16^th February 2018.

The blog has been quiet, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been working hard. In fact, we’ve been so busy, I haven’t had time to update the posts.

Last week we were looking carefully through a boxful of documents – leaflets, postcards, receipts, souvenir programmes – kindly donated to the Embsay Research group by a local resident. We have categorised them, and next week will spend a day making digital copies, and setting up a detailed catalogue of the collection.

one of the items from the collection -
a sketch of a local old pole-gate post - now sadly lost

Yesterday we had a visit from a representative of the Washburn Heritage Centre at Fewston, which is between Skipton and Harrogate in the Washburn Valley. She was intrigued by our Churchyard Survey project, so we gave her a little tour of St Mary’s Church and then retreated out of the bitter cold to Sue’s house to get warm again. We explained our methodology and objectives, and she went away at lunch-time with plenty to think about and take back to her next committee meeting. It’s always satisfying to know that we have been able to enthuse someone else with churchyard studies. We spent the afternoon putting in more data on the grave reference sheets.

I have spent many intensive hours in the public library searching through the archives of the local newspapers for the period of the 1914-18 war, for any references I can find on Embsay and Eastby. It’s a tedious and slow process, and with the Armistice commemoration now approaching in November, Sue, Eileen and Jennifer have volunteered to help me out by going through the 1917 archives. Their first go on the microfilm reader was a bit of a surprise – the tiny print prompted them to ask for a magnifying glass so they could read the display – I wish I’d had a camera with me!

We are planning to setup an exhibition in our village hall over the Armistice weekend, and to present some readings, so we’re very busy researching a range of topics associated with the impact of the First World on British society and particularly on our parish. Lots to do!

Jane Lunnon