Top 10 Archives… No.10
- 24th October 2011
This week sees the start of a countdown of our Top 10 most frequently accessed archive collections. We have checked our document production figures for the last couple of years in order to see what our users are requesting to view most often and here we will let you know a bit about each of the collections featured.
In at number 10 is…
The Croome collection – the archives of the Earls of Coventry
The Croome collection was created over hundreds of years by the Coventry family and their estates across Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, London and beyond. The unique archive came into public ownership in 2005 as part of the Acceptance in Lieu of Inheritance Tax Scheme, whereby the nation accepts valuable assets to set against tax liabilities. In 2006, after making a case for housing this exceptional collection, Worcestershire Record Office was delighted to be identified as its new permanent home.
Plan of Croome park by John Snape, 1796
The archive includes substantial runs of papers relating to the estates of the family, including plans, rentals, deeds and correspondence. It also includes unique records relating to the building, decoration and furnishing of Croome Court, and the creation and development of the parkland surrounding it, which was Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown’s first complete landscape work.
The collection provides an invaluable insight into the history of the county and is a very important resource for researchers. The collection held at the Record Office covers the estate archives up to the year 1921. Records created after this date remain with the Croome Estate office. The collection is currently being catalogued and parts of it are now available to search online.
Check back next week for number 9!
Comments are closed.