Finding and Using Archives

1
Finding and Using Archives

• Dr Amanda Jones
• Borthwick Institute
• 21 February 2008

2
Session structure

• What are archives and where are they kept?
• How to locate record repositories
• How to locate archival material
• How to use archives

3
1. What are archives?

• Archives are unique records produced by
  individuals, families, and organisations in the
  course of their activities
• They are preserved in record offices because they
  have continuing value for research purposes
• They come in various formats, including
• parchment documents, paper files, bound volumes,
  maps, plans, photographs, audio video
  recordings, digital files.

4
(No Transcript)
5
(No Transcript)
6
(No Transcript)
7
What can these records be used for?

• Government records domestic and foreign policy
• Court records crime, disorder, witchcraft,
  alehouses
• Church records reaction to the Reformation,
  moral offences
• Probate records charity, literacy, family
  kinship, inheritance patterns, ownership of goods
• Parish records occupational change, infant
  mortality, plague, poor relief, illegitimacy,
  church fabric
• Family and estate records relationships,
  opinions, and attitudes business, political,
  religious, social military activities leisure,
  travel and consumerism agriculture
• Organisations and institutions business history,
  social attitudes, philanthropy, health, education.

8
Types of record repository

• National Repositories
• The National Archives, Kew
• British Library, London
• National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth
• National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh
• Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Belfast
• County Record Offices
• Metropolitan Civic Record Offices
• Specialist Repositories

9
The National Archives (TNA), Kew

• TNA is the UK governments official archive
• It contains 900 years of history from Domesday
  Book to the present
• Records range from parchment and paper scrolls to
  recently created digital files
• TNA holds the records of central government, but
  these relate to places across the UK, and to the
  British colonies.

10
TNA holdings include

• State Papers (domestic, foreign, colonial MF
  copies in Uni. Library)
• Central court records (e.g. Star Chamber,
  Chancery, Requests, Kings Bench, Assizes, Old
  Bailey)
• Records of government departments
• (e.g. Cabinet Office, Foreign Office)
• Military records (e.g. WWI and WWII)
• Probate records (Prerogative Court of Canterbury)
• Taxation records
• Maps
• And much more besides!
• See http//www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

11
The British Library, London

• Contains manuscript collections relating to
  Britain and Europe from c.300 B.C. to the present
• These include historical and political papers,
  maps and topographical drawings, and literary and
  theatrical collections
• Manuscripts relating to Asia, Africa and the
  Pacific are held in the India Office collections
• See http//www.bl.uk/collections

12
County record offices

• Most counties have a single county record office
• Yorkshire is an exception
• Because Yorkshire is so large it was divided into
  4 different administrative units the North,
  East, and West Ridings, and the Ainsty of York
• As a result, Yorkshire has over 200 record
  offices!
• North Yorkshire County Record Office,
  Northallerton
• East Riding Archives Service, Beverley
• West Yorkshire Archives Service Wakefield,
  Leeds, Bradford, Kirklees, Calderdale
• Civic and metropolitan record offices hold the
  records of cities and metropolitan districts
• E.g. York City Archives, London Metropolitan
  Archives

13
County record office holdings

• Quarter sessions records
• Local authorities (county and borough councils)
• Local businesses, schools, charities, hospitals,
  clubs societies
• Family and estate archives
• Papers of private individuals
• Parish records and non-conformist records
• Poor law unions and workhouses
• Militia lists
• Manorial records
• Police and coroners records
• Transport records
• Maps and plans

14
(No Transcript)
15
Specialist record offices

• University libraries and archives
• E.g. Borthwick Brotherton Library (Leeds), John
  Rylands University Library (Manchester), School
  of Oriental African Studies Library (London)
• Hold the university archives, and specialist
  collections
• Others
• E.g. National Railway Museum, York Minster
  Archives, Yorkshire Film Archive, Wellcome
  Institute for the History of Medicine, Scott
  Polar Research Institute, Parliamentary Archives,
  Womens Library, Archive of Art and Design
  Victoria Albert Museum
• hold a whole variety of different types of
  records.

16
Interdisciplinary research

• For bridge essays
• History/English, History/Archaeology,
  History/History of Art
• you may need to combine archival research with
  library, museum and art gallery resources.

17
2. Locating record repositories

• ARCHON www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archon
• an electronic directory of repositories holding
  manuscript sources for British history
• provides contact details for record offices,
  libraries and other record collecting
  institutions in the UK
• allows you to browse by region or search for a
  specific repository.

18
ARCHON searching for a specific repository
(Borthwick Institute)

• www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archon

19
3. Locating archival materials

• Archives can be located through
• On-line catalogues (remote access)
• Published catalogues (available in libraries)
• Paper catalogues (available in record offices)
• Contacting record offices by telephone, letter or
  email.

