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...
Wowser! This is brilliant.
And it has names of everyone listed in the will - not just the testator!
Hopefully, a chance to break down some long-standing brick walls. 🧱😁
Wow. This is quite a coup for #Ancestry. Now that all three Ridings are here, my #Findmypast subscription could become obsolete. (Although I much prefer its search)
And as a bonus the Bishops' Transcripts for Yorkshire Baptisms, Marriages & Burials (1558-1912) are there too.
Woo. A big day for #Yorkshire #Genealogy. Look what just landed on #Ancestry. 👀
Register of wills from the Prerogative & Exchequer Courts of York (1389-1858)
And they look like they're indexed with names appearing in the will, not just the testator.
Busy day ahead 😀
@uoyborthwick.bsky.social
A colour photograph of the shops on Dale Street, Ossett, in 1993. The shops include 'Ossett Cars', 'Wo Sang', and 'Carl Stuart'.
Our Twixt, Aire and Calder website is home to more than 13,500 photographs of Wakefield District in time gone by!
Here's a picture of the shops on Dale Street in Ossett, 1993.
You can view these pictures and more like them here: www.twixtaireandcalder.org.uk
#Past #History #Heritage #Pictures
We were there on a bright but chilly day at the end of November. Had the trail to ourselves. Spotted an ice cream van at the top of the hill in the middle of nowhere. I joked that he should be selling hot drinks not ice cream. And he was! Yorkshire tea of course. 🫖
#DidYouKnow over the course of 2025 we have been building Discover, our new Digital Library platform? We'll be adding to the site over the coming months, making more of our collections available wherever you are in the world! discover.york.ac.uk #EYADigital @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social
This #MapMonday let us take you back in time ⌛
We've just added first edition 6-inch to the mile Ordnance Survey maps of England and Wales to our website, published from the 1840s to 1880s. These maps are all from bound volumes.
Explore the maps > maps.nls.uk/additions/#188
This spring, new AI photo tools arrived. Genealogists experimented. Then quickly we realized: these tools don't "restore" historical photos—they may fabricate new faces.
By August, these "restorations" were everywhere, unlabeled, corrupting our shared historical record. #genealogy
And Studio Electrophonique opening proceedings. What a treat!
Photograph of books on shelves overlaid with the text 'Shop online. Browse our available titles through the Publications section of our online store https://store.york.ac.uk/product-catalogue/borthwick-institute-shop/books. Pay online, and the items will be posted out to you
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
River Foss in York, totally covered in fluorescent green algae.
The River Foss looks like it’s filled with mushy peas!
#York
Map of North Eastern Railway routes, made from tiles, on the wall at York Railways Station.
Waiting for a train at York station? There's no better way of passing the time than checking out where you used to be able to travel by train.
Not quite the whole country, just the most magnificent part. 😉
Early bird tickets are now available for the RQG Conference via Eventbrite and open to everyone, including non-members #Genealogy #FamilyHistory #RQGConf26 #Birmingham rqg-conference-2026.eventbrite.co.uk
An update from @drogersuk.bsky.social on some of our historical shorthand research, which we have been building AI/ML models to assist with. A shorthand bible from 1687 and the difficulty of symbols for very long phrases!: copperhorse.co.uk/further-work... #palaeography #earlymodern #ai #history #ml
Detailed model for a limestone carving of King Athelstan, to replace an eroded one, and to be sited high up on York Minster. He’s holding a model church (possibly the original Minster?)
Meet Athelstan.
Take in the detail while you can. He’ll soon be watching over you from the heights of York Minster.
Had a tour of the fabulous new Technology Hub & Quad today. Stunning buildings. They must brilliant to work in. 🤩
Am I too late to become a stone mason?
@yorkminster.bsky.social
Yeah. Sadly the train to the north beckoned so I had to head off. I’ll drop you a note.
I’m so jealous! Why didn’t I choose a subject that involved food?
Maybe I should switch to researching wine.
Just think of the opportunities for the ‘sampling workshops’ we could have, all in the name of academic research!!! 🧀 🍷
We don’t need a thermometer in our house.
When the coconut oil melts, that means it’s hot! 🥵
Such a devastating blow.
The tutors (including you) and staff do such a brilliant job. They cover some fascinating and often niche local and regional subjects that I can’t imagine getting picked up elsewhere.
Money is tight but there’s another type of richness that’s being lost today.
#savethedate The RQG Conference 2026 will be held on Saturday 25 April 2026 at the Birmingham & Midland Institute, Birmingham. Updates via the newsletter @RegQualGenes #Genealogy #FamilyHistory www.qualifiedgenealogists.org/2026-confere...
So if you can help - and you have all been MEGA GENEROUS lately, so absolutely no pressure, then please help. every £ nudges us closer to the target.
yustart.hubbub.net/p/galtonands...
Reflections.
Crown Point Bridge on the River Aire, Leeds.
The second in a very infrequent series!
#Leeds #Waterways
That’s fascinating. Must have been a fun discovery. It has a kind of Christmas feel about it. Not sure why. Anyway, I’ll keep eyes peeled for the reveal of the other side! 😁
Relief print by Anne Marie LeQuesne called Brief Encounter showing three people passing each other.
This is my favourite!
Oil painting of fishermen in a boat by Andrzej Khun which appears to have been painted on the back of the canvas because the hanging string is on the same side as the painting.
I’m loving the artwork in the display cabinet in @uoylibrary.bsky.social, but @artatyork.bsky.social what’s the story behind this funky piece?
It appears to be on the back of the canvas. Did the artist ‘reject’ this piece and put the main work on the other side? Or vice versa? Or something else?!
I think the roots of the post-truth era can be traced to Ancestry trees.
This has some of the tiniest writing I’ve seen. How on earth did they do that without smudging?!
(1588 voucher for reparations)
