, but gradually other books begin to appear - 'London Spelling Books' in 1722, 'Watts' Songs for Children' in 1763, and 'The Whole Duty of Man' in 1765, along with caps and haircuts for the boys and aprons for the girls.
The book shows that boys were taught writing, grammar, arithmetic and (in some cases) Latin. It is less clear what the girls were taught, all references to purchases of paper and ink are 'for the boys', with no paper bought specifically for girls until much later.
