Easter 2016 at the History Centre

With Easter weekend not far away we thought we would give you an early treat. In this blog we let the archives do the talking as we take you on a whistle-stop picture tour of some of our Easter related archives. There may even be chocolate…

First, the more well-known Easter themes of eggs and cards.... Within the records of local societies and organisations, and the papers of noted local individuals, we often come across photographs, letters and cards. Such items document events and traditions from a very personal perspective.

Photograph of children with a giant Easter egg taken in 1956 [C DSHO/6/18]

Easter card sent 1920 [U DBU/1/252]

Now some Easter links from the official Hull Corporation and local parish records…. Within the records of the local authority and its predecessors we can discover the 'official' annual events and traditions. We can also see what the local authority required from its citizens at given times in the year.

Brief for presentation - case of King vs John and Elizabeth Brigham for keeping a disorderly house in Cripplegate (Held at Hull and County Easter Sessions, 1805) [C DMT/2/36/71]

Evacuation list for Kingston High School under the Easter Evacuation Scheme of 1940 [C DEBK/9/6/4]

Easter Book, also known as a Tithe Book, kept by the parish of Beverley St Marys for the year 1674/5 [U DX14/1]

And finally some more unusual Easter links…. Amongst the predictable records held at the History Centre, we often make surprising finds. These can lead us off down interesting paths of research as we try and discover the story behind the document.

Recipes dating from 1800 for ‘Rice for the Poor’ intended to be made at Easter [U DDWA/13/16]

Colour poster relating to a peace march held at Easter time in 1969 [U DYO/12/105]

This is just a taster of some of the types of records we have at the History Centre. If any of these items intrigue you, why not visit us at the History centre to find out more. Do you have a particular topic you are interested in? All you need is a theme, some search terms and our online catalogue to discover what else we might have hidden in our strongrooms!

Claire Weatherall, Assistant Archivist 
Dave Heelas, TNA Skills for the Future Trainee