Collections - Archives
East Riding Quarter Sessions
The East Riding Quarter Sessions were the quarterly meetings of the Justices of the Peace in the County.
They survive from the 17th century, and from the 18th century contain detailed records of crimes committed. As well as handling crime and justice the Quarter Sessions had a wide range of other duties. They administered county roads and bridges, prisons, poor relief, the police, lunatic asylums, alehouses, elections and religious meeting places.
East Riding Register of Deeds
The East Riding Register of Deeds was established in 1708 and contains copies of deeds for the East Riding and Hull up to April 1974. The Register is a valuable source for legal searches, house history and family history. The registers are indexed but you will need to know the name of the buyer or seller of a property to use them.
Local Government records
We hold records from all of the old local authorities in the East Riding. These range from the archives of ancient medieval boroughs like Beverley and Hedon to recent records of local government.
We have records of nineteenth century Local Boards of Health, Rural Sanitary Authorities and Highway Boards. There are also records from Humberside County Council 1974-1996, East Riding County Council 1889-1974, Borough Councils 1974-1996 and Urban and Rural District Councils 1895-1974.
Other archives of local government include Poor Law Unions 1834-1930, Public Assistance Committees 1930-1948, School Boards 1870-1903 and Parish Councils 1889-current. There are also records of Burial Boards and other cemetery records containing registers of persons buried.
School records
We hold archives from East Riding schools and also some schools in Hull that used to be run by Humberside County Council. School archives often contain the head teacher’s log books with a daily record of school life or admission registers. The archives of the East Riding County Council also have information about schools, such as reports of inspectors or plans of school buildings. We also hold a series of school grant plans 1844-1873.
We have archives from two independent schools, Pocklington School 1525-1972 and Marist (Roman Catholic) College, Hull 1925-1988. There are also archives from two reformatory schools, the Castle Howard Reformatory School, Hull 1894-1987 and St Williams Community Home (formerly Yorkshire Catholic Reform School) 1849-1991.
Public records
Public records are the archives of national government that are kept locally. These include records of the Hull and East Riding Coroner 1853-1994 containing registers of deaths; local courts such as Magistrates Courts and Petty Sessions 1841-1992; Health Authorities and Hospitals from 1948 including the archives of the East Riding County Asylum (Broadgates Hospital) from 1871; accounts of local charities; registers of ships for Bridlington 1786-1847 and Goole 1828-1994.
Other official records
There are lots of other official archives. There are records of bodies that carried out drainage schemes such as the Commissioners of Sewers 1587-1933, Drainage Commissioners 1764-1958 and Drainage Boards 1936-1992.
We do not hold archives of the armed forces, which are kept at the National Archives, but we do have records of the East Riding Lieutenancy and militia 1756-1915 and also for Territorial and Auxiliary Forces 1907-1964. If you are interested in the home front during the second world war we have archives of the local Home Guard 1940-1944 and Civil Defence 1938-1960s.
There are also records of turnpike trust roads 1765-1871 and licensing of motor vehicles in the East Riding 1905-1976.
Police records
We hold the archives of Humberside Police, which includes records of the East Riding Constabulary 1856-1974 and the Hull City Police 1836-1974.
Religious records
We hold the parish registers and other records for parishes in the East Riding Archdeaconry, which includes Hull and Scarborough but excludes some parts of the East Riding. Parish archives do have a lot of information about the social life of the parish and can include documents about poor relief, looking after roads and local constables.
We also hold records of nonconformist churches such as Methodists, Baptists and Congregationalist and some Quaker records. Registers from some Catholic churches are also available on microfiche.
Family and estate records
We hold a large number of important collections of East Riding family and estate records as well as solicitors’ archives containing family and estate records.
These archives contain a wide variety of subject matter. There may be deeds of the estates, manorial records and records of the management of the estate. There can be documents about a family’s social, political, religious or sporting interests and about their military service or travel abroad.
Some of the biggest archives of this kind held in the Treasure House are listed below, with their collection reference numbers.
Businesses, societies and other private records
We hold many other collections of privately deposited or donated records. These include the archives of businesses, clubs and societies, political groups, trade unions, charities and smaller collections of family papers.
The archives of Hodgson’s tannery, Beverley 1812-1975, Keyingham Friendly Society 1830-1997 and the East Riding branch of the National Farmers Union 1918-1988 are good examples of this type of record.
Electoral registers
The Archives and Local Studies together hold a large collection of electoral registers. These registers contain lists of people who were able to vote and date from 1832.
Collections – Local Studies
Books, pamphlets and journals
We hold a wide range of books and pamphlets covering Beverley and the East Riding, but also representing Yorkshire, Humberside, North Riding, West Riding, Hull and York. A range of local and regional journals is also available
Newspapers
We hold local newspapers dating from the 18th century to the present day and covering most of the historic East Riding. Newspapers are held either on microfilm or in bound volumes where a microfilm version does not exist.
Trade directories
We hold a collection of trade directories for the East Riding and some for the North Riding, dating from 1791-1939. Arranged by place, trade directories provide historical information about a place and listings of businesses and some individuals.
Poll Books
Poll books contain the names of individuals who voted in elections and who they voted for. We hold poll books for elections for Yorkshire 1741 and 1807, East Riding 1837 and 1868 and Beverley 1784-1868. Other poll books are also held in the Archive collection.
Parish magazines
We hold a good collection of parish magazines mainly covering the 20th century. Other copies of parish magazines can be found in parish records in the archives.
Postcards and photographs
We hold an extensive collection of postcards of Beverley and East Riding towns and villages and a collection of photographs including a number of aerial views.
Posters
We hold a large collection of posters and printed ephemera including Beverley play bills c.1790-c.1854, election posters c.1790-1868 and posters and programmes for various dates.
