Donated or deposited by:
U DDX/16 Norman Higson, 1955 - 1984
U DDX/58 Lt Col. RWS Norfolk, 1958 - 1979
U DDX/60 Sir Christopher Courtney, 27 November 1958, 6 August 1966, 23 February 1967 & 1 June 1972
U DDX/108 AE Norfolk, 16 May 1963
U DDX is a miscellaneous collection of antiquarian material relating to the East Riding of Yorkshire. U DDX/16 comprises the bulk of the collection at almost 400 items deposited by Norman Higson, former County Archivist of the East Riding Record Office and Hull University Archivist; U DDX/58, comprising just over 30 items deposited by R W S Norfolk; U DDX/60, circa 50 items deposited by Sir Christopher Courtney and U DDX/108, one single item deposited by A E Norfolk.
The manuscripts in U DDX are very varied, but they fall into several main categories. Firstly, there are a number of papers relating to landholding East Riding families. DDX/60 is entirely composed of items relating to the Courtney family of Beverley, including wills, letters, diaries, accounts and title deeds of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. U DDX/58/30-3 contains material relating to the Hildyard family of Winestead including a 17th century ledger containing pedigrees and biographical notices. U DDX/16/208-12 and 241 is xeroxed material relating to the Legard family of Anlaby including pedigrees, a manuscript history of the family and a volume in the possession of Sir Thomas Legard of Scampston Hall in 1970 including some manorials records. The collection also contains miscellaneous material about the Boynton family of Burton Agnes at DDX/16/200, 207, 217, 222, 228, 239, 248-9, 342, 346, 368-9. The Raines and Iveson families are represented at U DDX/16/342-3, the Watson family (of Scarborough?) at U DDX/16/240 and U DDX/16/65 is a calendar of four documents relating to John Overton of Easington between 1679 and 1693.
Although U DDX contains material relating to many places in the East Riding, there are concentrations of material for Beverley and Cottingham as well as the odd item for Hull such as title deeds for Chariot and Hope streets at U DDX/108/1, the registers for electors in 1880 (DDX/58/8-17) and the Hull telephone directory for 1923 (U DDX/16/313). The Cottingham material is varied and includes a plan, some enclosure material and some photographs (U DDX/16/53, 128-34, 195-7, 220-2, 242, 360). Items for Beverley are more idiosyncratic and include a handbill advertising a vacancy for a jailer in 1814 (there are a number of other handbills and circular letters), poll books, town journals, local almanacs and a programme of the Beverley Picture Playhouse in 1913. There is also a xerox copy of a guide to the medieval carvings of minstrels in the minster by Professor Gwynne McPeek (U DDX/16/247, 262-316, 349-50, 375-81). Maps and plans in the collection include a copy of the earliest chart with soundings taken around the Humber, a copy of a map of Bridlington in 1828, a copy of a plan of Harswell in 1719 and maps of East Riding deserted medieval villages (U DDX/16/122, 194, 198, 206, 335, 338). In addition there is material on drainage and navigation (U U DDX/16/59, 216, 250-61) and railways, in particular the Hull-Selby line (U DDX/58/1-5).
One of the strengths of this miscellaneous collection is printed material for the local region. It includes acts of parliament, a 19th century cookery book, a 1914 soldier's pay book, playbills, price lists, bus timetables, local newspapers and journals (especially for 1905-31), bills from local inns and original typescripts, as well as xerox copies, of articles and pamphlets of local history value. For example, there is a copy of Robert Addison's History of Leavening (1831) (U DDX/16/3-13, 17-35, 67, 135, 137-47, 175, 177, 180-93, 199, 246, 262-334, 337, 370-4, 383). The institutional material in the collection is varied. Items of interest for local studies of religion include methodist circuit plans (1777-1860), the Yorkshire branch notes of the Wesley Historical Society (1963), Ann Emery's thesis on methodism in Cottingham (1970), a list of papists for 1744, a copy of the chartulary of the priory of North Ferriby, plan of the foundations of Haltemprice priory as well as some charity commissioners reports (U DDX/16/39-52, 63-4, 69, 150-8, 218-19, 339-41, 348). Items of interest for studies of local education include A history of education in Leven (1968) by Geoffrey Braham, material on the foundation of the free grammar school at Halsham in 1584, material on Cliffe school in 1966, material on Leven church school in 1966 and on Beaumont Street school in 1840, Hessle schools in the early 19th century as well as material collected from Hull University's Local History committee. The mathematics exercise book of Ann Lamb of Rudston from circa 1850 is a single item of interest especially for those researching women's education (U DDX/16/60-2, 68, 148-9, 159, 176-7, 227, 225-6, 243-4, 361-7). The collection contains a few title deeds as well as medieval charters, most notably between U DDX/16/230-6. U DDX/16/1 is a Holderness title deed dated 1360. Copies of charters allowing William de Stutevill and Thomas Wake to hold markets in Cottingham are at U DDX/16/353-5. Later material includes originals and copies of settlements and leters patent (U DDX/16/57-8, 136, 347) and there is an interesting copy of a letter in the Egerton manuscripts from Robert Burton to Thomas Barrington dated 29 October 1643 at U DDX/16/2. Finally, the collection contains a few items of unique historical interest such as material about the execution in 1770 for piracy of Edward Pennell and others (U DDX/16/245), an English propaganda pamphlet in German dated 1940 (U DDX/16/66), a German copy of the ordnance survey for Hull dated 1941 (U DDX/16/351) and programme notes for Radio Humberside from September to December 1972 (U DDX/16/359).