North Yorkshire County Record Office

This year we are looking at some of our earliest documents from the medieval and early modern periods, two of the most exciting, turbulent and transformative eras in history, and showing what they reveal about life in North Yorkshire for the nobility, religious communities and ordinary people. We’ll be looking at castles & abbeys, domestic life, music, hunting, law making, lost villages, crafts and calligraphy.

To bring the archive alive we’ll be inviting handlers from the North Yorkshire Moors Birds of Prey centre with a display of falcons commonly used for hunting in medieval times. They will expand on some amazing references found in the Richard Cholmeley’s note book, 1600, reflecting his passion for the care, training and handling of birds of prey.

The evening will provide a rare opportunity to view the Whitby Abbot’s Book. This fascinating record of the Abbey was begun in the 12th century and continued until the early 16th century. Susan Harrison from English Heritage will be here to talk about the newly planned visitor centre for Whitby Abbey to which the Abbot’s Book will be loaned for display later this year.

Medieval sheet music can survive because of its re-use in later bindings. Rare examples of this showing the development of early plainsong will be displayed and brought to life by members of the All Saints Choir, Northallerton.

The plague was one of the biggest killers of the Middle Ages – it had a devastating effect on the population of Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries. We will see examples of early home medicine in the form of recipes for plague pomanders and remedies.

We’ll also be looking at the medieval clothier, the cloth making industry in Yorkshire & how medieval citizens dressed. A demonstration of spinning on the Great Wheel with fleece & textile tools will bring the important industry of cloth production to life. Come along and try on a medieval costume!

The skills needed to produce the many medieval documents found in the archive will be explored from the production of parchment and writing pigments to the illumination of manuscripts and creation and meaning of wax seals. We’ll be holding lessons in calligraphy and a quiz in the development of the written word.

Discover a cultural gem on your doorstep and immerse yourself in medieval history for two and a half hours . . . .

Suitable for

• Any age