These past few months, I have been busy researching in archives as part of my PhD work. I have been very lucky to research within the archives of Castle Howard in York, the home of the Howard family. This magnificent residence is open to the public to visit throughout the year, including its main house, associated buildings and extensive gardens. It boasts impressive fountains, the great lake and a garden centre, plus monuments and mausoleum.
The archives are located near the estate office and I was privileged to be able to drive past the house and park in the staff car park just behind. Once in the archive office, I was granted access to the privately held records of the 9th Countess of Carlisle who was the president of the British Women’s Temperance Association (BWTA) between 1903-1924. The day before my official visit to the archives, I joined a behind-the-scenes tour of the main house, visiting its closed rooms and cellars. The dome in the centre top of the building was accessed via some very narrow spiral stone steps, up to the gallery where I was able to look out of the top windows and admire the views and the back of the statues that adorn the building. It was quite surreal!
When working in the archive, the letters and correspondence, scrapbooks and documents were all organised and this, according to the curator, was down to the 9th Countess, Rosalind Howard who was meticulous in organising her correspondence, making the cataloguing process much easier for the archivist.
Travelling from York to Glasgow, I visited the archive of the late artist and writer, Alasdair Gray which is based in the Whisky Bond building north of Glasgow city centre. This is an amazing collection of books, pictures, artwork, and of course, his now-famous desk and chair. I was visiting as part of a writing course, and we were lucky to have the tour of the archive included in the visit. His work is truly an inspiration and credit must be made to the custodians for curating an interesting archive and tour. https://thealasdairgrayarchive.org/
My third archive visit this month was to view some family history papers of the Congreve family for a research project I am involved in at the Staffordshire History Centre. It was my first visit and long overdue since the refurbishment from the previous Stafford Record Office last year. Ordering the documents was a little tricky and I am still in the process of looking through the many sub-headings which are in documentation bundles for a further visit. I will be creating a blog post on this research which combines art and detective work to trace the ownership of a building near Greenwich, London.
Last year, I visited The National Archives in Kew. The ordering of these records was easy and straightforward. Although once I had arrived at the archives, as a first-time visitor, I needed to register for a readers ticket and archive card. Once I had passed through security and had offloaded my personal belongings in the lockers, the records were available to take from an allocated locker and to the corresponding desk. Upon completing my research, I carried out another research task for a colleague which was upstairs in the map room. This large room had equally large tables to accommodate maps and larger documents. The ordering process had been simple during the same online order process which I had completed 2 weeks prior, to ensure that the documents were there in time for my visit. https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
My top tips when visiting an archive:
- Take a pencil with no eraser on the end, which archives accept (no pens!)
- Take a notepad
- Take a device (already charged) to take photographs*
- Be prepared to off-load personal items in a locker if provided
- Take a jacket/cardigan – these places can get chilly, especially if you’re sitting directly under the air conditioning unit !
* Photographs – you may need to purchase a photographic permit, the archivist/staff will advise and could cost around £10-50 depending on day or yearly permit.
You may also need an archive card – Staffordshire History Centre, for example accept the ARA archive card system which can be registered beforehand via https://www.archivescard.com/ARA