The Elizabeth and Arthur Raistrick Map Collection

Held at: Bradford University Library
Reference and contact details: GB 532 RAM
Title: The Elizabeth and Arthur Raistrick Map Collection
Dates of Creation: 1744-1972
Name of Creator: Raistrick, Arthur, 1991
Extent: Approx. 1200 maps. Most of the maps are large and many are very fragile. Some are drawn on tracing paper.
Language of Material: English.
Level of Description: collection

Administrative/Biographical History

Arthur Raistrick was born in Saltaire (Yorkshire West Riding) in 1896. He went to Bradford Grammar School, then was apprenticed as an electrical engineer. He was imprisoned as a Conscientious Objector during the First World War and later became a Quaker. He gained an M.Sc. in Civil Engineering and M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Geology (applied to mining) at Leeds University. In 1929 he was appointed Lecturer, and later Reader, in Applied Geology at Armstrong College (later King's College of the University of Durham). On his retirement in 1956 he devoted considerable time to research and writing on industrial archaeology, particularly that of the Yorkshire Dales. He studied the archaeological and geological evidence in the field, colouring and annotating Ordnance Survey maps to illustrate his findings, and also producing plans and site drawings.

Scope and Content

Large collection of maps. The collection includes : Ordnance Survey maps from the 1840s to the 1960s, covering much of the North of England (particularly the Yorkshire Dales) and parts of Scotland, many used during fieldwork and annotated by Arthur Raistrick : most of these are one-inch to the mile maps, 1st to 3rd series ; six-inch to the mile maps, principally Yorkshire, Lancashire and Haddingtonshire ; 1:2500 National Grid Provisional edition (c.1960), covering most of the Pennines. Geological Survey maps, most at one-inch to the mile, mainly covering Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Northumberland and Lancashire. Bartholomew's maps (about 1919) of England, Wales and Scotland, at 1:127,000, and Ireland at 1:250,000. Original and copy manuscript maps and plans by Arthur Raistrick, mainly of sites in the Yorkshire Dales : these include detailed plans and sketches of archaeological features, maps showing historical background and distribution of resources in the Dales, maps of mines and mineral veins, and local field names. Original and copy 19th century manuscript maps of Dales estates, principally by surveyors John Greenwood and Sam Swire.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Dr. Raistrick in 1979, with some additions after his death in 1991.

Access Conditions

Available to researchers, by appointment. Access to archive material is subject to preservation requirements and must also conform to the restrictions of the Data Protection Act and any other appropriate legislation.

Copyright/Reproduction

Copies may be supplied or produced at the discretion of Special Collections staff, subject to copyright law and the condition of the originals. Applications for permission to make published use of any material should be directed to the Special Collections Librarian in the first instance. The Library will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

Existence of Copies

Sections of some of the maps have been photocopied to allow easier handling.

Related Units of Description

The J.B. Priestley Library also holds the Elizabeth and Arthur Raistrick Collection of books on the history of mining and metallurgy and on Quaker history, and the Elizabeth and Arthur Raistrick Archive.

Other collections of material by or belonging to Arthur Raistrick are held at Ironbridge Gorge Museums, Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, and in the Local History section at Skipton Public Library.