Hull-born Amy features in a four-month long exhibition, with new artefacts donated or loaned by various people and items borrowed from the permanent Amy Johnson collection at Sewerby Hall Museum near Bridlington.

To coincide with the display, the museum service has produced a new booklet, packed with information and images about Amy’s life and career. This is now on sale at the Treasure House and at Sewerby Hall, priced at just £2.30.

Dr. David Marchant, museums registrar for East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said:

“With it being the 80th anniversary of Amy’s Australia flight this year, we thought it was important to mark this event with a fresh look at the subject. As Amy’s parents lived in Beverley for some years and maintained their own memorial room in honour of their famous daughter, the Treasure House seemed an ideal venue for the display.

“I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to several relatives of Amy and a number of other people who have helped with either the booklet or the exhibition. Hopefully, visitors will come away with an increased awareness of Amy Johnson’s historical importance.”

The Treasure House – Champney Road, Beverley, East Yorkshire, HU17 9BA – 01482 392790

The Treasure House – Champney Road, Beverley, East Yorkshire, HU17 9BA – 01482 392790

The Treasure House – Champney Road, Beverley, East Yorkshire, HU17 9BA – 01482 392790

Beverley Links From HU17.net

• Heritage Open Days: Free Entry to Skiby Windmill
• Experts to Provided Lectures in Honour of John Champney
• Films of Beverley’s History on Show
• Art Gallery Marks 100th Year With Special Exhibition
• Roof Tours & Performances at Beverley Minster

The exhibition in the Treasure House, Beverley, attests to the generosity of the area’s great benefactor, John Edward Champney.

The Champney Centenary will celebrate the official opening of Beverley Museum and Art Gallery in 1910.

The building, now part of the Treasure House, was paid for by Champney who also gave his extensive collection of paintings and books, which are of national interest.

Councillor Stephen Parnaby OBE, leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said:

“It is thanks to Champney that many generations have had access to works of learning and beauty that would otherwise have been beyond their reach.

“His vision of a hundred years ago has been enhanced by the building of the Treasure House, funded with a generous grant of £3.9 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund, giving us a library, archive, art gallery and museum and all under one roof.”

The exhibition and associated programme of lectures and other public events are also being paid for by the fund.

Dr Gerardine Mulcahy, art gallery curator, said: “This event is expected to be a major attraction for those with an interest in one of the best collections of works in the Pre-Raphaelite mode.

“It includes the 20 paintings he bequeathed to the East Riding, six he left to the York City Art Gallery and six from Bankfield Museum in Halifax. This will be the first time they will have been brought together since the collection was broken up in 1929 after his death.”

Champney bequeathed around 4,500 volumes, or books, to the library, including valuable early editions of Charles Kinsley’s The Water Babies and a copy of Gulliver’s Travels, inscribed to Champney by the illustrator Arthur Rackham.

The public events include a series of lectures between 20 September and 8 November. Speakers include Dr John Markham, Professor Bernard Richards and Professor John Wilton-Ely.

The exhibition will run until 16 October.

The Treasure House – Champney Road, Beverley, East Yorkshire, HU17 9BA – 01482 392790

The Treasure House – Champney Road, Beverley, East Yorkshire, HU17 9BA – 01482 392790

The Treasure House – Champney Road, Beverley, East Yorkshire, HU17 9BA – 01482 392790

Beverley Links From HU17.net

• Heritage Open Days: Free Entry to Skiby Windmill
• Beverley Library Loans Out Eco Packs
• Experts to Provided Lectures in Honour of John Champney
• Youth Centre Football Festival
• Films of Beverley’s History on Show

In addition to the beautiful historic building with its stunning 18th century courtroom and original 17th century furniture, the Guildhall offers its current temporary exhibition “1960s Beverley.”

There is also a display on the medieval Beverley waits’ chains which are featured on the BBC’s History of the World in 100 Objects website.

The Beverley Guildhall is located in Register Square next to the main post office, and will be open with free admission on Wednesdays and Fridays from 10am to 4pm from July 28th to September 3rd.

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• Minster to Minster @ The Rose & Crown
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Situated on the outskirts of Beverley, a ten-acre maze constructed entirely out of maize can be found, which is an attraction part of a large area of farmland own by John Clappison. Going by the name of the ‘Giant Clown Megamaze’, the pattern made by the pathways resembles the shape of a juggling clown.

‘The maze is yet another good attraction for Beverley,’ says Mr Clappison, ‘Children can come here for their Summer holidays, it creates employment for local people, and is beneficial to local food sales, such as the ice-cream we sell from our neighbours’.