20
On-line catalogues

• The major on-line archival finding aids are
• Access to Archives
• National Register of Archives
• Archives Hub (university archive collections)
• The National Archives catalogue
• Some catalogues are also available via record
  office websites.

21
Access to Archives (A2A)

• The Access to Archives Project is part of a
  growing national archives network in the UK
• The A2A website www.a2a.org.uk provides access to
  catalogues describing 10 million archives held
  locally in 408 record offices across England
  Wales
• BUT it is by no means fully comprehensive.

22
Using A2A

• The level of detail varies from collection-level
  descriptions (providing a brief signpost to a
  whole archive) to complete catalogues with
  detailed descriptions of individual files and
  items
• You can search for people, places and subjects by
  date range, repository or region
• To understand the records in context download the
  full catalogue
• this shows the hierarchy in which the records are
  arranged and described
• i.e. how a letter fits into a file of
  correspondence, a series of family papers, and
  the archive as a whole.

23
A2A Search Queen Victoria

• www.a2a.org.uk
• Queen Victoria Borthwick Institute
• Archive Halifax Archive
• Series Wood Family, Official Professional
  Papers (Halifax A4)
• Full catalogue ?
• File Sir Charles Wood, correspondence with Queen
  Victoria, Jan-Feb 1866 (Halifax A4/194 30
  letters)
• Item letter from Queen Victoria to Sir Charles
  Wood about his resignation from the government, 3
  Feb 1866.

24
(No Transcript)
25
National Register of Archives (NRA)

• www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra
• The NRA is a central point for the collection and
  dissemination of information about the nature and
  location of archives relating to British history
• It is an index to over 44,000 unpublished lists
  and catalogues describing archival holdings in
  the UK and overseas
• It can be searched by corporate name, personal
  name, family name or place name, but NOT by theme
  or subject
• the register covers the archives of 46,000
  individuals, 9,000 families, 29,000 businesses,
  75,000 organisations.

26
What information does the NRA provide?

• The quantity and quality of information contained
  in the NRA lists varies greatly, but you will
  usually find
• the name of the record creator
• a short summary of the records covering dates of
  the collection descriptions of main record
  groups (e.g. correspondence)
• the location of the records repository name.

27
NRA Search Wood Family, Earls of Halifax

• www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra
• Family name/title (Wood/Halifax)
• Historical information details of seats and
  estates
• (Hickleton, Garrowby, Monk Bretton Yorkshire)
• Archival information scope of the records
• Deeds and estate papers, household records,
  family, personal political papers
• Repository details (Borthwick Institute etc)
• Links to ARCHON contact details.

28
NRA search results

• The results show that the papers of the Wood
  family, Earls of Halifax are split across several
  record offices
• It is hardly ever the case that all the archival
  material you need for your research project will
  be in one place!

29
NRA locating a particular document

• The NRA does not provide detailed series, file,
  or item descriptions
• It only provides links to on-line catalogues
• Use A2A (or the relevant paper catalogue) to
  search for particular documents
• e.g. Halifax A4/410/4/5 a top secret letter from
  Lord Hankey to Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st
  Earl of Halifax, about the growing discontent at
  Churchills management of the war, 1 May 1941.

30
(No Transcript)
31
Archives Hub

• The Archives Hub is a national gateway to
  descriptions of archives in UK universities and
  colleges
• You can select a particular institution from the
  drop-down list of repositories, and browse its
  holdings
• You can carry out simple subject searches (e.g.
  World War II)
• Use the advanced search for more complex subject
  searches (e.g. railways in Lancashire), or for a
  specific place or name
• The Hub contains many thousands of descriptions,
  but is not a comprehensive reflection of the
  holdings of all UK universities and colleges.

32
Archives Hub search York Archbishops Visitations

• www.archiveshub.ac.uk
• scroll down to York Archiepiscopal Visitation
  Records
• Hub brief description
• link to Borthwick website guides/finding aids
• Diocesan Records Records of Visitation
• ? bound parchment volume Archbishop Grindals
  Visitation Court Book, 1575 (V 1575 CB1)

33
(No Transcript)
34
TNA Catalogue

• www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
• The National Archives Catalogue can be searched
  ( documents pre-ordered) on-line
• Contains 10 million descriptions of documents
  created by central government departments, courts
  of law, and other UK national bodies, held at TNA
• Searchable by place, name, subject and date,
  either by document class or across TNAs holdings
• The website includes useful tips on starting your
  research.

