Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums Blog

Great North Museum: Hancock Library – Summer in the Library

Summer is the time for catching up with all those library jobs that didn’t get done during term time! This summer a lot of my time has been taken up with getting the Society of Antiquaries’ books and journals ready for cataloguing onto Newcastle University’s Library catalogue. A great team of staff, Claire, Ruth and Kris (from the University’s Robinson Library) are busy cataloguing these now. I’m delighted to report that they have also started work on the books in the Natural History Society of Northumbria’s collection.

Cataloguing work in progress in the Great North Museum Library

You can find the records for Great North Museum Library material on the University Library’s catalogue. To limit your search just click on the ‘Local Collections’ tab at the top of the page. Our books will display as either Cowen, SANT (Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne) or NHSN (Natural History Society of Northumbria). Unfortunately the catalogue won’t tell you if a book is out on loan – but please feel free to contact the Great North Museum Library (0191 222 355 or gnmlibrary@twmuseums.org.uk) if you want to check availability before you make a visit.

As part of the cataloguing process the Cowen Library journals have been reclassified and you will now find they have shelfmarks beginning PER. This has meant rearranging the journals on the shelves to follow this new classification scheme. It’s been reasonably straightforward for the Cowen Library but its going to be a much bigger task when we do the same for the Society of Antiquaries journals. The library volunteers will be kept very busy for the next few months!

Library bookmarks

I’m very pleased to say that we now have some fantastic new library bookmarks to give away to library visitors. There is a set of four; each bookmark has an image from one of the library collections. Why not call in and collect one?

Term time opening (Monday-Friday 10am-4pm) begins on 26 September. For more details please visit the Museum’s website.

New books

As well as the regular acquisitions made by the Societies, we have also recently taken delivery of over 30 new books for the Cowen Library. These include books on Egyptology (which has tied in well with the Museum’s Pharaoh, King of Egypt exhibition), Greek vases, Polynesian art and native North American art.

Some of the new books in the Cowen Library collection

Here are just a few of the new titles in the library:

The rise of an early modern shipping industry: Whitby’s golden fleet / Rosalin Barker, Boydell, 2011

The making of Carlisle: from Romans to railways / Mark Brennand, Keith J. Stringer (eds), Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, 2011

Ancient Egypt: an introduction / Salima Ikram, Cambridge University Press, 2010

In Oceania: visions, artifacts, histories / Nicholas Thomas, Duke University Press, 1997

The Pacific art of Polynesia and Micronesia / Adrienne L. Kaeppler, Oxford University Press, 2008

Greek vases / Dyfri Williams, British Museum, 1999

AD410: the year that shook Rome / Sam Moorhead and David Stuttard, British Museum, 2010

The Society of Dilettanti: archaeology and identity in the British enlightenment / Jason M. Kelly, Yale University Press, 2009

Ravenna in late antiquity / Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis, Cambridge University Press, 2010

Who do you think you are?

Local History The Archives
Posted by administrator on September 15, 2011 Permalink Comments (1)

Like millions of other people we love the BBC programme Who Do You Think You Are? and we’re particularly interested when the celebrity involved has north east connections.

We’ve only actually featured in one programme – the one on Jodie Kidd but we’ve helped out with a few others either by helping the production company’s researchers or by them commissioning research from us.

A common complaint about the programme from archivists is that it makes the process of tracing your family history look too quick and easy, but helping out behind the scenes shows just how much work is put in before filming even starts.

We recently did some research for the programme on comedian Alan Carr, whose father’s family is from the north east. In the end the programme focussed on Alan’s mother’s family, one of whom was a deserter in the First World War, and our research wasn’t used at all but it’s still an interesting story.

One of Alan’s forebears, John Carr, together with his son Samuel, was killed in a colliery disaster at Burradon on 3 March 1860 along with 74 other men and boys. John Carr had been active in a movement to set up a Miners Provident Association to set up a relief fund for the victims of colliery accidents, but this was not to be established until the Northumberland and Durham Miners Permanent Relief Fund was set up in 1862 in the aftermath of the Hartley disaster. Instead a charitable fund was set up by the Newcastle Daily Chronicle.

Extract from Tynemouth Poor Law Union minutes (PU.TY/1/1/9)

We were asked to research the records of the Tynemouth Poor Law Union, which covered Burradon, to see whether they had supported any of the victims’ families, and in particular John Carr’s widow Dorothy and her six children. We found that they had not, and in fact had only allowed three widows relief from payment of rates on grounds of ill health. The board unanimously resolved “that no such destitution exists as would warrant the board giving out relief as a charge on the poor rates”. It would be interesting to know if the people of Burradon agreed……

A fascinating set of correspondence is uncovered at Tyne and Wear Archives

Collections Management Discovery Museum Local History Maritime History Military History The Archives
Posted by administrator on September 12, 2011 Permalink Comments (3)

One of the reasons I was so excited to work on the ‘We Mak’em’ Sunderland Shipbuilding archives project was the opportunity it gives me to catalogue and make accessible large quantities of unlisted documents that have never been available to the public before. However, the project also requires me to look at a large number of shipyard records that were listed many years ago. These early lists have been available to researchers for over twenty years and in many cases the quality is very good. It’s become clear, though, that inaccuracies in some of the old lists could be preventing researchers from unlocking the full potential of these collections.