The maze was created using complex computer technology. Mr Clappison explained to us that the crop was sown in early May, and then using a sophisticated GPS system, the pattern of the maze was plotted on a computer. The pattern was then transferred to a GPS signal, and then a tractor was used to cut the pathways in the maze.

In addition to the maze, there are other attrations in the area owned by Mr Clappison, for example the Risby Park Fishing Ponds, and two-mile footpaths stretching across the land .

The maze will be open to the public from Saturday 24th July, and is planned to stay open every day until Sunday 5th September (when it will be open on weekends).

Admission prices are £5.50 for adults, £4 for children (3-15) and OAPs, £17 for families (2 children + 2 adults), and under 3’s are admitted free of charge. To get to the maze, follow the brown tourist signs along the A164. Parking is free and food and refreshments are available.

For more info download the leaflet here

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• Minster to Minster @ The Rose & Crown
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• Beverley Library Loans Out Eco Packs

The Tannery Toad , which  was designed by students at St Nicholas School in Beverley,  is one of many which is popping up right across our region as part of the Larkin With Toads  public art project, set to last for 10 weeks.

The one-metre high fibreglass models have been designed and painted by artists and community groups.

Peter Levy will officially launch the Toads Trail at 1pm from the BBC Stage on Victoria Square with the public being challenged to locate all 40 of them!

Former Mayor of Beverley Nev Holgate was stopped in his tracks as he walked down Flemingate and came face to face with the giant toad.

Local Nev Holgate and his dog stop for a picture with the giant toad on Flemingate

HU17.net Picture Gallery: Click on the thumbnail picture below to enlarge the image to full size

HU17.net Picture Gallery: Click on the thumbnail picture below to enlarge the image to full size

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Beverley Barge Preservation Society is trying to pull together as complete a picture as possible of life around the Beck, once the industrial heart of the town.

Now a floating museum, the society’s pride and joy is the Syntan, once a working barge used by Richard Hodgsons and sons ltd. It is the hub of the society’s Barge and Sea Shanty festival, held over the weekend of May 28 and 29.

More information about this museum, contact the society on email at info@syntanbarge.co.uk.

Beverley Barge Preservation Society Museum – A Floating Museum

Beverley Barge Preservation Society Museum – A Floating Museum

Beverley Barge Preservation Society Museum – A Floating Museum

Beverley Barge Preservation Society Museum

Beverley Barge Preservation Society Museum – A Floating Museum

Beverley Links From HU17.net

• Heritage Open Days: Free Entry to Skiby Windmill
• Films of Beverley’s History on Show
• Art Gallery Marks 100th Year With Special Exhibition
• A Unique Chance to Visit a Bit of Beverley’s History
• Flying High at the Beverley Treasure House

The sculpture represents the spinning trade which was a part in one of Medieval England’s largest industries: the clothing industry.  A spinner was a tool used to spin raw wool into useable material such as linen and cotton and there was one in practically every house in Beverley.

The intertwining spirals giving a sense of a moving circle and the twirling thread of time.  Scripture is etched on the spirals taken from an early 1880’s verse by a Bridlington poet who was writing about life in the countryside. It is located close to Dyer Lane where the wool linen would have been taken to be dyed.

The Beverley Town Trail will be a significant addition to the visitor experience of Beverley and will help raise the profile of this captivating town even further.  It will provide yet another reason for people to visit Beverley thereby providing a boost to the local economy.

Part of the third wave of installations for the trail, the Spinners’ sculpture accompanies several other artworks that have been installed as part of this phase of the project:

•    A sculpture in a floral garden plot to the north of the Minster to represent the masonry industry.   This piece shows examples of the individual markings masons used to identify the work they had carved and paid for.
•    An engraving of a stretched hide – a part of the process of tanning – on Flemingate.  Tanning was an important industry in Beverley fro hundreds of years with the last tannery closing in 1986.
•    Feathers set in an iron gate on Eastgate, which leads to what was the once the Dominican Friary.  This sculpture represents the friars – who were often called ravens due to the black cloaks they wore – as well as the quills of scriveners: writers of official documents.
•    A pavement plaque with an etching of a water mill on Flemingate.  It is thought there were three mills in Beverley on the Beverley Beck/River Hull.

The town trail will be completed and launched on Sunday 11th July a day of music, plays and family entertainment that everyone can enjoy. A 40th sculpture, acknowledging the partnership of eleven Beverley and village schools, and 720 schoolchildren whose workshops helped with the design of some of the sculptures, will be added later.

