The John Goodchild Collection

The John Goodchild Collection

The John Goodchild Collection came into the care of West Yorkshire Archive Service after John’s death in 2017. John was a local historian and antiquarian who amassed this collection over his lifetime. Believed to be one of the largest private collections relating to Yorkshire collected by a single individual, the John Goodchild Collection truly reflects our Yorkshire heritage with a wide variety of records from 12th century onwards.

An unrivalled and rich resource for people worldwide including Poor law, mining and textiles, family and estate, local business, local development and schools records, this collection really does have something for everyone.

This collection can be consulted on site at the Wakefield office and enquiries are welcomed. 

Contact details for the Wakefield team can be found here.

Mr John Goodchild (b.1935, d.2017) image taken at West Yorkshire History Centre, 2016

Mr John Goodchild (1935-2017) Image taken at West Yorkshire History Centre, 2016

Window on the West Riding Project

In 2019, the Window on the West Riding Project began, focusing on box listing the John Goodchild Collection on behalf of Wakefield Council.

You can find out more about the project on our Catablogue here and get a flavour of the records in the John Goodchild collection by watching our ‘What’s in the box?’ YouTube series here.

We’ll be posting regular updates on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with the #DiscoverJG hashtag on the discovered gems and unusual wonders as we move through the project, so watch this space!

 

Sponsor a Box

We are now appealing to the people to help us build on the work of the project by sponsoring a box. Money raised from the sponsorship will go towards the preservation, packaging, cataloguing and conservation work needed to ensure that the collection is available and accessible for all.

Full details of the Sponsor a Box scheme can be found here.