Exhibitions

Visit the exhibition area at the Borthwick Institute for Archives to see highlights from our archives and current projects. We also hold exhibitions at other locations across the city, and online-only exhibitions.

The exhibition area is open the same hours as the Raymond Burton Library, and can be found on the third floor.

Find out more about our current and past exhibitions below, and follow us on Bluesky, Instagram or Facebook, and keep an eye on our news page for details of upcoming exhibitions.

Terry Family Archive

Location: Online

Explore images and documents from the archives of the Terry Family, the family behind confectionary company Terry's of York. This exhibition has been curated by student Alicia Shook from University of York's Institute of Public Understanding of the Past.

Photographs of Modderpoort

Location: Online

Explore curated galleries of photographs of St Augustine's Mission, Modderpoort, South Africa. The photographs come from the papers of the Society of the Sacred Mission (SSM) which are housed in here in the Borthwick Institute for Archives.

The Company of Merchant Adventurers of the City of York Archive

Location: Online

Find out more about our recently-launched archives partnership project with the Company of Merchant Adventurers of the City of York, and some of the amazing documents which are now in our care.

Environment and Natural History Collections

Location: Online

This exhibition showcases our wide range of archives relating to the environment and natural history, including personal archives of local naturalists. Click on the link above to discover more about these fascinating, and often underused, collections. This exhibition also forms part of the History Day 2021 celebrations.

The Frankie Howerd Archive

Location: Online
In 2021, the Borthwick Institute for Archives purchased the archive of Frankie Howerd. The acquisition was facilitated by Neil Pearson Rare Books Ltd, with the generous support of the Friends of the National Libraries, V&A Purchase Grant Fund, Friends of the University of York Library and Archives, and Storey Fund for Library and Archives. Click the link above to discover more about this amazing collection in our new microsite.

Bringing the Rowntree Leisure Time Interviews to Life

Location: Online
Click the link above to explore life in post-war Britain, as History PhD student Rachel Feldberg brings the Rowntree Leisure Time Interviews, held by the Borthwick Institute, to life in a series of dramatic performances.

Fragments of the Medieval World

Dates: 18 April - 9 July 2017
Location: Borthwick Exhibition Area
A rare chance to see surviving fragments of medieval books and manuscripts - many of which were thought to be lost forever

What's New in the Archives? Recent accessions at the Borthwick Institute

Dates: 3 January - April 2017
Location: Borthwick Exhibition Area
A display of some of the new material that has been gifted to or deposited with the Borthwick Institute over the last 6 years

Inside Out: medical illustration in the Special Collections at York

Dates: 26 August - 17 December 2014
Location: Fairhurst Building, ground floor corridor
A display of material relating to the depiction of the human body over 4 centuries

An example from the Atkinson Brierley archive

The Architecture of War Memorials

Dates: 1 June - 19 September 2014
Location: Borthwick Exhibition Area
A surrogate exhibition of architectural material from the Atkinson Brierley archive held at the Borthwick Institute

Pity of War exhibition - conflict and remembrance in the special collections

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The Pity of War: conflict and remembrance in the Special Collections at the University of York

Dates: 7 May - 28 August 2014
Location: Fairhurst building, ground floor corridor
A display of material relating to conflict and remembrance from the Special Collections

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Enchanted Modernities: Theosophy, Modernism and the Arts, c. 1875-1960 (History of Art website)

Dates: 7 February - 9 May 2014
Location: Borthwick Exhibition Area
A display of archival material from the Foulds/MacCarthy Archive Collection

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The Borthwick at 60

Dates: November 2013 – January 2014
Location: Borthwick Exhibition Area
To mark our 60th anniversary we mounted an exhibition commemorating our opening in May 1953 and showcasing our history during the last six decades.

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Who were the Aero Girls?

Dates: 12 - 20 October 2013 and ongoing online
Location: York Mansion House/online exhibition
An exhibition to launch the "Who were the Aero Girls" project, unravelling the mystery of the Rowntree's paintings.

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Best of the Borthwick

Dates: April - May 2013
Location: Borthwick Exhibition Area
A showcase of some of our holdings, including archives from the Retreat Hospital, the Mount School, theatre, film and TV collections, Rowntree's and Terry's, and Ecclesiastical records.