Above: Artist Chris Wormald, Below the Spinners’ sculpture being lowered into place

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• Beverley Musical Theatre Seek Actors

The event will include performances by school pupils from Beverley and Market Weighton, Mystery Plays, Falchion Medieval Village, the Longcroft Gospel Choir, dancing and street and stage performers.  Volunteers from the East Riding V-informed Team will lead craft and art activities for children.

The main events will take place in Wednesday Market, the Friary and area, with other events in this historic area of Beverley to be confirmed.

The launch marks the completion of the ten-year development of the Trail, which explains the town’s medieval history, with thirty-nine sculptures between North Bar and Beverley Beckside.

Town Trail Chairman, Tom Martin, said;

“The Beverley Town Trail is a wonderful community celebration.  It is marvellous to see the works of art that have now been installed throughout the town, and to know that many of them have been influenced by the designs created by schoolchildren from the town and surrounding villages.  The Town Trail is looking forward to the launch event, which will celebrate our rich history, and recreate some of the medieval social life”.

The Lord –Lieutenant of East Riding of Yorkshire, Mrs Susan Cunliffe-Lister, will formally open the event at 12 noon on Sunday 11 July. The Chairman of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Councillor David Rudd, and the Mayor of Beverley, Councillor Bessie Foot, will be attending.

A committee of local people has created the Trail, which has been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Beverley Town Council, VHEY (Visit Hull & East Yorkshire) and private sponsors and donors.

Matt Snowden, co-project manager from event partner Longcroft School and Performing Arts College, would keenly welcome interests from people who would like to take part as a street entertainer, or as a volunteer helper.

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Horse racing has always been a sophisticated affair, and if anything it has become more so with the passage of time.  It is a chance for people to dress up in all their finery and enjoy the thrilling atmosphere of the race.

Documents held at the Treasure House, Beverley, show that the spirit of horse racing generally remains the same, and people enjoyed the spectacle on an equally grand scale then as we do now, though it would perhaps have cost more.

A race programme for 13 June 1902 shows that a gentleman could gain admission to the Grandstand for a mere 10 shillings, however in today’s money this would be the equivalent of around £28.50.

Nowadays, admission to the Grandstand is less than half of that price.  Ladies’ admission costs were closer to modern prices with four shillings being the fee – around £11.40 in today’s money.

Ladies are no longer charged separate admission fees to gentlemen, although they do enjoy the privilege of a ‘Ladies Day’.

A photograph from the archives also hints at how the racecourse has changed over the past century.  The image, from around 1911, shows the old Grandstand enclosure which, though resplendent, is significantly smaller than the one we see today.  Also, in the foreground of the picture is a group of schoolboys, who appear to be on some form of outing.

To study the documents relating to Beverley Races, please visit the Treasure House, Champney Road, Beverley, or call (01482) 392790 for details.

Beverley Links From HU17.net

• Heritage Open Days: Free Entry to Skiby Windmill
• Experts to Provided Lectures in Honour of John Champney
• Films of Beverley’s History on Show
• Family Day @ Beverley Races
• Beverley Bullet Race Day @ Beverley Racecourse

The workshop (10.30am – 12.30pm) is suitable for children aged seven and upwards.  Children under eight must be accompanied by a responsible adult. The workshop costs £6 (parents are free) and parents wishing to book their children in should ring the telephone booking service on 01482 392706/392699.

Skidby Windmill – East Yorkshire, HU16 5TF – 01482 392773

Skidby Windmill – East Yorkshire, HU16 5TF – 01482 392773

Skidby Windmill – East Yorkshire, HU16 5TF – 01482 392773

Beverley Links From HU17.net

• Heritage Open Days: Free Entry to Skiby Windmill
• Films of Beverley’s History on Show
• Art Gallery Marks 100th Year With Special Exhibition
• Self Defence Classes @ Beverley Leisure Centre
• Flying High at the Beverley Treasure House

The exhibition forms part of the Royal Society’s 350th anniversary celebrations with a national programme of events celebrating ‘Local Heroes.’

Sir Barnes Wallis was based at the Howden Airship station in the East Riding whilst he oversaw the design and construction of the R100 airship between 1926 and 1929. Famously renowned for his ‘bouncing bomb’ this exhibition gives the visitor an invaluable insight into the life and work of Sir Barnes Wallis and the opportunity to learn more about the inventive genius of the man.

