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Monday 9:30am - 4pm Tuesday 9:30am - 4pm Wednesday 9:30am - 4pm Saturday 9:30am - 4pm

Explore York Archive

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Explore York Archive

Keep up to date with the archives latest projects and activities.

09/03/2026

Next week the reading room will be closed as part of our Setting the Record Straight project.

To find out more about setting the record straight and upcoming closure dates take a look at the dedicated page on our website below.

https://exploreyork.org.uk/archives/setting-the-record-straight/

06/03/2026

We found this document during our most recent volunteering session with a belt that it is looking a bit worse for wear.

Unfortunately, over the last one hundred years the belt has begun to imprint upon the document, leaving behind a green impression on the front and back covers of this collection of commission inquiry correspondence from 1905.

However, it does also highlight the amount of dirt these records have collected over the years, as the belt has kept a clean band on the front cover. This document is part of our collections of records relating to the Ouse, Foss, and Ouse and Foss Navigation Companies.

Our wonderful volunteers are working to clean and repackage the records in these collections to help preserve the records and make them ready for cataloguing. As part of this process this document will be losing its belt, be cleaned with a smoke sponge and packaged in acid-free archival folders.

02/03/2026

Holgate Windmill c.1910-1930's

Holgate Windmill dates from c.1792 and was in production until the early 1930s. It closed due to its unsafe condition after storm damage caused its sails to be removed. The mill was built using local handmade bricks and is unusual because it has five sails, a fantail, and it is double shuttered.

It is the last remaining windmill in York, although historically the city had been surrounded by them. The mill was acquired by the York corporation in 1939 and there were several unsuccessful attempts to restore the mill to working order.

In 2001 the Holgate Windmill Preservation Society was formed, the group were able to raise funds to restore the windmill to and begin producing flour once again.

24/02/2026

🚨There is still time to apply🚨

We are recruiting an Archivist (Physical Collections) – Maternity Cover, to join our archive team here at Explore York Libraries and Archives.

Closing date is 5pm, Friday, 27th February.

Find out more about the role and apply on our website via the link in the comments below.

19/02/2026

Setting up for our first full day of volunteer sessions of 2026!

Our wonderful volunteers will be cleaning and packaging one of our uncatalogued collections, in preparation for cataloguing the collection.🧹📦

It is the first step in preserving the records and making them available to users and researchers in our reading room in the future.

17/02/2026

A photograph of 4 Jubbergate on the edge of the Shambles market, with a view down Newgate.

Originally built as a townhouse in the 14th C., it is an example of the building technique, jettying, with an upper floor overhanging the dimensions of the floor below.

14/02/2026

As it is Valentine's Day, it is time to share this romantic (and definitely not creepy) card again, from our Munby Family papers collection (ref MFP/7/2/11, c.1805.)❤️

11/02/2026

🚨We are hiring🚨

We are recruiting an Archivist (Physical Collections) – Maternity Cover, to join our archive team here at Explore York Libraries and Archives.

Closing date is 5pm, Friday, 27th February

Find out more about the role and apply on our website via the link in the comments below.

09/02/2026

Always wanted to discover your family history but didn’t know where to start?

Having challenges with your research and need further advice?

Want to share your discoveries and meet others interested in family history?

Every Monday at York Explore you can come along to the Family History Room where you will be able to receive free expert advice from members of the York Family History Society . Sessions are drop in – no need to book!

Every Monday 10am to 4pm in the Family History Room, first floor York Explore Library and Archive .

05/02/2026

Goodramgate with the junction of College St. c.1890.

This image shows multiple shops including Britton’s tobacconist and J. Todd’s grocers. It also predates the creation of Deangate that now connects Goodramgate with the Minster Yard, which was completed in 1902-3. The road was pedestrianised in 1989, however, before this it served as a key route for traffic as part of the A64 road with increasingly heavy traffic as road usage increased.

03/02/2026

Interested in Local History?

Joining a Local History Group is a great way to get to know people and learn about your local area.

You can find contact details for the local history groups in York on our website on the link in the comments below 👇

Address

Library Square, Museum St
York
YO17DS

Opening Hours

Monday	9:30am - 4pm
Tuesday	9:30am - 4pm
Wednesday	9:30am - 4pm
Saturday	9:30am - 4pm

Website

https://exploreyork.org.uk/archives/, https://citymakinghistory.org/

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