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 :
- The Parish Register Section transcribes, annotates and prints Parish Registers from the region. Their aim is to produce one volume a year.
- The Wakefield Court Roll Section publishes manorial rolls from the Manor of Wakefield.
References
- ↑ Charity Commission. Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society, registered charity no. 224083.
- ↑ McHugh and Barber 2013, p. 78.
- ↑ Huddersfield Chronicle 9 December 1865: "The site of Cambodunum"
Further reading
- Barber, Brian (2013). "Personalities and publishing: two aspects of the history of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society, 1863–2013". Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. 83.
- Chadwick, S.J. (1915). "The Yorkshire Archaeological Society: an account of its origin in 1863 and of its progress from that date to 1913". Yorkshire Archaeological and Topographical Journal. 23: 1–91.
- Clay, C.T. (1948). A Catalogue of the Publications of the Record Series, 1885–1946, with an introductory chapter on its history. Yorkshire Archaeological Society Record Series. 113. Leeds: Yorkshire Archaeological Society.
- Forster, G.C.F. (1978). "The Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, vols 1–50". Yorkshire Archaeological and Topographical Journal. 50: 1–5.
- McHugh, Kirsty, ed. (2013). The Yorkshire Archaeological Society: a celebration of 150 years of collecting. Leeds: Yorkshire Archaeological Society.
- McHugh, Kirsty; Barber, Brian (2013). "Yorkshire archives and a league of gentlemen: the Yorkshire Archaeological Society and record-collecting 1863–2013". Archives & Records. 34: 67–83.
- Thomas, S. (1984). "The Archives of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society". Yorkshire Archaeological and Topographical Journal. 56: 1–16.
External links
- Official website
- YAS Pre-history web-site
- YAS Roman Antiquities web-site
- Medieval Section web-site
- The Industrial History Section web-site
- Family History Section web-site
- Parish Register Section web-site
- Wakefield Court Roll Section