A series of talks and a film on the building of the R100 have been organised in conjunction with the exhibition.

Nial Adams, the council’s principal museums officer, said: “I am delighted that my team have worked in partnership with the energetic Barnes Wallis Memorial Trust to produce an excellent exhibition exploring the work of this great engineer and  designer.”

The Treasure House – Champney Road, Beverley, East Yorkshire, HU17 9BA – 01482 392790

The Treasure House – Champney Road, Beverley, East Yorkshire, HU17 9BA – 01482 392790

The Treasure House – Champney Road, Beverley, East Yorkshire, HU17 9BA – 01482 392790

Beverley Links From HU17.net

• Beverley Library Loans Out Eco Packs
• Experts to Provided Lectures in Honour of John Champney
• Youth Centre Football Festival
• Films of Beverley’s History on Show
• Get Your Cameras and Phones and Get Snapping

The finds include a rare Bronze Age axe head found on the beach at Mappleton and on loan from the finder, Alison Lloyd, who discovered the artefact whilst walking her dogs.  Other items have come in as purchases via the Treasure process, including a group of Roman silver coins from Driffield and a silver gilt dress hook from Bempton.  Both of these were discovered as a result of metal detecting.

Another significant addition to the collection is a chalk block from the foundations of the medieval priory at Cottingham, which bears what may be a mason’s mark. It has been kindly donated by Cottingham Local History Society.

The display will run until August and can be found in the café area on the 1st floor of the Treasure House.

The Treasure House is open 9.30-5pm Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 9.30-8pm Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 9-4pm Saturdays, closed Sundays.  Contact 01482 392780 for further information.

The Treasure House – Champney Road, Beverley, East Yorkshire, HU17 9BA – 01482 392790

The Treasure House – Champney Road, Beverley, East Yorkshire, HU17 9BA – 01482 392790

The Treasure House – Champney Road, Beverley, East Yorkshire, HU17 9BA – 01482 392790

The Treasure House – Champney Road, Beverley, East Yorkshire, HU17 9BA – 01482 392790

Beverley Links From HU17.net

• Heritage Open Days: Free Entry to Skiby Windmill
• Experts to Provided Lectures in Honour of John Champney
• Films of Beverley’s History on Show
• Art Gallery Marks 100th Year With Special Exhibition
• Flying High at the Beverley Treasure House

East Riding’s last remaining windmill has acquired an exciting new attraction for children in time for this Easter. Situated on the acreage adjoining Skidby Windmill, visitors will now discover a log train and a hide “n” seek adventure trail.

These installations have been purchased from Sovereign, a nationally accredited supplier of safe, stimulating and imaginative play equipment. Additionally, the wood for the equipment comes from environmentally sustainable sources.

Jane Bielby, museums outreach officer, said:

“We were delighted to be able to purchase this unique equipment at a substantial discount thanks to the generosity of the company. The log train and trail have a rustic charm which blends in well with the rural scene at Skidby Mill.

We are hoping to further develop this feature in the future and add more equipment. I am sure children will thoroughly enjoy burning off lots of energy as part of their visit to the mill.”

Further information from Jane Bielby, tel. (01482) 392773.

Skidby Windmill – East Yorkshire, HU16 5TF – 01482 392773

Skidby Windmill – East Yorkshire, HU16 5TF – 01482 392773

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• Heritage Open Days: Free Entry to Skiby Windmill
• Self Defence Classes @ Beverley Leisure Centre
• Roof Tours & Performances at Beverley Minster
• FREE Family Fun Day @ Swinemoor School
• Crown, Colonies and Countrymen at the Treasure House

Beverley Art Gallery has a fantastic exhibition of contemporary textile art from a group of Welsh female artists called Fibre Art Wales, opening this spring.

The exhibition, called Fibre Voices, displays a huge variety of different techniques, materials and themes and is at the cutting edge of contemporary textile art.  It will run from 27 March to 15 May.

Two pieces which give a flavor of the exhibition are Bethan Ash’s ‘keeping the homeless warm’ which is a Welsh blanket made from crochet with beer and lager cans cut into circles.

Alison Moger’s ‘time for tea’ is an embroidered and screen-printed piece, which is based upon childhood memories of tablecloths at family gatherings.

Fibre Art Wales was founded in 1999 by a group of six professional artists.  Their main aims were to raise the profile of Welsh contemporary fibre art and provide exhibition opportunities, both at home and abroad.

Today the group has 12 members.  The Fibre Voices exhibition celebrates the groups tenth anniversary and was first shown at the Canol Ucheldre Centre, Anglesey in 2009.