35
TNA Catalogue research guides

• These handy research guides outline sources for
  topics as diverse as
• crime and the law, the Jacobite risings, the
  Suez crisis, lunacy, Jewish history, imperial
  history, military history, enclosure, the poor,
  the dissolution of the monasteries
• They provide useful introductions to certain
  records, e.g
• State Papers
• Foreign Office Records
• The Court of Star Chamber
• Manorial Records.

36
Finding research guides

• www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
• Click on research, education on-line
  exhibitions, then select research guides
• Click on D in the alphabetical list to select
  the guide to sources for the dissolution of the
  monasteries.

37
Searching the catalogue

• Use the basic search option to search by place,
  personal name, or subject
• searches can be narrowed to a particular class of
  records or broadened to cover the whole of TNAs
  holdings
• you can limit your search to a particular date
  range.
• printed versions of Public Record Office Lists
  and Indexes are available in the University
  Library.

38
Sample search across TNAs holdings

• www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
• Search the archives the catalogue search the
  catalogue (NB tips for new users)
• Searching for the keyword rebellion between
  1547 and 1553 results in 31 hits to various
  classes of records.

39
Search tips

• When using on-line catalogues, search for all
  possible variant spellings of surnames and place
  names
• E.g. Cavendish, Cavendishe
• E.g. Northaw, Northam, Northall
• Use surname and place name dictionaries to help
  you.

40
Specialist databases

• Are there any specialist databases for the type
  of archival material you require? E.g.
• Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674-1834
• www.oldbaileyonline.org
• accounts of over 100,000 criminal trials
• Hospital Records database
• www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/hospitalrecords
• The Manorial Documents Register (MDR)
• partially on-line at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/m
  dr

41
(No Transcript)
42
Paper catalogues

• Published catalogues of archival holdings are
  available in the university library, e.g.
• Public Record Office lists and indexes
• Borthwick Guide
• Guide to York City Archives
• Guides to local ROs (ER Yorks., Essex, Herts.)
• Detailed unpublished archival catalogues are
  available in record offices for consultation.

43
Using catalogues

• Read the introduction to the catalogue to set the
  records in context
• Archives are arranged hierarchically and you will
  need to understand how a particular item relates
  to a record series and the archive as a whole
• Remember to take down the full reference and item
  description to order documents.

44
(No Transcript)
45
(No Transcript)
46
(No Transcript)
47
Contacting record offices

• You can contact record offices direct to find out
  whether they have any relevant material for your
  dissertation
• When you write your letter or email make sure you
  include a bit of context about your research
  project, including dates
• If you already have full document references you
  can pre-order documents for your visit.

48
Secondary sources, printed editions, and
documents on-line

• Trawl the footnotes of relevant secondary sources
  for archival references
• Use published guides to assess what type of
  material may be relevant to your research
• e.g. A. Macfarlane, A Guide to English Historical
  Records (1995) L.M. Munby, Short Guides to
  Records (1994)
• First check if the material you require has been
  printed
• Are there any printed editions of similar records
  to familiarise you with document formats?
• Are images of the documents available on-line?
  (e.g. via TNAs website).

49
4. Using archives

• Before visiting a record office, check out their
  website to find out about
• Appointment systems
• Opening hours
• Rules and regulations
• Document issue times
• Proof of identity for reader cards
• Copying services
• Provision of power for laptops
• Food and drink facilities.

50
Using the Borthwick

• The Borthwicks archives are on your doorstep, so
  make the most of them!
• Email bihr500_at_york.ac.uk or ring 32 1166 to
  arrange an appointment to speak to a Borthwick
  archivist about possible sources for your
  dissertation.

51
Contacting Borthwick archivists

• Or email the relevant archivist direct
• Medieval archives
• Philippa Hoskin ph19_at_york.ac.uk
• Early modern archives
• Chris Webb ccw1_at_york.ac.uk
• Early modern and modern archives
• Amanda Jones aj509_at_york.ac.uk

52
What does the Borthwick hold?

• The Borthwick preserves and provides access to a
  wide range of ecclesiastical and secular records
  dating from the twelfth to the twenty-first
  centuries.

53
Borthwick holdings ecclesiastical

• Diocesan records (e.g. archbishops registers and
  visitations)
• Church court records (cause papers)
• Probate records (wills and inventories)
• Parish records (archdeaconry of York parishes
  parish registers, churchwardens accounts etc)
• Faculties (church fabric)
• And much more besides!

54
(No Transcript)
55
Borthwick holdings secular

• Hospital archives Retreat York NHS Trust
  Archive
• Business records Rowntree, Terrys, York
  Waterworks Co., Vickers Instruments, Atkinson
  Brierley (architects)
• Family estate papers Earls of Halifax,
  Yarbrugh family, York family, Tuke papers,
  Lascelles (slavery)
• Personal papers James Russell (landscape
  gardener), diaries of Thomas Musgrave
• Private/institutional archives Merchant Taylors
  Co., Bluecoat School, Mount School, South African
  Studies, University Archive.

