Conservators in rescue mission for Harewood slavery papers
Posted on 1 November 2007
She is starting a two-year project at the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York to conserve documents spanning a century relating to the slave-owning history of the Lascelles family of Harewood House, near Leeds.
The documents were discovered during an inventory of Harewood House, and the archive was deposited in the Borthwick by Lord Harewood, a former Chancellor of the University.
The Borthwick secured a £44,500 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to carry out remedial work on the documents, some of which were badly damaged due to the highly acidic nature of the paper and ink used when they were drafted two centuries ago. The project coincides with the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade.
What we are trying to do is to stop the process of decay. It’s incredibly interesting work
Catherine Dand
She is helping the Borthwick’s conservator Trevor Cooper to rescue thousands of documents, the bulk of which have been stored in a bureau and a tin chest next to a coke boiler at Harewood House. The variation in temperature has also caused serious deterioration in the paper and Trevor Cooper and Catherine have now started the painstaking task of repair and conservation.
Catherine, 22, who graduated in English at Durham University last summer, said: "I see this as a wonderful opportunity to get some experience towards my qualification as a conservator. What we are trying to do is to stop the process of decay. It’s incredibly interesting work."
Keeper of Archives at the Borthwick, Chris Webb, said: "In their present state, nobody can use these papers. They can be opened once by a conservator in the course of repair. But once repaired they will be available to everybody -- all the documents will be available in the search room at the Borthwick, while a proportion will be put online."
The papers, which span the period 1730 to 1830, were shipped across the Atlantic, once the slave trade ended. Most of the material was kept in the London offices of a firm of accountants called Wilkinson and Gaviler, which was destroyed during the Blitz. The surviving papers were discovered at Harewood.
Previously knowledge of the Lascelles family’s involvement in slavery was sketchy. Once this material was discovered, academics, particularly Professor Jim Walvin of the University of York’s Department of History, and Professor Simon Smith, now of the Wilberforce Institute in Hull, began to piece together the family’s dealings in the West Indies.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- The Borthwick Institute for Archives is one of the biggest archive respositories 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 to use its archive materials. In January 2005, it opened to the public in a new, purpose-built building, situated adjacent to the J.B. Morrell Library on the University of York's Heslington campus. The new building was made possible due to a grant of £4.4 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund. More information at www.york.ac.uk/inst/bihr/.
- 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.