News

Top 10 Archives… No.9

  • 4th November 2011

It’s time for the next installment of our Top 10 most used archive collections feature. This week we have the Vernon Family Archives:

The Vernon family are a very old Worcestershire family and have had links with Hanbury, Shrawley and the surrounding area since the early 13th century. Their family seat was at Hanbury Hall, which is now in the care of the National Trust.

The family and estate papers date from the early 13th to 20th centuries and amongst the many thousands of documents are wills, letters, diaries, manor court rolls, property deeds, building and repair reports and accounts, land and property surveys and valuations, catalogues and inventories of household furniture and farm and estate labour accounts.

The collections are used by family historians whose ancestors were estate workers or rented land and properties on the estate. Students search the records for information on land use, landscape gardening, buildings and architecture and the inventories, catalogues and accounts can be used to find out what life was like in a country manor.

We hope you have enjoyed this installment, come back soon for number 8!

Comments are closed.

Related news


  • 22nd March 2024
The Bromsgrove Court Leet: A court and project 400+ years in the making!

In recent years, documents relating to the business of the Bromsgrove Court Leet have been moved from dusty lofts and boxes under desks to the archive department at The Hive for permanent preservation. The Court Leet is a manorial court, which began when the manorial system was introduced by William the Conqueror in which the...

  • 14th March 2024
The Bailey Bridge

Hailed as a key invention to come out of World War II, Bailey bridges allowed waterways and steep drops to be crossed quickly and easily. Have you spotted any around Worcestershire? Help us record these often overlooked heritage sites. Named after the engineer and civil servant Donald Bailey, the Bailey Bridge was a prefabricated, modular...

  • 11th March 2024
Redditch New Town Archives: Sports, Promotion and Leisure

Within one of our large Commission for the New Town collections, there are c9500 photographs, reports and other items from the Development Corporation Technical Library. We just love showing them to you on our social media platforms. They bring the Redditch New Town collections to life, and capture the design characteristics of the period. One...