Helmsley Archaeological and Historical Society

Helmsley Archaeological and Historical Society Founded 1950 the society hosts talks on local history & archaeology & publishes The Ryedale Historian

Our next talk on Friday 15th May is by Jake Duncombe on the History of Duncombe Park Estate. The talk will cover some of...
06/05/2026

Our next talk on Friday 15th May is by Jake Duncombe on the History of Duncombe Park Estate. The talk will cover some of the Duncombe family history, some history of the house and garden, together with information about the wider park and estate. The meeting will start at the usual time of 7.00pm for refreshments and the talk commencing promptly at 7.30pm.

Venue: North Yorkshire Moors Park HQ, Helmsley. Guests and new members welcome.

Our next talk on Friday 15th May is by Jake Duncombe on the History of Duncombe Park Estate. The talk will cover some of...
06/05/2026

Our next talk on Friday 15th May is by Jake Duncombe on the History of Duncombe Park Estate. The talk will cover some of the Duncombe family history, some history of the house and garden, together with information about the wider park and estate. The meeting will start at the usual time of 7.00pm for refreshments and the talk commencing promptly at 7.30pm.

Venue: North Yorkshire Moors Park HQ, Helmsley. Guests and new members welcome.

Yorkshire Archaeological & Historical Society
Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society
Helmsley, North Yorkshire
BBC York
Helmsley Moan
Duncombe Park

All welcome to our next talk on 17th April, 7:30pm in the Committee Room at the North Yorkshire Moors Park Authority HQ ...
16/04/2026

All welcome to our next talk on 17th April, 7:30pm in the Committee Room at the North Yorkshire Moors Park Authority HQ in Helmsley, YO62 5BP by The Rattus Project, University of York

RATTUS: Rats and the Archaeology of Trade, Urbanism, and Disease in Past European Societies

This event will feature The Rattus Project, University of York, offering fascinating insights into Rattus, a five-year project aiming to understand the links between European rat populations and human societies over the past c.2000 years. The black rat and brown rat (Rattus rattus and Rattus norvegicus) are among the most globally successful commensal species: each has spread far beyond native ranges in southern and eastern Asia by colonising niches around human settlements.
In this talk we will provide an update of the work undertaken by the project so far, exploring the history of rats in Europe from late prehistoric origins to the 19th century. We will discuss the multidisciplinary research being utilised, including using zooarchaeology, palaeoproteomics, palaeogenomics, isotopic analysis, ecological modelling, and history to understand both how humans have affected the rats, and how the rats have affected us.

Yorkshire Archaeological & Historical Society
Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society
Yorkshire Live
Helmsley

Our next talk on Friday 20th March is on the Medieval Bercarie at Rievaulx by James Lyall. Potential improvements on the...
03/03/2026

Our next talk on Friday 20th March is on the Medieval Bercarie at Rievaulx by James Lyall.

Potential improvements on the farm at New Leys, a Medieval grange associated with Rievaulx Abbey, offered us the rare opportunity to archaeologically examine part of the scheduled monument. The talk will present the findings from the excavations, which discovered something completely unexpected!

Refreshments are served from 7pm with the talk starting at 7.30pm in the North Yorkshire Moors HQ Committee Room in Helmsley. All welcome.

Visit Helmsley
Rievaulx AbbeyYorkshire Archaeological & Historical Society
Gazette & Herald, Ryedale
BBC York
YO1 Radio

Our next meeting of Helmsley Archaeological and Historical Society is on Friday 20th February at the North Yorkshire Moo...
07/02/2026

Our next meeting of Helmsley Archaeological and Historical Society is on Friday 20th February at the North Yorkshire Moors HQ, committee room in Helmsley, doors open from 7.00pm with refreshments available.

The talk is by Ed Dennison;
"Second World War bombing decoys, with reference to Sneaton Moors, North Yorkshire"

The North York Moors contain a number of Second World War bombing decoys, designed to divert German bombers away from their intended industrial and military targets by using a combination of fires and ingenious lighting techniques. The lecture will summarise the various types of decoys, and discuss the field evidence from a recently surveyed example on Snainton Moor.

The latest edition of the Ryedale Historian Journal has now been delivered to us thanks to lots of hard work by the editors Blaise Vyner and Adam Cook, and all the contributors. Members can pick up their free copy on the night.

Yorkshire Archaeological & Historical Society
Visit Helmsley
Gazette & Herald, Ryedale
Everything Thirsk
BBC York
YO1 Radio
Helmsley Moan
Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society

Happy New Year to you.Our first meeting of the year will be on Friday 16th January in the Committee Room of the North Yo...
09/01/2026

Happy New Year to you.
Our first meeting of the year will be on Friday 16th January in the Committee Room of the North Yorkshire Moors Park Authority HQ, Bondgate, Helmsley.

