Forthcoming events at London Metropolitan Archives

Forthcoming exhibitions and talks at London Metropolitan Archives (https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/london-metropolitan-archives/Pages/default.aspx):

Criminal Lives, 1780-1925: Punishing Old Bailey Convicts
Exhibition runs until 16 May 2018

Between 1700 and 1900, Britain stopped punishing the bodies of convicts and increasingly sought to reform their minds. Exile and forced labour in Australia and incarceration in penitentiaries became the dominant modes of punishment. This exhibition uses the collections of LMA to trace the impact of these punishments on convict lives.

Free - during normal LMA opening hours. Further details at https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/london-metropolitan-archives/news-events/Pages/criminal-lives-exhibition.aspx


A Visit to Conservation
Thursday 18 January, 2 - 3 pm.

Meet members of the Conservation team and find out about the essential work which preserves our records for future generations.

Free - booking essential. See https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-visit-in-conservation-tickets-41041084990


The IHR British History in the Long 18th Century Seminar: Sparing the noose: the penal outcomes of convicts sentenced to death at the Old Bailey, 1730 to 1868
Wednesday 24 January, 5.15 - 7.30 pm.

A significant and increasing proportion of those sentenced to death at the Old Bailey were ‘spared the noose’ and instead transported, imprisoned, or given free pardons. This talk explains how the death penalty was gradually abandoned and discusses how, and on what basis, decisions about alternative penal outcomes were made. Speaker Bob Shoemaker

See https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-ihr-british-history-in-the-long-18th-century-seminar-sparing-the-noose-the-penal-outcomes-of-tickets-39911625747


Approaches to Opening Up Medical Records
Friday 19 January, 9.30 am - 1.30 pm.

At this professional seminar, London Metropolitan Archives and St Bartholomew’s Hospital Archives will share their approaches to opening up access to medical records in their collections through two current projects funded by the Wellcome Trust Research Resources in Medical History scheme. More information on the Eventbrite booking page.

Free - booking essential. See https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/approaches-to-opening-up-medical-records-tickets-40179235174


Training and induction sessions
Check future events at LMA

Every month, we run a selection of training sessions for LMA users to enable you to enhance your research. Whether you're new to archives or a seasoned visitor, you may still find these sessions useful!

We run sessions most months on the following topics:

Getting started at LMA
Handling documents
Family History starter sessions
Understanding old handwriting

See https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/london-metropolitan-archives-2913691059


LGBTQ+ History Club: Discovering the Archive
Wednesday 17 January, 6 - 7.30 pm.

An introduction to LGBTQ+ History Club, including a behind the scenes tour, document viewing and a chance to discuss ideas. LGBTQ+ History Club meets to explore and share lesbian, gay, trans, bisexual and queer histories. Keep up to date here: www.facebook.com/lgbthistory. Contact LMA to be added to the LGBTQ+ email list

Free - drop in session. See https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lgbtq-history-club-discovering-the-archive-tickets-41040925513

(With thanks to LMA)

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Archive conservation work

There are two good articles online today discussing the work of conservators in preserving and repairing archive based material.

First, the National Records of Scotland blog has a post at https://blog.nrscotland.gov.uk/2017/10/20/conservation-for-the-nation/, written by NRS conservator Gloria Conti, detailing the work of the facility's Conservation Services Branch in Edinburgh.

Elsewhere, the National Archives in England has a blog post online at http://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/blog/banishing-bulk-conserving-17th-century-volume/ detailing the specific conservation work applied to a 17th century binding of a documents collection from the weirdly and wonderfully named Office of First Fruits and Tenths and the Court of Augmentations, within the Exchequer records held at the facility.

For a great story on a further successful conservation effort, don't forget to visit the website of the Great Parchment Book project at www.greatparchmentbook.org, including the wonderful video on its homepage showing how this important work concerning the Ulster Plantations was rescued after severe fire damage.

Chris

My next 5 week long Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course commences Nov 6th 2017 - details at https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

The weeding of Scottish court records

The National Records of Scotland (www.nrscotland.gov.uk) has published an interesting blog post about the process of 'weeding' records that it collects each year from Scotland's sheriff courts.

Whilst all court registers are kept and preserved, not all original court files are retained, only those which have "historical, evidential or informational values". This is why in some cases, whilst you may find an initial summary record of a historic civil case, for example, the original case files themselves may not be available to consult at an archive. Weeding happens in many archives, across a range of record types, in order to save space within archives, and in many cases to actually make the research process easier (removing duplicates and unnecessary suport materials). Of course, from a genealogist's point of view, there may be a very different interpretation of what constitutes "historical, evidential or informational value" to what the state decides!

