Archaeology and Ideas of Progress in 1970s York Richard Morris
Event details
York Archaeological Trust (now York Archaeology) was brought into being in 1972 to record traces of the city’s past before their erasure by development and to share its findings with the public. Three years later, Friends of the Trust was formed to support that work.
Celebrating the Friends’ 50th anniversary, author and archaeologist Richard Morris revisits and reflects on 1970s York. His talk will evoke the city’s condition, controversies and personalities on the eve of York Archaeological Trust’s formation; recall planners’ post-war ambitions for historic cities and York in particular; and examine the character and achievements of the Trust’s first campaigns. From the outset the Trust took an integrated approach, putting excavation, environmental and material sciences, study of written records, historical topography and buildings into conversation. Discover how, with notable gifts for promotion, York Archaeological Trust was quick to share that breadth and themes arising from it with York’s people, and before long, with the rest of Britain and the world.
This talk is presented by Friends of York Archaeology and made possible through the generous support of partners Yorkshire Philosophical Society. The Yorkshire Philosophical Society was founded in 1822 to promote the public understanding of science.
Image credit: Explore York
About the speaker
Author and archaeologist Richard Morris watched the formation of the York Archaeological Trust while working at York Minster in 1971-74 – a time recalled in his books Time’s Anvil (2012), Yorkshire (2018) and Evensong (2021). He has since worked as a university teacher, helped to bring archaeological advice to Britain’s churches, contributed to battlefield archaeology, led the Council for British Archaeology, and championed public engagement with historical research. Today he is Professor (Emeritus) at the University of Huddersfield.
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