Ann Rycraft

Posted on 16 December 2020

We were very sad to hear of the death last week of Ann Rycraft.

Ann was an archivist at the Borthwick Institute in the 1960s, and was responsible for much of the Borthwick’s early outreach work, creating day sessions for schools, and curating many exhibitions - those notes and transcripts she left for these are still quarried as sources of inspiration and scholarly accuracy.

Many will remember Ann though the series of Borthwick palaeography wallets she authored, and which provided training and practice for generations of archivists before the internet made access to good images and transcripts widely available.

Ann continued to play a strong role in the study and enjoyment of history in York, supporting the Centre for Medieval Studies, and running co-operative transcription and translation groups for decades; these groups produced accurate and reliable work through to publication.

Ann’s work in opening up archives to new groups, and in helping others learn the skills needed to accurately interpret, read and enjoy records still forms a huge part of what we do today. We will miss her, but her achievements, influence and work she helped to produce form a fitting and lasting tribute.