For more on the NRS story, visit the blog post by Jennifer Homewood, of the SCTS/NRS National Sheriff Court Records Survey, at https://blog.nrscotland.gov.uk/2017/06/19/weeding-scotlands-courts/.

The full policy on the weeding of court records by the NRS is also available online at https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/record-keeping/records-policies/selection-of-court-and-legal-records-policy.

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102.
For details on my Scottish & Irish genealogy guide books, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.
For my genealogy research service, please visit http://www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk.

London Metropolitan Archive - June events

Some forthcoming events at London Metropolitan Archives:

The Londoners - portrait of a working city, c1447-1980
Exhibition runs until 5 July 2017

Hundreds of thousands of faces - images of born Londoners and more transient visitors - are preserved forever in our collections.
Winners, losers, the famous or the forgotten, countless Londoners have been recorded as they went about their work in the capital.
From studied portraits to casual snapshots, from 15th century drawings to recent colour photographs, the archive brings them all together and presents them as the history of our capital city.

Free - during normal LMA opening hours.

The Londoners: Exhibition Tour with the Curator

Join us for a tour of our current exhibition of images of Londoners. Encounter artists and aldermen, loungers and labourers, at home, in the street, or in the studio.

Free - drop in sessions will be running on the following dates:

Thursday 8 June, 6 - 6.30 pm.
Tuesday 13 June, 1 - 1.20 pm.
Thursday 22 June, 1 - 1.20 pm.


A visit to Conservation
Thursday 22 June, 2 - 3 pm.

Meet members of the Conservation team and find out about the essential work which preserves our records for future generations.

Free - booking essential.


Deciphering Old Handwriting (Advanced)
Thursday 15 June, 5.30 - 7 pm.

This practical session gives expert help in reading different types of handwriting from the 16th and 17th centuries. You will practice with copy documents from LMA's collections and get tips for deciphering early historical writing. Some experience of reading historical documents is required.

£8 - booking essential. See https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/deciphering-old-handwriting-advanced-tickets-32619444637


Making the most of your trip to LMA

Every month, we run a selection of training sessions for LMA users to enhance your research. Whether you're new to archives or a seasoned visitor, you may still find these sessions useful!

We run sessions most months on the following topics:

• Getting started at LMA
• Handling documents
• Family History starter sessions
• Understanding old handwriting

LGBTQ History Club
Wednesday 7 June, 6 - 7.30 pm.

A regular monthly meeting to explore lesbian, gay, trans, bisexual and queer histories.

Keep up to date with the programme here: www.facebook.com/lgbthistory.


Photography and Film in the Archives Group
Tuesday 20 June, 5.30 - 7.30 pm.

Join us for a monthly series of talks, document viewings and discussions about photographic archives, collections and histories.

Free - drop in session.


More details on the above, plus further events, are outlined at http://mailchi.mp/cityoflondon/may-events-at-london-metropolitan-archives-812969

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102.
For details on my Scottish & Irish genealogy guide books, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.
For my genealogy research service, please visit http://www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk.

Australian National Archives preservation facility relocation

From the National Archives in Australia (www.naa.gov.au), news of some forthcoming disruption with regard to its preservation facility in Canberra:

40 million items on the move

The relocation of records to the new National Archives Preservation Facility in Canberra is an exciting evolution for the Archives. The architecturally designed, environmentally sustainable building has storage for approximately 25 per cent of our extensive collection.

It will house 104 kilometres of paper records, more than nine kilometres of audio-visual records and a digital archive, ensuring the preservation and conservation of our irreplaceable collection continues into the future.

There will be disruption to access to the Canberra-based collection from 30 October 2016 to 1 July 2017, as we relocate 15 million records from multiple repositories and rehouse them in the National Archives Preservation Facility.

While we are unable to retrieve all affected records, we have identified high-use records that will continue to be available in the Canberra Reading Room. You can also view digitised records online. Please note that access to records in our state and territory offic
es will not be affected.

