Yorkshire Society
Encyclopedia
The Yorkshire Society is a non-political organisation founded in December 1980 to encourage people born, working or living in the County of Yorkshire
to join to help improve several aspects of the area. The patron of the Yorkshire Society is the Duke of York
, and its current Chairman is Keith Madeley.
The Society co-sponsors the annual Yorkshire Awards alongside Yorkshire Television, Joshua Tetley, Asda, Aon, Bain Hogg, Yorkshire Electricity and the Yorkshire Bank.
The Society's award category is the Yorkshire Lifetime Achievement Award. To date recipients have included Lawrence Batley
, Ken Morrison
, Victor Watson, Lord Harewood, Roy Mason
, Baron Mason of Barnsley, Professor Tom Kilburn
, Brian Rix, Lord Rix, Michael Parkinson
, Barry Cryer
, Brian Turner
and Ashley Jackson.
To date plaques have commemorated:
Acting as host for the annual Yorkshire History Awards.
Yorkshire Day
The Yorkshire Society also convenes the civic celebration of Yorkshire Day
, which is held on 1 August each year.
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
to join to help improve several aspects of the area. The patron of the Yorkshire Society is the Duke of York
Duke of York
The Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...
, and its current Chairman is Keith Madeley.
Goals
- To improve the beauty, attraction and amenities in the Yorkshire countryside, towns, villages, historic houses and monuments of all kinds by encouraging and assisting local branches of the Society to prepare, fund and carry through projects in their own areas.
- Working with other established organisations in their efforts to generate and promote tourism in the County.
- Supporting efforts to study and solve some of the industrial, commercial and unemployment problems in the area.
- Drawing together in fellowship Yorkshire folk by mounting regional and local events and providing a forum for discussion and debate.
Charitable Works
The Yorkshire Awards, held in Autumn each year, generate substantial funds for many charities.The Society co-sponsors the annual Yorkshire Awards alongside Yorkshire Television, Joshua Tetley, Asda, Aon, Bain Hogg, Yorkshire Electricity and the Yorkshire Bank.
The Society's award category is the Yorkshire Lifetime Achievement Award. To date recipients have included Lawrence Batley
Lawrence Batley
Lawrence Batley was an entrepreneur and philanthropist who was born in the town of Huddersfield, in the English county of Yorkshire...
, Ken Morrison
Ken Morrison
Sir Kenneth Duncan Morrison CBE is a British businessman, who is the Life President and former chairman of Morrisons , the fourth largest supermarket group in the United Kingdom.-Early and private life:...
, Victor Watson, Lord Harewood, Roy Mason
Roy Mason
Roy Mason, Baron Mason of Barnsley, PC is a British Labour politician and former Cabinet minister.He was born in Royston, and grew up in Carlton, Barnsley in South Yorkshire...
, Baron Mason of Barnsley, Professor Tom Kilburn
Tom Kilburn
Tom Kilburn CBE, FRS was an English engineer. With Freddie Williams he worked on the Williams Tube and the world's first stored-program computer, the Small-Scale Experimental Machine , while working at the University of Manchester.-Computer engineering:Kilburn was born in Dewsbury, Yorkshire and...
, Brian Rix, Lord Rix, Michael Parkinson
Michael Parkinson
Sir Michael Parkinson, CBE is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his interview programme, Parkinson, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.- Early life :...
, Barry Cryer
Barry Cryer
Barry Charles Cryer OBE is a British writer and comedian. Cryer has written for many noted performers, including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory Bremner, George Burns, Jasper Carrott, Tommy Cooper, Les Dawson, Dick Emery, Kenny Everett, Bruce Forsyth, David Frost, Bob Hope, Frankie...
, Brian Turner
Brian Turner (chef)
Brian Turner CBE is a British chef, based in London. He has appeared as a cook on BBC2's Ready Steady Cook since 1994 as well as presenting other cookery programmes.-Career:...
and Ashley Jackson.
Commemorating Yorkshire History
The erecting of Yorkshire Rose plaques to mark the contributions of famous Yorkshire men and women.To date plaques have commemorated:
- Percy ShawPercy ShawPercy Shaw, OBE was an English inventor and businessman. He patented the reflective road stud or "cat's eye" in 1934, and set up a company to manufacture his invention in 1935.-Biography:...
, inventor of cats eyesCat's eye (road)The cat's eye is a retroreflective safety device used in road marking and was the first of a range of raised pavement markers. It originated in the UK in 1933 and is today used all over the world.... - Thomas Spencer, joint founder of Marks & SpencerMarks & SpencerMarks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
- Henry MooreHenry MooreHenry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
, Sculptor - Christopher SaxtonChristopher SaxtonChristopher Saxton was an English cartographer, probably born in the parish of Dewsbury, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England around 1540....
, Cartographer to Queen Elizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty... - The former Lord St. Oswald, first ever Vice President of the Society
- Colonel North, for granting Kirkstall AbbeyKirkstall AbbeyKirkstall Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery in Kirkstall north-west of Leeds city centre in West Yorkshire. It is set in a public park on the north bank of the River Aire. It was founded c.1152. It was disestablished during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under the auspices of Henry...
and grounds to the people - Viscount Herbert Henry Asquith, former Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
- Sir Donald Bailey, inventor of the Bailey BridgeBailey bridgeThe Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge. It was developed by the British during World War II for military use and saw extensive use by both British and the American military engineering units....
- Herbert Smith, aircraft designer
- Benjamin LatrobeBenjamin LatrobeBenjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe was a British-born American neoclassical architect best known for his design of the United States Capitol, along with his work on the Baltimore Basilica, the first Roman Catholic Cathedral in the United States...
, architect of the United States CapitolUnited States CapitolThe United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
, Washington DC - Harold WilsonHarold WilsonJames Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, former Prime Minister - Benjamin Shaw, textile manufacturer
- Sir Martin Frobisher, explorer
- Kit Calvert, "saviour of Wensleydale cheese" (turned the Wensleydale Creamery at Hawes into a farmers' cooperative when it was threatened with closure in the 1930s)
- Mary WardMary Ward (nun)The Venerable Mary Ward, I.B.V.M., was an English Catholic Religious Sister who founded the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as the Loreto Sisters...
, an English Roman Catholic nun who founded the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as the Sisters of LoretoSisters of LoretoThe Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, more commonly known as the Loreto Sisters , is a women's Catholic religious order founded by an Englishwoman, Mary Ward, in 1609 at Saint-Omer in northern France...
.
Acting as host for the annual Yorkshire History Awards.
Yorkshire DayYorkshire DayYorkshire Day is celebrated on 1 August to promote the historic English county of Yorkshire. It was celebrated in 1975, by the Yorkshire Ridings Society, initially in Beverley, as "protest movement against the Local Government re-organisation of 1974", The date alludes to the Battle of Minden, and...
The Yorkshire Society also convenes the civic celebration of Yorkshire DayYorkshire Day
Yorkshire Day is celebrated on 1 August to promote the historic English county of Yorkshire. It was celebrated in 1975, by the Yorkshire Ridings Society, initially in Beverley, as "protest movement against the Local Government re-organisation of 1974", The date alludes to the Battle of Minden, and...
, which is held on 1 August each year.