A NEW collection of historic York records and images spanning 600 years has been published online.

Family history website findmypast.co.uk now has a wealth of documents spanning from 1272 to 1932 for residents to explore.

The scanned images of handwritten records include Electoral Registers from 1832 to 1932, City of York deeds registers from 1718 to 1866, calendars of prisoners from 1739 to 1851 and school admission registers.

They provide a fascinating insight into York life through the ages and will provide researchers from all over the world with the opportunity to uncover the stories of the city’s inhabitants.

Fully searchable transcripts of each original document are also included, enabling anyone to go online and search for their York ancestors by name, location and date.

Paul Nixon, content licensing manager at Findmypast, said: “Findmypast already has the best collection of Yorkshire records online and we’ve now cemented this with six centuries’ worth of records from the City of York Archives.

“Apprentices, land-owners, prisoners, scholars, soldiers, tradesmen, and voters; we’ve covered York and its history from every angle, and we’re thrilled to have been chosen as Explore York’s partner on this important project.”

Prison records reveal many ordinary and extraordinary stories of criminals and victims from the Georgian highway robber, the Victorian murderer and the petty thief, to the common rural poacher, unemployed petty food thief and the early trade unionist.

Many of the city’s most famous sons and daughters can be found within the records, including George Hudson, the The Railway King, who played a a significant role in linking London to Edinburgh by rail and developing York into a major railway junction.

Prison documents are also held on Mary Bateman (1768 – 1809), aka the Yorkshire Witch.

In 1806 she was approached by William and Rebecca Perigo who believed they had been cursed. Bateman fed the pair pudding laced with poison. Rebecca soon succumbed but William continued to pay Bateman for more than two years until he finally grew suspicious and went to the authorities.

Bateman was tried in York and sentenced to death after being found guilty of fraud and murder.