Scholars’ spotlight on 600 years of everyday life in York
Posted on 4 December 2008
The largest archaeological excavations ever undertaken in the city have entered a new phase with three linked research projects overseen by the University of York.
The projects investigate how everyday domestic objects such as beer bottles, trade tokens and personal seals have been used in and around York over the past six hundred years.
Jenny, Lisa and Gareth will provide real new insights into how and why living standards evolved from the medieval period to the early twentieth century
Dr Sarah Rees Jones
The projects are conducted by PhD students Jenny Basford, Lisa Liddy and Gareth Dean, funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council scholarships, and each specialising in a different aspect of the research. Together, the results will provide important new insights into the material culture of domestic consumers living in Yorkshire from 1400-1900.
Working with the York Archaeological Trust (YAT), which is in charge of the major archaeological excavations at Hungate, the new researchers – two historians and an archaeologist – will reconstruct:
- the historical character of York districts like Petergate, Swinegate, Hungate and Rawcliffe, as viewed through the material goods they used – Gareth Dean
- how branded goods were produced, marketed and used between 1600 and 1900 – Jenny Basford
- how people traded and circulated artefacts in Yorkshire between the 15th and 17th centuries – Lisa Liddy
Gareth Dean said: "It’s a great opportunity to expand and develop my interest in medieval archaeology, particularly urban archaeology."
Jenny Basford said: "The project involves examining early modern and modern understandings of credit and trust, which are extremely relevant to today’s economic climate, centuries later."
Lisa Liddy added: "I have spent much of the last 15 years studying medieval documents and this studentship is a logical extension of that."
The three studentships mark a new chapter in the close collaboration between the University and the York Archaeological Trust, which has already appointed a York graduate, Dr Jayne Rimmer, as the full-time historian on the Hungate excavations.
The researchers are using the resources of the University’s Departments of History and Archaeology, its interdisciplinary Centres for Medieval, Renaissance, Early Modern, and Eighteenth Century Studies, as well as objects and documents held in regional archives and the Trust’s own extensive collections.
The results of the research will be used to create displays and guided tours for major visitor attractions at the Hungate site, Jorvik, Barley Hall and DIG.
Dr Sarah Rees Jones, of the University’s Department of History and Centre for Medieval Studies, said: "York Archaeological Trust has one of the largest and best conserved collections of domestic objects outside London, while the Borthwick, City and Minster archives are rich in unexplored sources for family and working life.
"This is one of the largest interdisciplinary studies of the everyday living conditions of working people ever conducted. Together, Jenny, Lisa and Gareth will provide real new insights into how and why living standards evolved from the medieval period to the early twentieth century."
Chief Executive of YAT, John Walker, added: "The transformation of Britain to the world’s first industrial society was as marked in York as elsewhere. Studying these everyday objects will reveal more about an event that has continued to spread across the globe and in its wake created new opportunities and threats for everyone."
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- Arts & Humanities Research Council: Each year the AHRC provides approximately £100 million from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities, from archaeology and English literature to design and dance. In any one year, the AHRC makes approximately 700 research awards and around 1,000 postgraduate awards. Awards are made after a rigorous peer review process, to ensure that only applications of the highest quality are funded. Arts and humanities researchers constitute nearly a quarter of all research-active staff in the higher education sector. The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK. www.ahrc.ac.uk.
- More information on the University of York’s Department of Archaeology at www.york.ac.uk/depts/arch/
- More information on the University of York’s Department of History at www.york.ac.uk/depts/hist/
- More information on York Archaeological Trust at www.iadb.co.uk/about/background.html
- Jenny Basford is originally from Norwich and studied firstly at the University of Nottingham, where she was awarded the Robert Mellors Prize for her BA dissertation, and followed this with an MA in Modern History at York in 2006.
- Lisa Howarth Liddy was born in Macclesfield, but spent most of her first twenty-five years living in Whitby, Ontario. She read Medieval Studies and English at Queen’s University, Kingston, before returning to England to complete an MA in Medieval Studies at the University of York in 1994-95. After graduating with distinction, Lisa has been employed as a Research Assistant or Associate, for various academic institutions including the English Place-Name Survey, the University of St Andrews (PROME), and the University of York (Medieval Petitions).
- Gareth Dean is originally from Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, and graduated from King Alfred’s College (now the University of Winchester), before completing an MA at the University of York eight years ago. He has worked in commercial archaeology across the UK, including more than five years with York Archaeological Trust. He is the author of a book on the archaeology of medieval York.