The Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society (YAHS), formerly known as the Yorkshire Archaeological Society, is a

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an discipline (academia), academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and s ...

and registered

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

founded in 1863. It is dedicated to the study of the

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

, history and people of the three Ridings of the historic county of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. It publishes an annual

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

, the ''Yorkshire Archaeological Journal''; and, particularly through its Record Series, it also functions as a

text publication society A text publication society is a learned society which publishes (either as its sole function, or as a principal function) scholarly editions of old works of historical or literary interest, or archival documents. In addition to full texts, a text p ...

. Its headquarters are in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

. The Society has seven special interest groups, such as the Family History or the Roman Antiquities sections. These may be joined without full membership of the main YAHS.

History

The Society was founded in 1863 as the Huddersfield Archaeological and Topographical Association. The initial purpose was to facilitate renewed excavations at

Slack Roman fort Slack Roman Fort was a castellum near Outlane, to the west of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. Its site is a scheduled monument. The ruins of the fort which lay alongside the Pennine section of the Roman road from Deva Victrix Deva ...

, and later to promote interest in the history and archaeology of the

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

area. The principal instigator was George Lloyd (1820–1885).''Huddersfield Chronicle'' 9 December 1865: "The site of Cambodunum" In 1870 the society expanded its interests to cover the whole of Yorkshire, and changed its name accordingly to the Yorkshire Archaeological Society. In 1896 it moved its headquarters from Huddersfield to

. In 2015 it changed its name again to the Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society. From 1968 the Society had its headquarters at "Claremont", a large house built in the 1770s, close to the main campus of the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. Negotiations began to sell "Claremont" in 2016, with the aim of opening smaller office accommodation in the same vicinity.

Prehistory Section

The Prehistory Section has an active programme and a regular publication for section members called ''The Bulletin''. The aim is to bring together those with an interest in the prehistoric archaeology of the region.

Roman Antiquities Section

The Roman Antiquities Section meets for lectures about five times a year. It has an annual ''Bulletin'' for section members and occasional monographs.

Medieval Section

The Medieval Section meets about three times a year at locations suited to the subject matter of the day schools. It publishes ''Medieval Yorkshire'', an annual publication free to section members.

Industrial History Section

The Industrial History Section has a very active programme of lectures, visits and informal social events. It publishes three newsletters a year for section members.

Family History Section

The Family History Section has monthly lectures at Claremont and a Workshop for section members every Tuesday afternoon. It publishes a quarterly newsletter, ''The Yorkshire Family Historian''. The Society also has two publishing only sections : # The Parish Register Section transcribes, annotates and prints Parish Registers from the region. The section's aim is to produce one volume a year. # The Wakefield Court Roll Section publishes

manorial roll A manorial roll or court roll is the roll or record kept of the activities of a manorial court, in particular containing entries relating to the rents and holdings, deaths, alienations, and successions of the customary tenants or copyholders."cour ...

s from the Manor of Wakefield.

Collections

The Society possesses a library of some 45,000 works, which has been described as "probably the largest single resource for research on Yorkshire's past outside the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

"; and also an extensive collection of manuscripts, including many papers of early

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

s. These collections were formerly held at its headquarters, "Claremont"; but in 2015, in anticipation the sale of the building, were transferred to the custody of the

Brotherton Library The Brotherton Library is a 1936 Grade II listed Beaux-Arts building with some art deco fittings, located on the main campus of the University of Leeds. It was designed by the firm of Lanchester & Lodge, and is named after Edward Brotherton, ...

of the

, where they are now accessible through the Library's Special Collections section.