Each member submitted one to four pieces of work, from large scale tapestries and wall hangings, to minuscule embroideries, installations and sculptures.

Some of the works are designed to be thought-provoking and to express personal or social issues.  Some pieces are purely abstract.

For children, there will be a colouring table and a ‘feely fabric table’ with fabrics to sort and explore.  The fabric samples have all been kindly donated by W. Boyes and Co, Beverley.

The gallery is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, between 9.30am – 5pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays, between 9.30am – 5pm and Saturdays between 9am – 4pm.

This year, the gallery will be open on Good Friday and Easter Saturday but is closed on Easter Monday.

Beverley Links From HU17.net

• Heritage Open Days: Free Entry to Skiby Windmill
• Films of Beverley’s History on Show
• Get Your Cameras and Phones and Get Snapping
• Art Gallery Marks 100th Year With Special Exhibition
• Flying High at the Beverley Treasure House

A new exhibition is now showing at Skidby Windmill, in the village life gallery, and is likely to last for about four months.

Entitled ‘East Yorkshire Windmills,’ the exhibition describes the development and subsequent decline of windmills in the region, as well as details of how windmills work and the role of the miller. It’s also illustrated with numerous interesting ‘now and then’ photographs of some of the remaining mills.

Jean Ross, a volunteer with the East Riding Rural Life project based at Skidby Mill, said: “In 1879 there were 113 windmills in East Yorkshire, excluding those in Hull, but by 1921 the number had fallen to just 18.  This exhibition tells you where they were, how they worked and what happened to this once vital part of East Yorkshire life.”

Skidby Windmill is open daily 10am – 5pm, with last admission at 4.15pm.

More information and pictures, maps and contact details for Skidby Windmill

Beverley Links From HU17.net

• Heritage Open Days: Free Entry to Skiby Windmill
• Films of Beverley’s History on Show
• Art Gallery Marks 100th Year With Special Exhibition
• Flying High at the Beverley Treasure House
• Roof Tours & Performances at Beverley Minster

A new exhibition opens this week at the Beverley Guildhall, entitled ‘1960s Beverley.’ As the title suggests, this exhibition looks at how the town was influenced by the 1960s in terms of aspects such as planning changes, fashion, music and new innovations.

Fiona Jenkinson, Curator of the Beverley Guildhall, said:

“We decided to take a different approach to Beverley’s history this time, but this has been a difficult exhibition to pull together. We rely heavily on living memories to inform our exhibitions and people found it hard to remember what happened in one particular decade. The exception to this was possibly the music scene where there was a specific culture in the 60s, and we have good reminiscences including some from Beverley’s most popular band of the time, The Strollers.”

The exhibition ‘1960s Beverley’ opens at the Guildhall on Friday, 5th February, and will run until October. The Guildhall is open every Friday from 10am to 4pm and admission is free.

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• Experts to Provided Lectures in Honour of John Champney
• Sweeping Back Time With Local Chimney Sweep Jethro

Focusing on the medieval guilds that were the foundations of Beverley’s wealth, a series of public artworks have been installed to emphasise how crucial the skilled craftsmen of the town were.

By following any of the four walks that comprise the trail, the sheer breadth of the townspeople’s skills are revealed.

Installations show the role played by millers, musicians, bakers, blacksmiths, bricklayers, armourers and many other less well-known craftsmen in the growth of the town.

When completed, 39 works of art will reveal to locals and visitors alike just how Beverley became the hub of East Yorkshire trade and commerce, and why it is one of the most interesting and best-loved town’s in the north of England.

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• Minster to Minster @ The Rose & Crown
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• Beverley Library Loans Out Eco Packs

While it might be difficult to ever really know who has been on Father Christmas’ naughty list, documents held by the archives and local studies service can give us a good idea.

Evidence that not everyone has behaved themselves during Christmases past can be found at the Beverley Treasure House where records from the Christmas Quarter Sessions for the East Riding of Yorkshire, dating back more than 300 years, reveal a variety of interesting misdemeanours at this time of year.

These include the case of William and Martha Gibson of Sculcoates who, on New Year’s Day 1808 were accused of “drinking tipling whoring and misbehaving themselves unlawfully” in their house with other men and women of “evil name and fame”.

Also, the case of a cowardly constable, who refused to tackle a rabble of ten men rioting in Driffield Market Place during December 1808, although who could blame him.

And the incident involving James Hews who, on Boxing Day 1825, was found “wandering about in the streets…in an indecent state of nakedness although having decent cloths in his possession and begging about from door to door and demanding alms with threats and intimidation from those who refused to relieve him.”

Collections Officer Sam Bartle said:  “It is fascinating to be able to look back at past Christmases to see what sort of mischief people got up to.”

However, not all of the court’s business at Christmas time was filled with miscreants, rogues, and vagabonds – take James Bacchus’ case for example, during Christmas 1709.  He was a war veteran who had served under Charles II and later settled in Howden, but “by reason of his Children leaving of him he is fallen into Extream Poverty and utterly unable to maintaine himself.”  It was pleaded that Bacchus be given “a yearly Pention towards his Support for the short tyme he has to live.”

And, in the true spirit of Christmas, the justices of the peace granted him 40 shillings, equivalent to around £150 in today’s money and three weeks wages for a craftsman at the time.

For more information about the Quarter Sessions records, please visit the research room of the Treasure House, Champney Road, Beverley.

Beverley Links From HU17.net

• Films of Beverley’s History on Show
• Art Gallery Marks 100th Year With Special Exhibition
• Flying High at the Beverley Treasure House
• Crown, Colonies and Countrymen at the Treasure House
• World Puppets @ Beverley Art Gallery

The gardens were given to the town of Beverley by Major Clive Wilson back in 1924, there is a plaque dedicated Major Clive Wilson as sign of appreciation for his generosity on the wall to the right.

HU17.net Picture Gallery: Please click on the thumbnail to view a larger image

HU17.net Picture Gallery: Please click on the thumbnail to view a larger image

Related Links

• Poppy Appeal Launch
• Remembrance Day Video
• Beverley Remebrance Sunday
• HMS Beverley
• Remembrance Sunday in Beverley
• Dig for Britain Poppy Appeal in Beverley
• War Graves Project

Beverley Links From HU17.net

• Heritage Open Days: Free Entry to Skiby Windmill
• Films of Beverley’s History on Show
• Art Gallery Marks 100th Year With Special Exhibition
• Flying High at the Beverley Treasure House
• Roof Tours & Performances at Beverley Minster

These letters were written as part of a series of correspondence from Lieutenant Edwin Oliver of the 4th East Yorkshire Territorials was one of those heroes, amongst millions of other British soldiers.

He served his country during the First World War, and now the story of his personal experience has come to light through documents recently given to the East Riding archives and local studies service in Beverley.

Edwin Oliver was born on 6 February 1898, the son of an ironmonger who traded in Osborne Street, Hull, and having left school in 1912 Edwin was soon drawn into the First World War at its outbreak in 1914.

He became a member of the 4th East Yorkshire Territorials and rose to become a Lieutenant.  In his many letters to sweetheart Evelyn Boyce, he tries to describe to her the environment he was living in: “…but here, if you will just try to picture say the whole of Hessle blown down and you can only go as far as the Humber bank by climbing over old walls, bricks, etc…You would be amused to see the furniture of my tent, bedstead table, stool, towel rail and cupboard all made out of old boxes by my servant, and further I have a lovely pile carpet of sandbags.”

His experiences were far from uneventful and included being declared missing in action in 1915, and receiving a ‘blighty’ wound in January 1916 that caused him to be sent back to England for a brief respite. He later saw action once more on the front line, during which he was gassed in October 1918 just before the war’s end.

Remarkably, he survived this attack and went on to marry Evelyn on 15 September 1919 at the Central Baptist Church, Hull.

Tragically, Edwin contracted tuberculosis in January 1934, his respiratory system having been weakened by the mustard gas attack during the war.  He spent three months at the Raywell Sanatorium, Cottingham, from where he wrote more letters to his family, but sadly died of the disease on 2 October 1937.

Sam Bartle, collections officer, said: “The letters are a fascinating tribute to the sacrifice that is typical of so many of those men who fought during the Great War. His untimely death at the hands of a disease partly brought on by his war injuries is a sad irony, and these letters help us to personalise the tragedy of this conflict.”

To read the letters, people can visit the Research Room of the Beverley Treasure House, Champney Road, Beverley.

The Treasure House – Champney Road, Beverley, East Yorkshire, HU17 9BA – 01482 392790

Beverley Links From HU17.net

• Heritage Open Days: Free Entry to Skiby Windmill
• Films of Beverley’s History on Show
• Art Gallery Marks 100th Year With Special Exhibition
• Flying High at the Beverley Treasure House
• Roof Tours & Performances at Beverley Minster