Continuing with my exploration of the art of community archiving here is a quick guide to finding archives in the UK.
There is a huge resource of historic material available in the UK. Much is held by the National Archives, but a huge amount is also distributed amongst many other archives ranging from large county record offices to small volunteer run community projects. To assist the researcher navigate around this wealth of resources there is a central database run by the National Archives, a resource that can be accessed on the internet.
Each of this archives is allocated a unique repository number which is used for ISAD(G) compliant cataloguing. In the UK, this is known as an ARCHON code and is issued by the National Archives.
Click for the National Archives website>
How to I find an archive in the UK?
This can be done through the National Archives on line platform called Discovery,
This has a find an archive page which is found from the “Search the Catalogue page” of their website.
Click here to visit the find an archive page>
Map search
Clicking on region opens up screen with results on right hand side, which are large, On left counties are listed. Clicking on this will list all those in the county and give a further choice to refine by type. The same search can be conducted by selecting text choice of region, or County by alphabetical name.
Local (16)
Special (13)
University (2)
Private (1)
Business (1)
Search Bar
If the name or part of a name is known then typing the search bar will find archives,
What is an ARCHON code?
Each archive requires a unique repository number which is used for ISAD(G) compliant cataloguing. In the UK, this is known as an ARCHON code and will provided to all archives requesting a Find an archive entry for the first time.
What Information is Shown on the Archive page?
This is basic information.
- Name
- Address
- Location on a map
- Contact details
- Website address
- Opening hours
- Access information
For example this a simple one of a small community archive. Click here to view>
For an example of a large archive with more detailed entry, have a look at the Kresen Kernow entry. Not only does this have opening hours and record access details but at the bottom it contains details of collections of which it holds all or part of.
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