The Yorkshire Society’s annual competition for essays on the history of Yorkshire was first held in 1987. It is administered by the University of Huddersfield.
Judges, Malcolm Chase, Pat Cullum, Dawn Hadley, Edward Royle and Bill Sheils met at the University of Huddersfield on 27 November 2017 to adjudicate on the entries for the 2017 prizes. A written submission was received from Nicholas Evans.
The secretary has written to all entrants to inform them of the results and has invited the three winners to the award ceremony to be held in Huddersfield, 12th June 2018, when they will receive their respective prizes and winner’s certificates.
The result of the 2017 competition is:
Bramley Award
There were three entries, two of which required close consideration. The prize was awarded to Elizabeth Goodwin of Sheffield, for her essay ‘Where my ancestors lie: Spiritual community, heritage and visual and material culture in sixteenth-century Yorkshire’
Beresford Award
There were six entries, all conveying interesting research. Two emerged as clear front runners and are recommended for awards:
First Prize: Joseph Stanley of Sheffield, for his essay ‘Infatuated men! Confrontation and combination in the Yorkshire coalfield, 1786—1801’.
Second Prize: Matthew Roberts of Sheffield, for his essay ‘Luddism/Chartism through the Tory-Radical Looking Glass: West Riding popular protest and religion in Charlotte Brontë’s Shirley.’