The Helmsley Archive project began in 2008 after Helmsley Town Council was bequeathed hundreds of photographs by a local man, John Collier. There were two leading volunteers who got the Archive going, organised the scanning, catalogue, identification and arrangement of thousands of images, the late Dr Paul & Jen Harris. Their dedicated work managing the Archive and its exhibitions over 15 years was invaluable and lies behind the displays on this website. The original John Collier Collection Photographs and later contributions to the Archive (slides, photos, postcards etc) are all on loan from Helmsley Town Council to the North Yorkshire County Records Office at Northallerton where they are looked after in optimum storage conditions.