Grant will help University to unlock secrets of Church Court papers
Posted on 10 May 2007
The collection, consisting of over two million cause (case) papers from courts in the York Diocese, is housed in the University’s Borthwick Institute for Archives. It is the one of most extensive collections of ecclesiastical papers in Europe, and occupies more than 540 metres of shelf space.
[The Foundation’s] generosity will enable us to unlock a hitherto untapped resource of enormous value to the research community
Professor Brian Cantor
The papers contain information on more than 13,000 cases from Yorkshire and beyond, dating from 1300 to 1858. They include marriage, slander and defamation cases which came before the church courts and contain a wealth of information valuable to social, economic and legal historians.
Currently the documents must be accessed manually and they have never been fully catalogued, rendering vast amounts of information inaccessible to researchers.
The former head of the Borthwick Institute, Canon John Purvis created basic indexes for the collection in the 1940s. Much of the work was done while he was on fire watch duty in the Second World War.
The new database, which will be compiled jointly by the Borthwick Institute and the University’s Department of History, will make information more accessible, across the full chronological range of papers. Work will begin in May, and will take more than three years to complete.
The University’s Vice Chancellor Professor Brian Cantor said: "It is both an honour and a privilege to receive this grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Their generosity will enable us to unlock a hitherto untapped resource of enormous value to the research community. It will give an extraordinary insight into social history across more than six centuries."
The head of the Department of History, Professor Mark Ormrod, added: "This major award from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation recognises the extraordinary scholarly importance of the archival resources in the Borthwick Institute for Archives and attests to the University's exceptional record of achievement in humanities research."
With Mellon Foundation support in 2005, the Borthwick Institute carried out a successful pilot study to develop a format for the database.
Notes to editors:
- The Borthwick Institute for Archives is one of the biggest archive repositories outside London. During its 50-year history it has collected archives from all around the world, from the 12th century to the present day. Every year it welcomes thousands of visitors who use its archive materials. In January 2005 it opened to the public in new, purpose-built premises, situated next to the J.B. Morrell and Raymond Burton Libraries on the University of York’s Heslington campus. The new building was made possible thanks to a generous grant of £4.4 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
- The Department of History at the University of York combines exciting and original research with the best traditions of stimulating and innovative teaching. Widely accepted as one of the foremost centres of historical research and practice in the UK, the Department numbers some thirty professional academic staff and approximately 800 undergraduate and graduate students. The Department is rated ‘Excellent’ in teaching and received a ‘5A’ rating in the last Research Assessment Exercise.