The doors will be open from 7.00pm for refreshments.

At 7.20 there will be a short talk from Claire Midgeley on the All Saints for all People project at Helmsley Church.

The main talk at 7.30pm will be on Thornborough Henges, by Christine Clarke.

Thornborough Henges are a unique triple henge Neolithic site located just outside of Ripon. Stretching over a mile from end to end, the site is rich in archaeological features with more being discovered all the time. This talk discusses the many features of the site, including recent discoveries.
Visit Helmsley
Helmsley Moan
Yorkshire Archaeological & Historical Society
YO1 Radio
BBC York
Gazette & Herald, Ryedale
Everything Thirsk
❤ HELMSLEY ❤
English Heritage

Tonight’s talk is going to be a good one! We’ve even got teas and coffees from 7pm in a lovely warm room!Inland Jet Mini...
21/11/2025

Tonight’s talk is going to be a good one! We’ve even got teas and coffees from 7pm in a lovely warm room!

Inland Jet Mining in the North York Moors

by Chris Twigg on Friday 21st November at 7:30pm at the North Yorkshire Moors HQ in Helmsley. All welcome.

Jet has become so inextricably linked with the sea cliffs around Whitby, that many people are unaware it was extensively mined throughout the North York Moors and Cleveland Hills. Since 2014, members of the North York Moors Caving Club have been involved in a project to explore these long-forgotten workings, for which few contemporary records exist. Previously regarded as a cottage industry with trivial underground working, we have since re-discovered a period of frantic mining activity driven by fashion and mapped jet workings measuring over 12km in length on a single site alone.

❤ HELMSLEY ❤
Visit Helmsley
Yorkshire Archaeological & Historical Society

Our next talk is by Chris Twigg on Friday 21st November at 7:30pm at the North Yorkshire Moors HQ in Helmsley. All welco...
24/10/2025

Our next talk is by Chris Twigg on Friday 21st November at 7:30pm at the North Yorkshire Moors HQ in Helmsley. All welcome.

Inland Jet Mining in the North York Moors

Jet has become so inextricably linked with the sea cliffs around Whitby, that many people are unaware it was extensively mined throughout the North York Moors and Cleveland Hills. Since 2014, members of the North York Moors Caving Club have been involved in a project to explore these long-forgotten workings, for which few contemporary records exist. Previously regarded as a cottage industry with trivial underground working, we have since re-discovered a period of frantic mining activity driven by fashion and mapped jet workings measuring over 12km in length on a single site alone.

Visit Helmsley
Yorkshire Archaeological & Historical Society
Gazette & Herald, Ryedale
BBC York
YO1 Radio
Helmsley Moan
Everything Thirsk

Our next talk is on Friday 17th October and we will welcome John Buglass talking on: Lost in the Woods: Archaeology in t...
06/10/2025

Our next talk is on Friday 17th October and we will welcome John Buglass talking on:

Lost in the Woods: Archaeology in the woods around Yorkshire Reservoirs

There are over 1300 hectares of woodland surround many of the reservoirs scattered across the various Yorkshires which contain a fascinating and wide range of known and potential archaeological and historic sites. This talk will look at a project that produced a baseline inventory of these sites that included medieval and post medieval settlements; farmsteads; pubs and inns; water mills; fords; track- and hollow-ways; quarries; rifle ranges; a vicarage; water management features; boundary stones; sheep pens; barns etc.

The talk is held at the North Yorkshire moors park HQ committee room in Helmsley at 7:30. We will be welcoming everyone from 7pm with refreshments. Members and non- members welcome.

Visit Helmsley
Yorkshire Archaeological & Historical Society
BBC York
Gazette & Herald, Ryedale
YO1 Radio
❤ HELMSLEY ❤
Helmsley Moan
Everything Thirsk
Scarborough Archaeological & Historical Society

Our first talk of the autumn season on Friday 19th September is: Raiding the Bank – Community Led Archaeology and Histor...
15/09/2025

Our first talk of the autumn season on Friday 19th September is: Raiding the Bank – Community Led Archaeology and History at Sutton Bank by Steve Collison

Over the past 18 months the North York Moors National Park has been working with volunteers to explore the fascinating history of Sutton Bank and the surrounding area. From the prehistoric Bronze Age all the way up to the Second World War. This talk will present some of the findings and share some of the stories unearthed by our volunteers.

All are welcome. The talk starts at 7.30pm at the North Yorkshire Moors National Park offices (committee room at the rear of the premises)in Helmsley.

Visit Helmsley
Yorkshire Archaeological & Historical Society
Gazette & Herald, Ryedale
BBC York
YO1 Radio
Helmsley Moan
❤ HELMSLEY ❤


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