Archive

Introducing the new Senior Archival Photographer for WAAS here at The Hive, Steven Wood-Matthews. Hello, my name is Steven Wood-Matthews, and I am the new Senior Archival Photographer here at The Hive. It is my job to digitise items from our collection for our service users and for external clients be that locally, nationally, or...

We start our Archives 75 series with looking at the origins of Worcestershire Record Office and Harry Sargeant, the first County Archivist

Berrow’s Worcester Journal is arguably the longest running continually published newspaper today, and many people come here to view old copies of the newspaper for all sorts of reasons. You can access copies on microfilm here going back to 1712, and we have bound volumes of the newspaper from 1712 through to the mid 19th...

The Worcestershire Absent Voter lists have now been transcribed by our wonderful team of volunteers. Hazel, Hazel, Jennifer, and Luke have worked for many years to complete this task for us, including from home during lockdown. Part of the electoral registers, these lists are an invaluable research tool, and can now be made more widely...

A Valentines letter written to ‘Miss Dance’  found in the archives reveals a glimpse of a love story in the nineteenth century.   A ‘bright’, ‘fair’, ‘kind’ young lady, with ‘hazel’ hair and eyes, Miss Dance apparently attended Mrs Dunn’s party where she sat beside her Valentine at supper. While others played card games, Miss...

Frost fairs are more commonly known to have been held on the River Thames, the most recent example being in London in 1814. Examples of provincial frost fairs include one held in Shrewsbury in 1739. A printed souvenir held within the archives from 1855 has led us to investigate whether there is any evidence of...

Anthony, one of our Archive team, has been looking into Isabella Ann Allen of Madresfield, a significant but little known 19th century botanist. It is fair to say that in the past few years I have become a passionate, if perhaps, a bit untidy, Gardener. It is due to my interest in the history of...

On Digital Preservation Day we look at why this is an important topic, and some of the things which need to happen to avoid digital records being lost.

The diary of a Victorian lady, discovered behind a cupboard in Bradford before being passed to us, was one of the first items to be catalogued by our new Trainee Archivist, Tom Poole. He wrote this blog to share about the diary, what we know about it, and what is still a mystery. As the...

Family history research can take you beyond the census, via newspapers, and into the original archives. One of our staff researching her great-great-grandfather in Worcester discovered he built some important local buildings, including the now demolished Worcester Dispensary. His name shows up on building plans and in his church cashbook, as he kept himself busy.