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London Metropolitan Archives

ARCHIVES


IDENTITY STATEMENT

Reference code(s): COL/AC

Held at: London Metropolitan Archives

Title: ARCHIVES

Date(s): 1252-1999

Level of description: sub-fonds

Extent: 45 linear metres

Name of creator(s): Corporation of London

CONTEXT

Administrative/Biographical history:

Record keeping practices were first encouraged in the medieval period by the periodic review of local administration and justice conducted by the Crown, particularly when permanent legal and administrative courts developed with professional staff. The Town Clerk, first mentioned in 1274, was responsible for encouraging good record keeping and for the safe custody of the records. The records were kept in the Book House, near the Guildhall, and were inspected regularly by the Aldermen, with new shelving, doors and locks ordered in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Book House was not destroyed during the Great Fire in 1666, but the records were moved during rebuilding and became scattered. In the 18th century new rooms were made available for the records and attention was paid to cataloguing and indexing. In 1876 the first Deputy Keeper or Clerk of the Records, Mr R R Sharpe, was appointed. He was given the title 'Deputy Keeper of the Records' because the Town Clerk held the title 'Keeper of the Records' and had done since the 15th century. Before this it seems that the Guildhall Librarians were often called upon to care for the records and conduct research. In December 1940 a bomb destroyed all the offices and some store rooms, while other store rooms survived the collapse of the building. Some of the more ancient records had already been evacuated away from London. The Deputy Keeper of the Records was retitled the City Archivist in 1987.

CONTENT

Scope and content/abstract:

Calendars and historical research relating to the City and Corporation of London, 1252-1999. The collection contains calendars and indexes made by clerks to aid their work including calendars and indexes of wills and deeds entered in the Court of Husting, 1252-1616; calendar to Acts of the Common Council 'Liber Legum' (extracts from the City's Letter Books), 1582 and 1585; calendar of various matters dispersed through the City's books and rolls, 1275-1609 and 1713-1717; index to repertories, 1545-1588; copies of articles from the Charter and Liberties of London, 16--; copies of 126 legal cases made on behalf of the City, 16-- - 1755; papers dating to the 17th and 18th centuries collected by William Turner Alchin, Guildhall Librarian, 1845-1865, including material relating to the Great Fire of London, 1666, the Gordon Riots, 1780, and markets.

Also research notes and reports including the collection of Dr R R Sharpe, Clerk of the Records, 1876-1913; research papers intended to replace the Historical Reports destroyed in 1940 by the Guildhall bombing, consisting mainly of reports made by the City Archivist and his predecessors on the historical aspects of institutions of the Corporation and of the City Companies, as well as reports and articles by others, based on research amongst the Corporation's archives; and some publications of the London Topographical Society, 1945-1999.

ACCESS AND USE

Language/scripts of material: English

System of arrangement:

In sections as follows: ancient calendars, lists and indexes, record commissioners, general, Dr Sharpe's correspondence, Alchin collection, articles of the charter and liberties of London, cases relating to ye City of London, City extracts, historical papers, papers, acts and reports, research papers, slides, negatives, prints, sound recordings, video recordings, films, London Topographical Society.

Conditions governing access:

These records are available for public inspection, although records containing personal information are subject to access restrictions under the UK Data Protection Act, 1998

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copyright: City of London

Physical characteristics:

Some material not fit for production.

Finding aids:

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

ARCHIVAL INFORMATION

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:

Accruals:

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Corporation of London Records Office.

ALLIED MATERIALS

Existence and location of originals:

Existence and location of copies:

Related material:

For the City Letter Books see COL/AD Administration, for charters see COL/CH Charters, for extracts and calendars see COL/CS Custumals and for Town Clerks see COl/TCD.

For Corporation of London records relating to museums, libraries and art galleries, see: CLA/076: Museum of London, COL/AC: Archives, COL/CC/BRA: Barbican Arts Centre Joint Working Party (Arts Centre), COL/CC/BRC: Barbican Centre Committee, COL/CC/GHY: Guildhall Yard East Building Committee, COL/CC/LIB: Libraries, Guildhall Art Gallery and Archives Committee, COL/CC/LMC: Library and Museum Committee, COL/CC/MLB: Museum of London Board of Governors, COL/LBD/AD: Libraries and Art Galleries: Administration, COL/LBD/AG: Libraries and Art Galleries: Guildhall Art Gallery, COL/LBD/GHL: Libraries and Art Galleries: Guildhall Library and COL/LBD/MUS: Libraries and Art Galleries: Guildhall Museum.

Publication note:

DESCRIPTION NOTES

Note:

Rules or conventions: Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions: February 2009


INDEX ENTRIES
Subjects
Administrative history | Administration | Organisation and management
Archive records preservation | Records management
Gordon Riots (1780) | Riots (events)
Great Fire of London (1666) | Fires | Accidents | Disasters
Historical research | History
Disasters (events)

Personal names
Alchin | William Turner | 1790-1865 | Guildhall Librarian
Sharpe | R R | fl 1876-1913 | Deputy Keeper of the Records, Corporation of London

Corporate names
Deputy Keeper of the Records | Corporation of London
Town Clerk | Corporation of London

Places
City of London | London | England | UK | Western Europe | Europe