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The Centre was opened in January 1995 to provide a regional historical service to individuals and communities. The richest part of the Collection relates to the area shown on the logo and contains a significant amount of material about the Yorkshire Coalfield. Aims and purpose of the centre To utilise the Collection through: historical research facilities; advice and discussion; lectures, talks and guided walks; group visits to the Centre displays which change frequently; the continuing growth of the collection. The Centre is primarily for research. A publicity leaflet is available. Availability The Centre is open, free of charge, bv appointment, at any time which is convenient to both the users and Mr Goodchild, including evenings and weekends. All are welcome -dogs too. Appointments can be made by letter or by telephone, although costs preclude the provision of Ansaphone or Fax services. Photocopying is not available, but source material if it is in a suitable format may be photographed, and the Collection source must be acknowledged. The collection This relates primarily, although by no means exclusively, to the area of the West Riding of Yorkshire, shown on the logo. The Collection includes material from the twelfth century onwards, and it is especially rich in source materials of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The material has been derived from active collecting over more than four decades. Gifts, purchases or finds have come from or been made by industrialists, institutions, solicitors, accountants, surveyors, individuals, and from a constant combing of auction sales and booksellers and second-hand shops, and from derelict premises. Indexes and lists A card index of some tens of thousands of items is available and there are detailed listings of larger collections. A process that still continues, thanks to a recently deposited collection. There are also Mr Goodchild's own research files -some hundreds in number. Lectures, talks and displays The Centre is able to seat some two dozen persons. Groups or individuals are offered lecture series or single talks, and each of these will be illustrated with examples of the source materials on which it is based. Special displays will be put on for visitors who have a particular interest in some place, person or subject. All are free. |
John Goodchild Collection, The