The Yorkshire Cricket Archive comprises historic artefacts and memorabilia evidencing the history and development of Yorkshire cricket from its origins to the present day. A selection of important artefacts is displayed in the Yorkshire Cricket Museum, within the East Stand at Emerald Headingley Stadium and the remaining collections are stored on behalf of The Yorkshire Cricket Club at West Yorkshire Archives Service in Morley, Leeds.
Please note
Please DO NOT send any objects in the post without a prior conversation and arrangement with the Heritage Manager. Any item sent via post will be returned to sender if an address is provided. The Yorkshire Cricket Foundation will do its best to contact owners of unsolicited donations. If we are unable to contact the owner within four months, the transfer of ownership of the item will fall to the Foundation, who may then dispose of the object if it sees fit.
The archive of Yorkshire Cricket Club (The Yorkshire Cricket Archive) is administered by the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation, Yorkshire Cricket’s charitable arm, on behalf of the Club. It comprises, but is not limited to, a collection of cricket equipment, clothing and cricket-wear, Club records, photographs, memorabilia and trophies.
The Foundation has responsibility to care for and develop the Club’s history and heritage, and uses the Archive to support its programme of health and wellbeing activity; education and participation; community engagement and social inclusion, using cricket as the focus of these activities.
Along with the Yorkshire Cricket Board and the Yorkshire County Cricket Club, the Foundation forms `Yorkshire Cricket, and its staff is ultimately responsible to the Board of Trustees of the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation.
For further information, please contact the Foundation’s Heritage Manager, Charlotte Hughes, on charlotte.hughes@yorkshirecricketfoundation.com
The Archive is used to tell the story of Yorkshire cricket from its earliest origins to the present day. This is for the benefit, enjoyment and engagement of all of its visitors and patrons. This commitment extends to caring for, the preservation and addition of objects to the Archive, as well as making them available for study and research, and generally promote visitor’s enjoyment and understanding of cricket and its social, cultural and community impacts, to support the Foundation’s ambitions of community engagement and social cohesion, enabling it to:
Prior to 1 January 2013, all artefacts, however acquired (gift, purchase, loan, bequest or transfer) for the Archive, are owned by the Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Ownership of and title to artefacts acquired after that date is assumed by the Foundation. However, the Foundation has responsibility for managing and caring for the whole Archive.
The Foundation collects historic and contemporary cricket artefacts, ephemera and memorabilia which is about cricket in Yorkshire – from the county club to the many league cricket clubs, current and extinct.
It primarily accepts material by gift; occasionally, it will make planned or opportunist purchases (e.g. via eBay) but its purchasing power is limited; often items will be taken in on loan; rarely material is transferred from another museum or cricket club, or by bequest.
For further information, please contact the Foundation’s Heritage Manager, Charlotte Hughes, on charlotte.hughes@yorkshirecricketfoundation.com
Please note
The museum does not sell its memorabilia items to the public. We recommend getting in touch with The Cricket Memorabilia Society (https://www.cricketmemorabilia.org/) and speaking to the team there regarding purchasing historical cricketing items.
There are lots of reasons why a decision is taken about whether to accept or reject offers to the Archive.
It is often made through balancing the overall value of permanently preserving them against making them accessible, and consideration must be given to:
The Foundation will prioritise items for the Archive which are:
As a rule, duplicates of items will not be acquired unless justified by their value/rarity. Where this is necessary or deemed appropriate, consideration must be given to disposing of the item which is of lesser importance (according to the criteria above) or in poorer condition.
In all cases, potential acquisitions must have a clear and indelible link to Yorkshire cricket in all its forms.
All offers should be addressed to the Foundation’s Heritage Manager who will respond as soon as possible, acknowledging the enquiry within a month. The Heritage Manager will aim to let donors know the outcome of their offers within a three-month period.
Please be aware that:
Unsolicited objects will rarely be accepted – these are offers for donation that have been left at or posted to the Foundation without prior discussion and agreement with the Heritage Manager. Where this has occurred, the Heritage Manager will do their best to contact the donors of unsolicited offers in order for them to collect their objects. Should objects remain uncollected for four months, or if no contact details are left, absolute ownership will automatically be transferred to the Foundation who may dispose of objects as it sees fit.
For further information on how to offer material, please contact the Foundation’s Heritage Manager, Charlotte Hughes, on charlotte.hughes@yorkshirecricketfoundation.com
The Archive is very rich in historic material relating to people, places and events from the origins of cricket in Yorkshire, although this strength begins to diminish around 1970. In terms of reflecting the current demographic and landscape of Yorkshire cricket (as well as looking to appeal to, inspire and engage younger visitors and audiences), the main emphasis of collecting will aim to be contemporary and current, which for the purposes of this document means post-1970 to date.
Although this period encompasses a relatively barren period of success for Yorkshire County Cricket Club, it remains a key and critical part of the county’s story which much be told, particularly in the context of wider developments in cricket and the region’s socio-cultural landscape. It is therefore necessary to collect artefacts (wherever they are available) which illustrate the personalities, events and milestones in the history of the Club during this tumultuous and landmark period; one which resulted in the birth of a modern Yorkshire County Cricket Club and its assimilation into contemporary cricket era, achieving new success.
On that basis, the emphasis of the Archive’s collection development will be through contemporary and current acquisition, although this will not exclude the possibility of collecting exemplary historic material from pre-1970. Such material may relate to the celebration of careers of individuals, key events and developments, especially those that bridge pre- and post-1970.
In the normal course of events, however, the key collecting areas will be the acquisition of complete archives and/or individual artefacts which either (a) address existing gaps or deficiencies in the Archive or (b) evidence or reflect Yorkshire’s significant contribution to, association and engagement with: