The Local History Group

The Group

The Bishop Wilton Local History Group was formed in August 2002 with a wide range of interests spanning the recent and the more ancient past. As well as conducting on-going research, we record the memories of current residents, where possible, along with those of the descendents of former residents.

Specific areas of research include: the site of the Archbishop of York’s former Palace; the site of the Manor House; St Edith’s Church; the village as depicted in old postcards; repopulating the village from the census returns to show who lived where; family histories of current and former residents.

The Bulletin

As of January 2008, 16 Local History Bulletins have been produced - now with 30+ pages and a circulation peaking at 100. The first 12 Bulletins were published quarterly, but this has been extended to every six months (subject to contributions being available!).

The Bulletin is only available in printed form at the moment. But a mailing list is maintained and you can email (see contact link below) requesting details of the payment required for receipt of a posted copy of the Bulletin. Back copies of all editions are also available.

To help with your choice of back copies, an index of editions 1 to 13 is available for download here in PDF format:

Please note that you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to be able to read this Index.

Some articles will be provided as extracts from the Bulletin in PDF format (especially where there are extensive footnotes). The first of these explores the reason for Bishop Wilton Church being dedicated to St Edith of Wilton.

Talks & Meetings

Talks & meetings are now being held once every two months. The future programme is kept up to date on its own page . We seek to engage external speakers who can help us to advance our local researches and we also arrange talks making use of home-grown talent.

Exhibitions

We have had numerous exhibitions over the years. Up until 2007, one of these used to take place on the day of the Bishop Wilton Show but we have had to withdraw from that in order to concentrate on events in the village.

The Website

This website has proved very popular in putting us in contact with the descendents of past residents of Bishop Wilton.

The website's colour scheme isn't popular with everyone but it was chosen to represent the village's natural setting and its connection with the Archbishops of York.

The Guided Tour

A guided tour of the village has been devised that covers what has been learnt so far about the village’s history. Based on this a brochure is to be produced for sale in the village so visitors can guide themselves.

Feedback

Feedback is welcomed concerning the content and design of this website. You will receive special attention if you can offer material relating to our area (e.g. old photos, memories, family history) for publication in our Bulletin or for display at one of our exhibitions.

A Plea!

We are particularly in need of medieval Latin scholars who can help us transcribe & translate old documents from the 14th to 16th Centuries. Please get in touch!

1978 Exhibition

Thirty years ago three of the people currently involved in the Local History Group got together to mount an exhibition of memorabilia. A slideshow of photographs in black and white from that event are displayed here: