Barbara Pyrah

Barbara Joan Pyrah (1943–2016) was a British geologist, museum curator, and illustrator.^[1]

Barbara Pyrah
Pyrah giving an interview to YTV in 1986 in the Yorkshire Museum
Born	Barabara Joan Pyrah 1943
Died	8 January 2016 Stamford Bridge
Occupations	Archaeologist Museum curator
Academic work
Discipline	Geology
Institutions	Manchester Museum Yorkshire Museum

Career

From 1965–1968 Pyrah was the assistant keeper of geology at the Manchester Museum.^[2] From 1968 to her retirement in 1988, Pyrah was the Keeper of Geology at the Yorkshire Museum.^[3] During her time at the Yorkshire Museum Pyrah produced a four-part catalogue detailing the type and figured fossil specimens held in the collections.^[4][5][6][7] This catalogue represented over 900 specimens from approximately 150 publications. The research interest in the collections of the museum rose considerably as a result of these published catalogues.^[8]

Pyrah illustrated the 1977 publication The Ice Age in Yorkshire.^[9]

Pyrah was a member of the organising committee of the Geological Curators' Group from 1975 to 1977.^[10]

She retired from the museum due to ill-health in 1988;^[3] In retirement she was a member of the Dunnington Art Club and a founding member of the Friends of Hagg Wood.^[1]

She is listed as one of the donors to the mosaic map in York Museum Gardens.^[11]

Exhibitions

Pyrah organised a major exhibition at the Yorkshire Museum: 'A New Look at the Dinosaurs' was opened in April 1984 by David Bellamy. The exhibition was inspired by a 1979 book of the same name by Alan J. Charig, who gave a lecture in the museum in celebration of its opening.^[12] The exhibition received a favourable review in New Scientist, which described it as "an exhibition of unimpeachable scholarship which provides something of interest and enjoyment at any and every age.^[13] Over 335,000 visitors saw the exhibition by the end of its year-long display.^[8]

Publications

• Pyrah, B. J. 1974. "Collections and Collectors of Note. 3. Yorkshire Museum". Geological Curators Group Newsletter 1(2). 52–55.
• Pyrah, B.1976. "Catalogue of the type and figured fossils in the Yorkshire Museum: part 1", Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society 41(1.4)
• Pyrah, B.1977. "Catalogue of the type and figured fossils in the Yorkshire Museum: part 2", Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society 41(2.23)
• Pyrah, B.1978. "Catalogue of the type and figured fossils in the Yorkshire Museum: part 3", Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society 41(4.32)
• Pyrah, B.1979. "Catalogue of the type and figured fossils in the Yorkshire Museum: part 4", Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society 42(3.24)
• Pyrah, B. J. 1981. "Edward Charlesworth and the British Natural History Society. 1: Material in the Yorkshire Museum", The Geological Curator 3(2). 88–92.
• Pyrah, B. J. 1988. The history of the Yorkshire Museum and its geological collections. York: The Ebor Press. ISBN 1 85072 042 8

References

1. "Barbara Joan Pyrah". York Press. 16 January 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
2. Alberti, S. J. M. M. (2009). Nature and Culture: Objects, Disciplines and the Manchester Museum. Manchester Museum. p. 62.
3. Howard, P. (1989). "The Yorkshire Museum, 1988: Geology". Yorkshire Philosophical Society Annual Report for the year 1988. p. 40.
4. Pyrah, B (1976). "Catalogue of the type and figured fossils in the Yorkshire Museum: part 1". Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society. 41 (1.4).
5. Pyrah, B (1977). "Catalogue of the type and figured fossils in the Yorkshire Museum: part 2". Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society. 41 (2.23).
6. Pyrah, B (1978). "Catalogue of the type and figured fossils in the Yorkshire Museum: part 3". Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society. 41 (4.324): 437–460. doi:10.1144/pygs.41.4.437.
7. Pyrah, B (1979). "Catalogue of the type and figured fossils in the Yorkshire Museum: part 4". Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society. 42 (3.244): 415–437. doi:10.1144/pygs.42.3.415.
8. Pyrah, B. J. (1988). "A Modern Museum (1970–1988)". The history of the Yorkshire Museum and its geological collections. North Yorkshire County Council. pp. 134–148. ISBN 1850720428.
9. The Ice Age in Yorkshire. WorldCat. OCLC 3944285. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
10. Geological Curators Group (1978). "4TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 1977" (PDF). Newsletter of the Geological Curators' Group. 2 (2): 55–57. doi:10.55468/GC1053. S2CID 251697510.
11. "GMP People". Yorkshire Philosophical Society. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
12. Pyrah, B. (1985). "The Yorkshire Museum, 1984: Geology". Yorkshire Philosophical Society Annual Report for the year 1984. p. 33–37.
13. Halstead, B. (April 1984). "Dinosaurs are to be enjoyed". New Scientist. 1404. New Science Publications: 28.