I’m currently cataloguing the records of the firm, Short Brothers, whose shipyard was based at Pallion. During this work I recently came across two boxfiles of papers that were previously listed as ‘papers concerning liquidation of the Nitrate Producer’s Steamship Company, 1896-1919’. Judging by that description I wasn’t expecting the contents of the files to be particularly exciting. On closer inspection, though, I discovered that they were far more interesting than the original description suggested.

The boxfiles actually contain a lengthy series of correspondence between Short Brothers and the company Lawther, Latta & Co. Ltd, covering the period 1896-1919. Lawther, Latta & Co. managed a number of shipping companies, including the Nitrate Producers Steamship Company Ltd, and most of their cargo vessels were built by Short Brothers. The Short family were also major shareholders in shipping companies managed by the firm. These links between the two firms were strengthened even further in 1896 through the marriage of John Latta and Ada Mary Short, daughter of John Young Short.

Most of the correspondence in the two boxfiles is between John Latta (later Sir John Latta after his knighthood in 1920) and the leading members of Short Brothers, namely John Young Short, Joseph Short and Thomas S. Short. The correspondence is mainly concerned with business affairs, which is very interesting in itself, but it also gives a unique insight into the personal lives of the correspondents, their families and their social circles. This mixture of business and pleasure makes the letters particularly fascinating and gives you a real sense that you have stepped into their world.

Perhaps reflecting the formality of the times, Latta’s letters to his father-in-law are always addressed to ‘My dear Mr Short’. The letters often refer to home and social life, including details of visits and family illnesses. Indeed the last letter by John Young Short was written on 24 January 1900, the day he died, and is particularly poignant as it discusses influenza passing through his household.

The correspondence often relates to vessels built by Short Brothers for Lawther, Latta & Co. There are also lots of references to Short Brothers affairs, including a legal dispute between the shipbuilders and one of their customers, the shipping company British Maritime Trust Ltd. This dispute concerned the quality of workmanship on the vessel ‘Cebriana’ and in a letter of 24 November 1900 to Joseph Short, Latta refers to rumours “… that there was an impression on the market that your men were not equal to the best workmen on the East Coast”.

Letter from John Latta to Joseph Short, 24 November 1900 (TWAM ref. DS.SH/6/5)

John Latta’s close family links meant that he could write with a frankness that other correspondents might not dare. As an influential figure in the shipping industry he was also in a position to discover and report information of real interest.

By far the most prolific correspondents are Latta and his brother-in-law, Thomas S. Short. The tone in these letters is relaxed and informal. The letters mainly discuss the business affairs of Short Brothers and the Nitrate Producers Steamship Company Ltd. However, there are also many references to the progress and conduct of the First World War, especially the heavy shipping losses inflicted by German submarines and the difficulties faced by shipbuilders. Typical of these letters is one by Latta of 13 December 1916 in which he states:

“I am rather disposed to agree with you that the country is now ready to accept any form of dictatorship which on its face appears to favour a policy likely to assist in winning the war.”

Letter from John Latta to Thomas S. Short, 13 December 1916 (TWAM ref. DS.SH/6/5)

Thomas Short in his letter of 20 December 1916, while condemning Government policy as “like Socialism gone mad”, felt as regards the War “if we can only keep up the pressure more than we have then we have them absolutely beaten”.

Letter from Thomas S. Short to John Latta, 20 December 1916 (TWAM ref. DS.SH/6/5)

These two boxfiles of correspondence should be of interest to a wide variety of researchers. They are far more exciting than their original description suggested and I hope that their new description, when it goes live in our online catalogue, will raise their profile and make them accessible to all interested parties.

Anglian Lives: Alan Partridge (2003)

Collections & Objects Discovery Museum The Archives
Posted by administrator on September 9, 2011 Permalink Leave a comment

Available to view on BFI Mediatheque.

Long before Ricky Gervais brought David Brent to life in ‘The Office’, Steve Coogan had already created a similar toe-curlingly embarrassing character in the one and only Alan Partridge. This ‘mockumentary’ looks back at the life and times of Radio Norwich’s most famous DJ.

The humour comes about because this is a man in the public eye with radio and TV shows and yet he has no people skills at all. Witness the clip of him during his radio show where he gets exasperated with the stupidity of his callers. Guests in the studio fare no better as he loses his patience with them as well. One lady brings a kestrel into the studio for a talk on birds of prey and even the bell ringing on the bird’s foot annoys him.

Partridge’s ego is rampant. When asked “Have you ever stolen anything?” by an interviewer’s low-tech computer sidekick, ‘Digital Dave’, he replies without a trace of irony, “Only other people’s thunder and the limelight from Sue Lawley.”

When he had a fall from grace, he didn’t succumb to drinks and drugs like most celebrities. Instead, he had a fatal addiction to…. Toblerone. He piled on the pounds but beat his addiction to make a comeback (of sorts).

Looking back to Comic Relief in 1999, he puts Bryan Ferry on the spot by asking him to make a donation. As Ferry writes his cheque out, Partridge says he won’t embarrass him by mentioning how much it is for but “suffice to say, it will buy you two microwave ovens or three and a half Dyson vacuum cleaners.”

Still, you can’t help but love a man whose three rules of life are:-

Have a cup of coffee in the morning.
Don’t trust anyone.
Floss.

That’s how I plan to live my life from now on.

Steve Haley talks about BFI Mediatheque – click here to listen to Steve Haley talk more about the BFI Mediathque which is located within the Archives in Discovery Museum.