56
(No Transcript)
57
Borthwick website

• www.york.ac.uk/borthwick

58
(No Transcript)
59
(No Transcript)
60
Rules and regulations

• These are for the security and preservation of
  the archives
• Rules vary at different offices, but you will be
  asked to
• Register/sign in
• Lock away your belongings
• Use pencils or laptops only
• Use preservation equipment
• Being polite to archives staff and following the
  rules gets you what you want!

61
Using archives

• Archives and archival catalogues are not arranged
  by subject, so think laterally about what types
  of sources will be useful to you
• Archives are arranged and described to reflect
  the way in which they were created and used. This
  helps us to understand how administrative bodies
  operated, and the types of records they created
• Think about which individual, family,
  organisation, or institution might have created
  relevant records
• Then work your way through archive catalogues to
  select material.

62
Topic selection

• Think about
• Big ideas for your research topic
• Big collections that may be relevant
• Broad approaches using a variety of documents
• Whether there is sufficient material for your
  topic (not everything survives)
• How to get there?
• Your dissertation supervisor and archivists will
  be able to suggest relevant source material for
  your topic
• Use the published Guides to Sources for British
  History

63
Research strategies

• Most topics require a whole range of documents,
  often held at different record offices
• E.g. witchcraft assize records, church court
  records (cause papers), visitation records,
  pamphlet literature
• E.g. rebellion combine printed chronicles with
  central and local court records
• E.g. World War II combine Foreign Office records
  with the political papers of individuals, e.g.
  Lord Halifax.

64
(No Transcript)
65
Example papers of Thomas Musgrave

• Even if youre researching a particular
  individual you may find that their personal
  papers are split across record offices
• E.g. the papers of Thomas Musgrave, Archbishop of
  York
• Diaries (Grand Tour of Europe at the time of the
  Battle of Waterloo, 1815) Borthwick Institute
• Correspondence at Nottinghamshire RO etc

66
(No Transcript)
67
Which record office?

• Think about
• place - which county or riding is it in?
• administrative/ecclesiastical jurisdiction
• significant dates
• e.g. for the Old Poor Law, see parish records
  for the New Poor Law (1834), see Quarter Sessions
  and Poor Law Union records
• parish registers are the main source for
  population studies until census records begin in
  1801, and civil registration in 1837
• Remember, some local records are held
  centrally, e.g. 17thC hearth tax returns for the
  counties are generally held by TNA .

68
Access restrictions

• Generally most records are open for public access
• But there may be access restrictions on
• fragile documents (you may be asked to use a
  microfilm or digital copy, or to postpone your
  visit until the item has been conserved)
• documents covered by the Data Protection Act
  (material less than 100 years old sensitive
  material, e.g. hospital records)
• the archives of certain depositors
• These are usually indicated in the catalogue. If
  in doubt, ask an archivist.

69
Note-taking

• Remember to take down the full archival reference
  to cite in your footnotes
• Take good notes this will save you having to
  return to a document again later
• Transcribe any important documents in full.

70
Copying services

• If you have limited research time, or cant read
  a document, you may be able to get a copy of it
  to work on at home
• Be warned, archival copying services can be
  expensive!
• Check how long you will have to wait for your
  copies
• Types of copies available may include
• microfilm printouts, photocopies, photographs,
  digital images (depending on the material)
• Fragile documents will NOT be copied.

71
Research skills languages

• Make use of any printed translations or calendars
  of relevant documents
• If you want to use original documents, what
  research skills will you need?
• Medievalists and early modernists are likely to
  need some Latin
• a beginners Latin course is offered by Languages
  for All
• dictionaries, word lists and archivists are there
  to help you
• NB Latin was the language of legal documents
  until 1733!

72
(No Transcript)
73
Research skills palaeography

• Check whether printed transcripts are available
• If you want to use original documents, can you
  read medieval or early modern handwriting? If
  not
• Sign up for the Borthwicks palaeography classes
• Borthwick handwriting wallets are available for
  purchase (from Searchroom Reception)
• TNA on-line palaeography tutorials are available
  at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/palaeography

74
(No Transcript)
75
Research skills modern archives

• Even eighteenth and nineteenth-century
  handwriting can be difficult to read!
• In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth
  centuries people developed a habit of writing
  letters crossways

76
(No Transcript)
77
Conclusion be prepared!

• Find out where the relevant archives are held
• Gain the appropriate research skills
• Check opening hours and facilities
• Follow the rules.