Behind the Scenes at the Archives: working on a digitisation project at York St John’s Historical Archive

By Suzie McKenzie and Charlotte O’Brien, 2nd year History students at York St John

Over the course of semester 1 this year, we (two history students), completed an internship in the York St John historical archive. We started this by learning about the history of York St John.

St John’s college opened in 1841 with a single male student. Its sister college, Ripon Training College, opened in 1862, providing a suitable setting to train female teachers like St John. In 1962, 100 years later, St John started to accept female students into the college and in 1965, 6 men were enrolled in Ripon. As the number of male students at Ripon grew, the Principal Miss Gage wrote in the Ripon Association magazine, ‘Our status as a mixed college is now taken for granted though many of us find it hard to come to terms with the indisputable fact that men students are neither as quiet nor as tidy as some women students.’. By 1975, the two colleges had merged to become “The College of Ripon and York St John’s”.

Throughout our internship we have learnt the importance of digitising history, since we learned how to scan and upload these magazines to the digital archive. This will allow people – either past students, relatives of alumni or simply other historians – to view and read these archives. This allows these fascinating sources to reach a wider audience and makes them accessible for interested individuals unable to travel to the archives. Digitising history is also vital in preserving documents such as these, as we found whilst scanning that some copies, especially the older volumes, were very fragile.

Magazines

It is the magazines that we focused on in our internship. The magazines we worked with were from York St John College and the editions spanned from 1893 to 1980 and were published for the past and present students of the respective colleges. They detail everything from sports games and committee updates to poems to photographs of plays the college had put on that year. As History students ourselves, we found it intriguing to see how these magazines matched up with international events and how this was viewed, presented or sometimes omitted in the issues. For example, there was little to no mention of the rising international tensions in the 1939 issue, despite World War II being declared just a month later.

Advert from 1926 White Rose

Looking at both the White Rose Magazines and photographs of previous students offered a unique insight into the past. Specifically, the documents revealed the technological advancements of their time, as it is fascinating that the magazines were able to be produced on a mass scale and distributed to current and former students (for a small fee). It was interesting to see how the style of the magazines changed over the years, from the front covers, fonts used, and even the adverts inside. Nonetheless, they were a stark contrast from the glossy magazines we see today. We noticed a steady increase in the number of adverts as the years progressed, perhaps reflecting contemporary consumer culture. These adverts were a lot more detailed than today, with drawings rather than photographs, and only a few words.

Humorous articles from the 1935 White Rose (left) and 1932 White Rose (right)

Both the magazines and photographs painted a vivid image of student life over the years. For example, the frequent descriptions of sports societies and drama performances illustrated how central these were to student life, a similarity the University still shares today. The tone of the magazines was often one of dry humour and sarcasm, showing us that students then, just like today, had a wicked sense of humour. Only today, this is reflected in social media posts and memes rather than a physical magazine.

In every edition of the White Rose, we saw the principal urging past students to keep their contact details up to date, highlighting the importance of correspondence with alumni. Even with a constantly increasing student population today, this is still a priority. Our Alumni Office maintains records for alumni who want to stay in touch with the university and sends out newsletters and updates – except this is now done digitally rather than via a printed magazine.

Map of St John’s College Campus taken from the 1961 White Rose (left) and 1979 White Rose (right)

Maps and drawings in the magazine gave insight into student life in the early years of York St John. For example, the abundance of on-campus accommodation for students reflects how central university was to their lives, as opposed to today, where many students commute. The opening of a new library in 1953 shows how higher education was becoming more important, prompting more students to attend YSJ. The new library became the Student Union in 1974, and the building was named ‘Cordukes’, after the first student to attend St John in 1841, 16-year-old Edward Preston Cordukes.

Interior of the new library from 1954 edition of the White Rose Magazine

 The development of campus over the years shows us how the university adapted to ever changing modern expectations and demands, whilst keeping elements of its origins. We were also able to see this in the evolution of the York St John emblem, pictured on the cover page of the White Rose magazines. This is something we kept encountering as the years progressed. The emblem can still be seen around campus today, and although small adjustments have been made, the main symbols stay the same.

The changing York St John logo from the 1893 White Rose, from 1953 and from 2024.

Photographs

We also discovered how to scan photographs as well as magazines. This was especially interesting as we could infer a lot about contemporary society, even from the clothes they wore.

In the photographs, it was intriguing to see the changing fashions over the years, with some years having more formal attire than others. In the earliest photographs, we could see a reflection of the more formal society that came with the Victorian era, as female students at Ripon College were dressed in high necked blouses and long skirts. The students were clearly wearing corsets too, as in one photograph, a girl could hardly sit up due to this constraint.

As we progressed through the collection, we saw fashion start to relax, perhaps reflective of increased acceptance of women in higher education. These shifts in fashion can tell us a lot about student life throughout the years at York St John, namely, that today’s students are not bound by the same constraints of societal expectation and can freely express themselves through their clothing whilst at university. This is something we can see was far less accessible to previous students.

Photo from the 1952 White Rose

The photographs we scanned also told us a lot about how space was used at York St John. Photographs were often taken outside in green areas or courtyards, demonstrating how these spaces were used for socialising or leisure, something we can still see today when students are relaxing on the quad.

Displays

Throughout our internship we created library displays using various materials to about York St John college during the war. This was only a temporary display, put up for the week around Remembrance Day. However, we then had the opportunity to create a permanent display about St John in the war, which included even more detail and sources.

In this more permanent display, for example, we displayed the medals, generously donated by the family of Second Lieutenant Frederick W. A. Stubbs, and the Roll of Honours alongside it. Stubbs was awarded the Military Cross for leading a patrol along 800 yards of unknown German trenches and compelling the enemy to fall back. He regrettably lost his life in the war in May 1917 and two memorial plaques are mounted on the side walls of the Chapel on campus. More information about the memorial plaques and those commemorated on them can be found at the following website: https://www.roll-of-honour.com/Yorkshire/YorkStJohnsCollege.html.

Photograph taken from 1931 White Rose Magazine, showing the use of the college as a hospital during World War I

The White Rose magazines were, of course, used in this display as well. We used these documents to further illuminate the experience of York St John college during the wars. The college was closed in 1916 for the war and subsequently turned into a Voluntary Aid Detachment hospital. We used the 1931 edition of the White Rose which recalls the upheaval of these war years but also reminisces fondly on the Christmas spirit in the VAD hospital at St Johns in 1916.

Overall, our experience on this placement has been amazing. Having the opportunity to explore the archives of York St John and Ripon College throughout the centuries has been thoroughly fascinating.