Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society

The Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society (YAHS), known until 2015 as the Yorkshire Archaeological Society, is a learned society and registered charity,[1] founded in 1863. It is dedicated to the study of the archaeology, history and people of the three Ridings of the historic county of Yorkshire. The headquarters in Leeds houses a library of some 45,000 works, which has been described as "probably the largest single resource for research on Yorkshire's past outside the British Library";[2] and also an extensive archive, including collections of early antiquarians. It publishes an annual journal, the Yorkshire Archaeological Journal; and, particularly through its Record Series, it also functions as a text publication society.

The Society has seven special interest groups, such as the Family History or the Roman Antiquities sections. These may be joined without full membership of the main YAHS.

History

The Society was originally founded in 1863 as the Huddersfield Archaeological and Topographical Association. The initial purpose was to facilitate renewed excavations at Slack Roman fort, and later to promote interest in the history and archaeology of the Huddersfield area. The leading founding member was George Lloyd (1820–1885).[3] The society expanded its interests to cover the whole of Yorkshire in 1870. In 2015, the Society changed its name to the Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society.

The Prehistory Section

The Prehistory Section has an active programme and a regular publication for section members called The Bulletin. The aim is to bring together those with an interest in the prehistoric archaeology of the region.

The Roman Antiquities Section

The Roman Antiquities Section meets at Claremont for lectures about five times a year. They have an annual Bulletin for section members and occasional monographs.

The Medieval Section

The Medieval Section meets about three times a year at locations suited to the subject matter of the day schools. Medieval Yorkshire is the annual publication free to section members.

The Industrial History Section

The Industrial History Section has a very active programme of lectures, visits and informal social events. It publishes three newsletters a year for section members.

The Family History Section

The Family History Section has monthly lectures at Claremont and a Workshop for section members every Tuesday afternoon. They have a quarterly publication called The Yorkshire Family Historian.

The Society also has two publishing only sections :

  1. The Parish Register Section transcribes, annotates and prints Parish Registers from the region. Their aim is to produce one volume a year.
  2. The Wakefield Court Roll Section publishes manorial rolls from the Manor of Wakefield.

References

  1. Charity Commission. Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society, registered charity no. 224083.
  2. McHugh and Barber 2013, p. 78.
  3. Huddersfield Chronicle 9 December 1865: "The site of Cambodunum"

Further reading

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