Access and Digital Engagement Archivist Laura Yeoman talks with author Hannah Priest about her new book Unburied: The True Story of Hannah Beswick, the Manchester Mummy.

This episode explores the strange and unsettling tale of Hannah Beswick, the eighteenth-century woman whose body was preserved after death and placed on display in Manchester. Long wrapped in folklore as the 'Manchester Mummy', her story has been told in whispers of premature burial, hidden treasure, and Gothic legend. But as Priest reveals, the truth is far more complex.

Drawing on meticulous research, including records here at the Borthwick, Unburied uncovers what Hannah Beswick’s afterlife can tell us about Victorian attitudes to death, the treatment of human remains, and our enduring fascination with the macabre.

Lydia Dean and Sally-Anne Shearn introduce the Borthwick’s newest project ‘Fertile Ground: Records of the Women’s Land Army in North Yorkshire’, drawing on the archive of Lady Celia Milnes Coates, WLA County Chairman for the North Riding.

We would like to thank Charlotte Catton, Fiona Neale, Natasha MacMahon, Graham Hughes, and Catherine Firth for kindly contributing readings from documents in the archive.

In our Christmas episode, Sally-Anne Shearn (our Collections Information Archivist) and members of the Borthwick team take us through how the festive season has been celebrated and experienced through time in our archives - including festive recipes, old traditions, grumpy shopkeepers and life on the Western Front. 

Readings by: Neil Adams, Catherine Firth, Alison Fairburn, Charles Fonge, Gary Brannan, Sarah Griffin, Sally-Anne Shearn, James Neill, Lydia Dean, and Dorothy Waugh.

With special thanks to Will Cainan for his performance of 'Deck the Halls' on the trumpet.  Sound effects provided by freesfx and the BBC Sound Effects Library.

In this episode, we hear about a very busy November in the archives, and Helen Watt from @tnorthernway takes us through the ins and outs of the church in the middle ages. 

https://archbishopsregisters.york.ac.uk/northernway

This time: a roundup of what we were up to here over October, and Project Archivist James Neill takes us through the compelling history of Alcoholics Anonymous in North America and Great Britain, with details about the archive held at the Borthwick.

Audio clips courtesy of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services

https://borthcat.york.ac.uk/index.php/aa

Join archivist Sally-Anne Shearn as she draws on the correspondence of Annabella Crewe held at the Borthwick Institute for Archives in York to tell the story of the railway revolution of the 19th century. Find out about this remarkable period in our history from the perspective of the wealthy and well connected Crewe family who gave their name to one of the most famous railway towns in England.