The collection includes 100 notebooks written by Wood from 1767-1821. There are 63 large notebooks and 37 small ones. In his notebooks Wood recorded his ministry and copied his letters. A prolific correspondent, Wood kept over 600 letters from fellow Quakers and acquaintances.
Wood committed his life to the spread and practice of Quakerism in England and America, gathering papers which include dying expressions of Friends, testimonies written after their deaths and records of meetings.
Wood also collected poems with religious themes and typescript political and religious pamphlets. He was passionately committed to education and some of the papers refer to Ackworth School and to the formation of lending libraries.
The papers reveal much about Quakerism in Yorkshire and England and the interconnectivity among Quaker families. The small notebooks record Wood's journeys to Quaker meetings in various parts of England and are of general social interest.
Many of the notebooks are bound in contemporary wallpaper, all handmade using pre-1830s methodologies and probably of local origin.
The notebooks have been transcribed by Pamela Cooksey. They are available online on the Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre website https://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/pages/the-joseph-wood-archive.html