For further details visit www.naa.gov.au/collection/managing-collection/securing-national-archives-holdings/napf/index.aspx

(With thanks to the NAA newsletter at http://email.synergymail.com.au/t/ViewEmail/r/3A46784C4B82B2422540EF23F30FEDED/A1D5F02068EAF9FB3EDEEDC46EB9B960)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Beginner's Guide to British and Irish Genealogy, A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Northamptonshire Archives Early Wills Project blog

Thanks to Francis Howcutt of the Federation of Family History Societies in England (www.ffhs.org.uk) for flagging up an interesting blog entitled Northamptonshire Archives Early Wills Project: Conservation of 28 volumes of Tudor and Stuart Wills.

The blog's purpose is outlined as follows:

This blog is a chronicle of The Early Wills Project to conserve 28 volumes of Tudor and Stuart Wills held by Northamptonshire Archives Service. The work is being carried out by Book and Paper Conservator Alison Faden and began in December 2013.

Although the blog has not been updated since the middle of 2014, it does provide some excellent background content to the project, as well as many well illustrated posts - well worth a read at https://northamptonshireearlywillsproject.wordpress.com.

(With thanks to Francis Howcutt - original story at http://www.ffhs.org.uk/news/news160103.php)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including my recently released Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. My Pinterest account is at https://www.pinterest.com/chrismpaton/.

Dublin Metropolitan Police Movement of Extremists reports 1915-16

The National Archives of Ireland has released a series of records from Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP), labelled Movement of Extremists 29 May 1915 - 20 April 1916. The records refer to the period leading up to the Easter Rising of 1916, the moment when an Irish Republic was first proclaimed as a breakaway state from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Although the rebellion was crushed, it was a classic case for the British of winning the battle but losing the war, with the treatment and execution of the rebellion's leaders, coupled with the conscription crisis, soon leading to a massive change of sympathy from the Irish population towards the rebels' aims.

The Dublin Metropolitan Police's reports can be accessed at www.nationalarchives.ie/digital-resources/chief-secretarys-office-crime-branch-dublin-metropolitan-police-dmp-movement-of-extremists-29-may-1915-20-april-1916/dmp-reports-june-1915/. A guide on how the archive conserved the reports can be found at www.nationalarchives.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/How-we-conserved-the-Movement-of-Extremist-reports.pdf, whilst a separate guide to the conservation of newspaper clippings held within the reports is available at www.nationalarchives.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/July-2015_v1.pdf.

(With thanks to @NARIreland and @archivesireland via Twitter)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including my recently released Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. My Pinterest account is at https://www.pinterest.com/chrismpaton/.

Illustrating Victory in World War 2

The National Archives in England has an interesting blog post detailing how the British Government "strove to keep every man, woman and child from thoughts of quitting the war effort" in the Second World War. It includes information on war artists, the Ministry of Information's efforts to provide information and propaganda, and recent conservation efforts on protecting the relevant collections. The post is available at http://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/blog/ve-day-posters/

Chris

For details on my latest book Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, and my other genealogy guide books please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. To commission me for genealogical research, please visit my research site at www.scotlandsgreateststory.co.uk.

Great Parchment Book Day event in London

From the Great Parchment Book blog (http://www.greatparchmentbook.org/2014/06/23/programme-announced-for-great-parchment-book-day/), details of a Great Parchment Book Day conference event at London Metropolitan Archives to be held on Friday 25th July 2014.

The Great Parchment Book of the Honourable The Irish Society was a major survey compiled in 1639 by Charles I of the planted estates in Derry managed by the City of London's trade guilds and the Irish Society. It recently underwent a massive conservation challenge, the book being heavily damaged by fire many years ago, with a great deal of useful information retrieved for the use of historian and family historian alike.

The conference will have two main sessions, the morning focussing on the Great Parchment Book story itself, with the afternoon a technological session on handling historical documents through innovative technologies. The event is fully booked, but there is a waiting list for any potential cancellations.

The following is the programme:

MORNING: CONTEXT

10.00am Registration, coffee and housekeeping

10.15am Welcome (Deputy Catherine McGuinness)

10.20am Introduction to LMA, collections overview, where the Great Parchment Book sits within those collections, why it became the focus for the project and why it mattered (Philippa Smith)

11.00am TEA/COFFEE

11.15pm Accessing History through Innovative Technologies:
The Great Parchment Book Project Story
Conservation (Dr Caroline De Stefani)
Transcription/textual encoding (Dr Patricia Stewart)
Digital flattening (Kazim Pal)
Q&A

13.00pm LUNCHTIME

AFTERNOON: EXPLORING NEW TECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS IN CREATING ACCESS TO HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS

14.00pm Welcome and introduction – impact, outcomes and wider context (Dr Tim Weyrich)

14.30pm Display of damaged original materials including Great Parchment Book and LMA Rogues Gallery; demonstration of digital flattening software; opportunity to discuss further possible applications of flattening software and other techniques being researched on LMA material; demonstration of textual encoding (Dr Caroline De Stefani, Marie Poirot, Dr Tim Weyrich, Kazim Pal, Dr Helen Graham-Matheson, Dr Patricia Stewart)

15.15pm TEA/COFFEE

15.30pm HISTORY FUTURES PANEL (Professor Melissa Terras - UCL, Chair, Dr Tim Weyrich – UCL, Emma Stewart – LMA, David Howell – Bodleian Library)

How new technologies can and may impact on challenging materials, access and availability, preservation issues – how can we take projects forward? HLF partner bid proposal, Q&A and expressions of interest

16.30pm CLOSE

(With thanks to the Great Parchment Book blog)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians, whilst my new book British and Irish Newspapers is also now out. And FindmyPast - please reinstate the original Scottish census citations on your new site.

Gloves off at the National Archives

You know how the great and the good often give the impression that you have to wear white cotton gloves when handling archive materials - especially when materials are being handled on TV programmes?! Well, forget all that from now on, at least in the National Archives at Kew!

A blog post by Hannah Clare explains how from now on, TNA will no longer require its staff to wear white gloves when handling archival material for filming purposes. The reason? You can do more damage to a document wearing white gloves than without them.

Read the full post at http://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/blog/the-gloves-are-off/.

Do you agree with TNA's decision? Do let me know in the comments section!

Chris

My new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, is now available from Pen and Sword. My Scottish land and church records ebooks are available at http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html, whilst my next Pharos Scottish course, Scottish Research Online, starts Sep 4th - see http://pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Time to smash a few brick walls...!

Londonderry's Great Parchment Book progress

I'm just off the phone from Derry City Council's Heritage and Museum Service (www.derrycity.gov.uk/Museums/Archive-Service) archivist Bernadette Walsh, with some brilliant news on work being carried out there in partnership with London Metropolitan Archives.

A major project is currently underway in Derry to conserve a document from 1639 known as the Great Parchment Book. Held at London Metropolitan Archives, this document was created by The Honourable the Irish Society under the authority of Charles I in the immediate aftermath of the Ulster Plantations, and is effectively a survey of all the estates managed by the London based society. Seriously damaged by fire in 1786, work is now underway to try to restore it in time for the 400th anniversary of the building of Derry’s walls in 2013. I've previously reported in this blog (http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/london-metropolitan-archives-news.html) that a dedicated blog for the Great Parchment Book project is online at http://greatparchmentbook.wordpress.com, which describes some of the extraordinary challenges the team has faced in bring the document back to life. Within the book is a snapshot of the very first years of the Ulster Plantations settlement in Derry and Coleraine, some two years before the major rebellion against it in 1641.

The good news is that once the conservation work is finished - and that is almost complete - the work is being digitised and indexed with a view to the material being placed online for free. The first batch is expected to go online by late this year or early next year, with the whole project hoped for upload by the end of 2013.

For those fortunate enough to get back that far, bear in mind also Trinity College Dublin’s hugely impressive 1641 Dispositions project at http://1641.tcd.ie. This mainly provides statements gathered in five collections between 1641 and 1654 from Protestant settlers who witnessed the 1641 uprisings, or who had property damaged, though it also includes testimony from some Roman Catholic witnesses. The scope is much further, with statements recorded across all four provinces in Ireland, providing another unique snapshot into the life of those settlers living in Ireland just a generation after the Plantations started in the early 17th century.

NB: Keep an eye out for more great Irish web based resources in my forthcoming book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet! :)

(With thanks to Bernadette)

Chris

Scottish Research Online - 5 weeks online Pharos course, £45.99, taught by Chris Paton from 26 SEP 2012 - see www.pharostutors.com
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)

Preserving early Irish Cabinet minute books

Some of my favourite online reads are the occasional postings by the National Archives of Ireland on the conservation issues that it regularly faces in various collections. The latest concerns the preservation of three Cabinet minute books from the early Dail of 1922-23, with original pages of minutes crudely pasted into volumes of very poor quality acidic brown paper. Have a read of the short two page guide on how the damage was repaired at www.nationalarchives.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/CabinetMinuteConservation.pdf.

Chris

Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx (from June 12th 2012)