Bumper Year of Donations for Barnsley Archives & Local Studies
13th February 2025
2024 was a record-breaking year for Barnsley Archives and Local Studies with a massive 121 new collections being received, tripling the tally of the previous year, and highlighting the desire of the people of Barnsley to ensure the long-term survival of the borough’s documentary heritage. The service also gained nationally accredited status for the second time – only the second service in Yorkshire to achieve this.
The personal diaries of Silkstone-born Inspector of Taxes, Betty Haigh, were amongst the highlights added to the archive collections during the year. Betty was the youngest daughter of Hanson Haigh, a miner, and his wife Hilda. After attending Penistone Grammar School, she joined the Civil Service, working for the Inland Revenue, based in Barnsley, Huddersfield, London, Lincoln and Sheffield. She was promoted to Inspector of Taxes in 1966 – a position that very few women achieved at that time. As well as her many career achievements, she pursued a life-long interest in local history, being a member of several local historical societies.
From 1988 until late 2023, just a few weeks before her passing, Betty kept a daily diary recording news and events – local, national and international. These included the demolition of the Berlin Wall in 1989, of which she said, “East and West Germany still celebrating. People chipping chunks off the Berlin Wall.” Ten years later, on December 31st,1999, she marks the end of the millennium, stating, “Went to a Millennium Party at St. Andrew’s Church. Very enjoyable, lovely buffet supper, then later coffee, mince pie and cake, followed by a short service. Everyone had millennium candles. Home about 12.30. Fireworks going off all around.” Fast-forward another 20 years and on March 23rd 2020 she reports, “STAY HOME: PROTECT THE NHS: SAVE LIVES. PM spoke to the nation at 8.30pm. National emergency and partial lockdown.” She then goes on to record in detail the news and developments over the following months. This provides the only written account in the archive collections of the 2020 national lockdown, recorded by a local resident as she lived through it. It also highlights that documents do not have to be hundreds of years old to be of interest to us. Betty bequeathed her diaries to Barnsley Archives in her will. As a keen local historian, she wanted to ensure that her thoughts, opinions and life experiences were on record.
By far the biggest single transfer of records last year came from Barnsley Magistrates’ Court, with a colossal 286 boxes of court registers covering the period 2004-2009. This brings to an end our run of local court records in paper format which stretch back to the 1840s. Future court records will arrive in digital format – which presents different issues and challenges! We take in local court records due to our status as an approved Place of Deposit for public records, appointed by the Lord Chancellor.
Local clubs and organisations were well covered during 2024, with cricket, athletics, rugby and football clubs all offering their historic records to us for safekeeping. Amateur theatre was always very widespread in Barnsley, and further records have arrived from theatrical groups and organisations, including large quantities of early photographs, programmes and membership records.
Schools regularly transfer historical material, and it was the turn of Gawber Primary School in 2024 to transfer their prized collection of logbooks, which provide a complete history of the school going back to 1863. These were accompanied by admission registers, recording the thousands who have attended the school over the years. One name particularly stood out – the late Emmerdale actor Stan Richards (then known as Richardson). He was a pupil at the school back in the 1930s.
The records of local businesses received and catalogued included the working papers of Mr. Reginald Goodworth, a Barnsley architect and surveyor. Many local prominent buildings can be found detailed amongst his records. The working papers of the late Denis Ashurst, an eminent Barnsley archaeologist and glass-making historian, provided another nice addition, and a collection that will undoubtedly prove popular with researchers. Also, an 1839 Elsecar Old Colliery ledger arrived just in time to assist with the development of the new visitors’ centre at Elsecar Heritage Centre – due to open in 2025.
Our project archivist continued his work throughout the year to catalogue and make accessible for the first time some of our larger collections. These included the Lancaster papers. The Lancaster family were local auctioneers, valuers and land agents, and their archive collection includes over 1500 items – all now accessible to researchers. The cataloguing of the Lancaster collection also provided the basis for two public talks, delivered in conjunction with the Friends of Barnsley Archives and the Barnsley Civic Trust. Our historical talks continue to attract more and more people each month and have been a massive success in 2024.
Other highlights during the year included launching online records for the first time through the well-known Ancestry website. The two datasets made available were our early court records, as well as the registers of dozens of local nonconformist churches – very popular with family historians. This development means that researchers can access Barnsley’s historical records from wherever in the world they are, 24 hours a day. Also, access to the Ancestry website is free in our public search room, as well as in any of the Borough’s fifteen libraries.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you know of any records and documents that you think ought to be preserved permanently. Our 4000+ collections span 850 years and are safely housed in over 25,000 boxes, but there are so many more records out there that help to tell the story of Barnsley. So, whether it be a paper document, a volume, a photograph, a book, a sound recording or a film – we may be interested! And if you have an interest in local, family or house history, do pay us a visit in the Town Hall.
Barnsley Archives and Local Studies can be contacted on 01226 773950 (during opening hours) or at archives@barnsley.gov.uk
