W. R. Mitchell Archive

Archive reference: MIT

The books and archives donated by Dr Mitchell reflect his career with the Dalesman, and his lifelong interest in the history and natural history of the Yorkshire Dales and the way of life of its people.

Bill Mitchell

W.R. ("Bill") Mitchell was born in Skipton in 1928. After gaining journalistic experience on the Craven Herald, he joined the Dalesman in 1948, later becoming editor. The Dalesman was first published from the Dales village of Clapham in 1939. It features Yorkshire life, past and present. Bill Mitchell also edited its sister magazine, Cumbria, for many years. He retired in 1988, but continued to write about Yorkshire, producing over 100 books, and many articles for other journals and local newspapers. In 1996 he was awarded the MBE, and, in the same year, the University of Bradford awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters.  In 2009, he was named Yorkshire Dales National Park's greatest living cultural icon. Bill died on 7 October 2015, aged 87.

"People Before Things": remembering Bill Mitchell (1928-2015).

The Archive

The Archive collection includes articles and other writing by Dr Mitchell, correspondence with the many well-known Yorkshire writers and artists who contributed to the Dalesman, photographs by Dr Mitchell, audiocassettes of interviews with Dales and Lake District people, and scrapbooks bringing together many years of letters, ephemera and artwork on Dales themes. There is also research material, notably files on Cherry and Richard Kearton, pioneering natural history photographers from Swaledale.

By Gum! Life were Sparse: Bill Mitchell's Scrapbooks.  No. 83 of the 100 Objects exhibition series.

The Book Collection

Special Collections holds many books written by Dr Mitchell or published by the Dalesman or Castleberg (Dr Mitchell's imprint, set up in 1988). They cover Lakeland, Lancashire, the North York Moors and the Peak District, on subjects including hill walking, caving, wildlife, social life and customs, humour, and industrial history. Dr Mitchell also donated many of the books in our W. Riley and Kearton book collections.