Local History Exhibitions

2018 & 2019 – No exhibition

2017 Local History Day

On 18 March 2017 (10.30 am to 2 pm in the Village Hall), the Local History Group launched its latest book, Farming in Slingsby Parish, Then and Now, in Words and Pictures, compiled by David Thornley.

At the same time, a Village Trail leaflet was launched, providing visitors with a walking tour of Slingsby and brief notes on the many interesting sights.

There was also an exhibition about Ursula and Lionel Lascelles who lived in Slingsby for many years and left some remarkable scrapbooks, journals and paintings. Ursula died in 1992, aged 102, and left a wonderful scrapbook and journal of her time in the area, including fascinating information about her experiences as a nurse during World War II, snippets of local gossip, and photographs and drawings.

2016: There was no Local History Day this year.

2015 Local History Day

On 25 April 2015, the Local History Group transformed the Village Hall into a pleasure hall as it mounted this year’s exhibition with the theme of Entertaining Slingsby, a look at entertainment in Slingsby in the past.  Of course, the Pantomime took centre stage with photographs and costumes of the star performers.  The annual Mayday celebrations and the history of the several maypoles on The Green also featured in the displays.  Musical accompaniment featured some wartime favourites.

2014 Local History Day

To mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, it was decided to base this year’s event on Wartime Slingsby.  The exhibition on 26 April 2014 looked at Slingsby’s wartime connections from medieval times up until the Second World War.

The Civil War was a key time as Charles Cavendish, owner of Slingsby Castle, went to fight on behalf of the Royalists and, on their defeat, fled to France, and never returned to finish his mansion which was left to fall into ruin.

In the Second World War Slingsby was a military training centre and there were munitions storage areas around the area. The railway was an important means of transport. Those who were teenagers remember the atmosphere and life in the village then, especially those at the school when other children were evacuated from the large cities and came to live in the village. Some may also remember their parents talking about what life was like in the First World War when Slingsby lost many of its young men of combat age. The exhibition covered all aspects of life, including what happened on farms, food, music, entertainment etc. with recording sessions involving those with wartime memories. Our aim was to collect and capture information for future generations before it is forgotten.

Below is an edited version of the recording of residents’ memories (made in the Grapes in December 2012) about Slingsby during the Second World War.

2013 Local History Day

This year’s event took place on 9 March 2013 in the Village Hall and had as its theme Shops and other non-farming businesses in Slingsby.

Members of the Local History Group researched and prepared displays about the wide range of businesses that operated in Slingsby in the past, from tailors and saddlers working from their own homes to larger employers like the Cooperative Store and Polliacks Bathrooms.  Objects related to these business were on display, including a wall clock with T E Dosser, Slingsby printed on its face, and invoices and bills issued by the businesses.

Following this exhibition, a book was compiled by David Thornley using much of the material collected by the Local History Group.  Called “Slingsby Then & Now … in Words and Pictures”, the book proved to be very popular and has been reprinted several times.

2012 Local History Weekend

Another weekend featuring Slingsby and its past took place on 17/18 March 2012 in the Village Hall and All Saints Church. This time the theme was Farming in and around Slingsby.

Slingsby has been a farming village since medieval times. 40 years ago there were more than 20 farms in the villages of Slingsby, Fryton and South Holme.  Activities over the weekend included an exhibition about the farms and the activities associated with them, the mills and the brickworks. We saw how the field patterns have changed after the disappearance of the small farms. Agricultural hirings were re-enacted in the Village Hall when youngsters were taken on to work on farms.  Memorabilia and objects to do with farming were also on display.

On the second day (Sunday) we heard two illustrated talks about local farming history.  The first was by David Stockdale, Curator of Ryedale Folk Museum, who spoke about the history of farming in the area and the history of the Museum and its future development.  The second talk was by Dr Mel Giles of Manchester University who spoke about farm graffiti in this part of Yorkshire and the Wolds and what it can tell us.

2011 Local History Weekend

The Slingsby Local History Group held its first local history weekend on 12/13 March 2011.

As part of the All Saints Church Tower fund-raising and as a start to the Local History Project, a series of events was held in the Church and in the Village Hall. These included an exhibition of photos from the Wormald collection, an exhibition of aerial photographs, general history information including old maps and earlier writing about Slingsby, some old film of the village plus an opportunity to look in the parish registers for those interested. A short video of this weekend is below: