REPORT

Report Title: Record Office Report to: Friends of the Suffolk Record Office Annual General Meeting Meeting Date: 2016-09-23 Creator: Kate Chantry, Suffolk Record Office Manager

BRIEF SUMMARY OF REPORT The activities of the Suffolk Record Office between October 2015 and September 2016.

ACTION RECOMMENDED That the report is adopted by The Friends of the Suffolk Record Office.

MAIN BODY OF REPORT

Revised Vision Suffolk Record Office (SRO) helps residents and visitors engage with our county’s rich heritage. It collects, conserves and communicates the recorded history of Suffolk from the 12th century to the present day, empowering people in exploring their roots, remembering their past, and planning their future. Used in the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) application for ‘The Hold’: a Suffolk Archive Service for the 21st Century.

National and Regional Developments

The National Archives (TNA) published a review of Government Policy on Archives ‘An Evaluation of “Archives for 21st Century”. This identifies that archive services require financial and organisational resilience which can be brought about through service transformation and a wider resourcing base. It also draws attention to the Archive Sector needing support with:-  Preserving, managing and making accessible ‘born digital records’, and surrogates and with online presence – developing a modern, accessible digital offer which supports the needs of 24/7 audiences and the reuse of data. (SRO is working on this, see later.)  Developing a skilled workforce by broadening traditional expertise to include greater knowledge of digital preservation/accessibility, entrepreneurial activities, marketing, project management, legal governance and educational delivery. SRO is taking advantage of training courses provided by TNA and others to develop expertise in these areas.

It emphasises the importance of:-  Building sustainable long-term partnerships, networks and collaborations and moving away from shorter-term project based funding.  Audience development to connect people with collections. It recommends sharing treasures and information with the broader community, participating in cultural and learning partnerships and better engagement with international audiences.  Exploiting commissioning opportunities to engage with the new education and health markets, to put record offices at the heart of communities and raise income.  Promoting archive resources and expertise in the knowledge economy – in far eastern economies there is recognition of the need for ‘clever people’ which requires investment in schools, libraries, museums and archives. Many of the above are being developed and will continue to move forward as a result of the SRO and University of Suffolk partnership.

Consultation on the new Government Policy on Archives is underway, which will be published in 2017.

1 Local Public Records The second phase of the government’s move to release local public records selected for permanent preservation when they are 20 years old, instead of 30, came into effect in January 2015. Changes to the Public Records Act (resulting from the introduction of the 20-Year Rule under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010) are being implemented from 2015-2024. TNA is working with departments to speed up the transfer process to local ‘places of deposit’ like SRO. The Ministry of Justice is providing £7.1m over 10 years to help to offset the implications to local authorities. The money is routed through TNA in proportion to the volume of the public records taken in. It is not a substitute for core service funding, as the amount awarded each year is calculated across the total transfer activity undertaken by all local authority ‘places of deposit’ in England and Wales. Amounts allocated to individual authorities in any given year will vary, depending on overall levels of activity nationally and the level of activity reported by each service.

SRO has received its first ‘new burdens payment’ in recognition of the important role we play in preserving public records for future generations and in making information accessible to the public for scrutiny and re-use, strengthening their ability to participate in local affairs. This payment was made on the basis that SRO continues to be appointed as a ‘place of deposit’, meeting the requirements of the Public Records Act (now linked to the Archive Service Accreditation programme). SRO is establishing links with local hospitals, prisons, courts etc to ensure the relevant records arrive in an organised way with appropriate paperwork, and information on any closures.

British Association of Local History Annual Conference at University Campus Suffolk (UCS) on Growing Local History 8-10 April SRO was delighted to participate in this national event along with other Suffolk heritage organisations. SRO’s paper Some Keys to Suffolk’s Medieval Past’ showed how SRO contributes to unlocking information for everyone. Kate Tiller, Professor of History at the University of Oxford, the conference organiser, said “It was a wonderfully varied and interesting day, but added to by the linking theme of potential and actual participation and voluntary inputs which ran through. This combination was much appreciated and there was much information shared and ideas planted”. It highlighted to a national audience the fantastic work that has been done, we are continuing to do and the exciting new projects we are planning in Suffolk. Delegates felt we have a great deal to be proud of.

Surveys During October-November 2016 SRO will be asking customers to complete the Public Service Quality Group (PSQG) for archives and local studies national survey of visitors to UK Archives.

Thank you to all those who participated in the Audience Agency Survey in February-March. This provides slightly different information to the PSQG survey. The top motivations of those surveyed for visiting SRO were:-  To learn something (48%)  Conducting research is an important part of who I am (35%)  To be intellectually stimulated (22%)  For academic research (20%)

The strongest encouragement to visit SRO came from:-  Word of mouth (25%)  The website/blog (22%)  Leaflet/brochure/other print picked up (16%)

91% of visitors agreed or strongly agreed that SRO “is good for the locations image”, whilst 73% felt it “enhances the sense of community in the location”.

Many visitors were intending to or had combined their visit to SRO with other activities:-  Shopping (35%)  Visit to a restaurant/café (31%)  Visit to a historic site (8%)  Visit to a pub/bar (8%)

2 Explore Your Archive 2015 and 2016 November 2015 saw the Record Office support the TNA’s ArchI’ve Explored campaign, to increase awareness of and access to collections. At Bury Record Office (BRO) Dr Pat Murrell spoke on the significance of the Cullum Book Collection - a 4,000 volume library which covers topics such as travel, topography, social and political sciences, natural history, philosophy and genealogy. Clive Paine highlighted his longstanding relationship with the Spanton-Jarman photographic collection, which he first helped to catalogued between school and university. This collection is an extremely valuable visual record of life in the late 19th- early 20th centuries. In Record Office (IRO) Brian Bell gave a fascinating account of the 200 year history of Ransome, Sims and Jefferies.

Look out for events across the country in November 2016 on http://www.exploreyourarchive.org/. SRO is again promoting the rich variety of material it preserves and makes available to users.

East of England Regional Archive Council (EERAC) EERAC and TNA agreed to support a pilot project to explore a collaborative approach to digital preservation using Archivematica linked to external storage by several record offices in the region. An evaluation report will be produced which will involve comparisons with the digital preservation system ‘Preservica’ being used by SRO (see later for more information on the SRO system).

The World War One (WW1) Centenary continued to play an important part in activities Proposed UCS or University of Suffolk exhibition SRO attended a visit to UCS of representatives from the History Department and International Office of the University of Artois on 30 March at which three students presented fascinating ‘stories of soldiers they had researched on local war memorials’ using SRO sources. These may form part of a joint exhibition to commemorate the battle of Arras in both the Ipswich and Arras areas in 2017.

Talks and workshops Zeppelins On 7 November local author Iain Mclachlin explored in depth the effects of Zeppelins in East Anglia, discussing the raids, young aviators engaging the enemy and women manufacturing munitions and flying machines in local factories as well as revealing the contradictions and complexities of Anglo- German relations during WW1.

Lowestoft Naval Bombardment On 9 April Dr John Greenacre, First World War Centenary Outreach Coordinator and Lecturer at UCS gave a fascinating talk bringing to life archive sources held at the Record Office to reveal the national and international context of this bombardment and its effect on the morale of local people.

WW1 sources SRO staff provided taster sessions and workshops explaining the sources available to help those interested in studying WW1 in their local area or their ancestors’ involvement, using both online and original material.

First World War Battlefield Tours The catalogue for the First World War ephemera collected by Clifford Hosken, a Fleet Street Journalist (who later wrote crime novels under the pseudonym of Richard Keverne) was completed by volunteer Paul. He was particularly fascinated by a travel brochure, produced by Barrett and Merryweather of New Oxford Street, London, advertising Private Automobile Tours to the Battlefields of Northern France and Belgium. Cars seating up to 12 people were specially built for 14 day tours at the all-inclusive price of 35 guineas per person. The brochure states “It is impossible to fix a definite date at present as everything depends on the movements of the combatants, but it is anticipated that the Germans will have evacuated Northern France and Belgium by the spring of next year and our tours will commence immediately the ground is safe…..we should like to emphasise the fact that there

3 will be no personal risk whatsoever in participating in these tours as every possible precaution has and will be taken to ensure freedom from trouble”. Most of Clifford Hosken’s ephemera was collected in 1914 and 1915, before he joined the Royal Flying Corps, and it seems likely this brochure dates from the autumn to late 1914, in that period of ‘it will all be over by Christmas’ optimism. The illustration shows a Stars and Stripes flag on the car, so the tours were possibly aimed at the American market.

Great War Database Volunteers Stafford, Doug, Eve and Peter have continued to work on the database of references to soldiers and those with military connections in a variety of sources from August 1914 through to the end of 1919. The sources used now encompass more local newspapers including Post, Ipswich Evening Star, Weekly News, Woodbridge Reporter and Gazette, Weekly Post, more war memorials, Stowmarket Munitions employment registers, Ipswich hospital registers and Ipswich School Magazines. The index now has approximately 32,000 entries. The Evening Star is already providing lots of names not covered by other local papers, whilst Ipswich Hospital records record soldiers from all over the country who were sent there, many for operations.

Suffolk Developments

University Campus Suffolk now University of Suffolk SRO was delighted to learn on 1 August 2016 that University Campus Suffolk (UCS) had been successful in its application to become an independent university. This was achieved in just eight years and is marvellous news for the University, Suffolk and SRO as it will be easier for us to work together for the cultural and economic wellbeing of local communities.

New Suffolk County Council (SCC) Cabinet Member Councillor Richard Smith Cabinet Member for Finance and Heritage took over responsibility for SRO from Councillor Sarah Stamp in July. Sarah made a significant contribution to the SRO Heritage Programme, especially ‘The Hold’ project, in a short space of time giving staff and the Friends of Suffolk Record Office (FOSRO) support and encouragement and has promised to continue to champion our activities.

SCC’s Heritage Programme Work has continued on the main projects:-  Heritage Services Development Suffolk’s Strategic Heritage Forum meeting in October 2015 was at the National Horse Racing Museum and new National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art at Palace House, Newmarket; where it heard from Director Chris Garibaldi on progress with the development. The Tate are loaning an unprecedented 17 works of art. There are two temporary exhibition galleries, a library and research rooms. On 19 September 2016 there was a soft opening of the new centre beginning with Palace House https://www.palacehousenewmarket.co.uk/. Cllr Carole Jones explained about the “Heritage Champions” scheme, the support champions provide for heritage sites and buildings especially those at risk through the planning process and the encouragement given to high quality development that maintains the character of places.

The meeting in March at the then UCS Waterfront building heard more about the work of the Ipswich Historic Churches Trust from John Field, Chairman. The last Ipswich redundant church to be restored, St Clements, is going to become a performing arts centre. Prof David Gill provided an update on the ‘Saxon Shore’ project which aims to link up late Roman and Anglo Saxon sites across the region including and Essex and encourage more people to come and see them. ‘The Hold’, Sutton Hoo, Ipswich Museum and Woodbridge waterfront developments all fit with this. Chris Parsons, Director of Eboracum Baroque, spoke on the musical discoveries made in Suffolk’s archives including the early hymn of St Edmund in the Bury Psalter, and the work of Joseph Gibbs, Organist at St Mary-le-Tower church in Ipswich http://www.suffolkarchives.co.uk/suffolk-stories/stories-from-suffolk-wills/joseph-gibbs-a- composer-ahead-of-his-time/.

4 June’s meeting explored Suffolk’s Historic Environment Record with Dr Richard Hoggett of SCC’s Archaeology Service https://heritage.suffolk.gov.uk/ and the Eastern – The ‘N-Town’ project.

 ‘The Hold’ – a Suffolk Archives Service for the 21st Century SRO is delighted to have received support and a development grant of £538,100 from the HLF towards our proposals for a new heritage centre with Suffolk University. ‘The Hold’ will not only completely transform our ability to care for and showcase the county’s records and collections, but will also promote them and give access to a broader audience. Getting national recognition and vital investment to progress and refine our innovative plans is a fantastic step closer to this exciting vision for our new heritage building, which is one of the 21 key delivery projects of the ‘Ipswich Vision’. The application for a Round 2 grant of £10.3m will be made in autumn 2017 and ‘The Hold’ should open its doors in time for the 900th anniversary of SRO’s oldest document, in 2019. A formal opening would follow, in spring/summer 2020.

We are hugely indebted to many across SCC, our University of Suffolk and Archaeology Service partners, TNA, EERAC, the members of the Suffolk Strategic Heritage Forum including our main stakeholder groups, volunteers, depositors, customers, consultants and colleagues in other record offices for all their help. We would also like to say a huge thank you to everyone (440) who responded to last year’s survey supporting our proposals for digitising maps and bringing the record office even closer to grassroots heritage activity, and welcoming the modern, flexible “state of the art” major new heritage facility planned for the benefit of local people and communities, visitors, tourists, students etc. We were delighted with the many letters written by local organisations and individuals in support of the HLF application. Many others also took the time to assist by explaining how important our collections are to them, contributing to the ‘Conservation Statement’, and gave powerful presentations on the need for and benefits of this project at the HLF site visit and more personally on a ‘talking heads’ film. We can all be extremely proud of Suffolk’s remarkable heritage collections (both Archives and Archaeology).

We are recruiting a new Project Team of staff and consultants for the development phase led by the HLF Project Co-ordinator Amy Rushton. The new Activity Plan Officer, who starts Mid- October, will be developing the critical associated programme of learning and community engagement – ‘Mapping Suffolk Stories’ working with local stakeholders. This uses Suffolk’s beautiful, historic map collections to uncover tales of the unique people, places and events of our county – stories which often lie hidden in the archives. There will be a call for local volunteers and groups to participate in a programme of shared discovery and development through community research, digitisation and enhanced accessibility to help attract new audiences, who can benefit from Suffolk’s rich heritage.

The building design team will be appointed at the end of November and will start by revisiting the design brief for this complex building to ensure it delivers all the facilities required in an efficient, flexible and sustainable manner. It will house the bulk of Suffolk’s nationally and internationally significant archives and a range of archaeological records and sensitive fines replacing IRO and the BRO annex and will have additional storage capacity for 20 years for the whole county. It will also provide teaching and research space fit for the 21st century, and will form a unique visitor attraction and an important cultural resource for the community.

After extensive consultation with the FOSRO committee and representatives from the local heritage community we are now taking the first steps towards a new Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and are recruiting volunteers to support the fundraising campaign. They will be helping to write grant applications and with events to raise money, to meet the total project £2.88M funding gap. The first event - the Gala Evening - held on 17 March at the Museum of East Anglian Life, celebrated our heritage and future raising over £2K. We were also delighted to receive generous pledges of funds to support the Development Phase of the project from FOSRO, Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History, Suffolk Records Society, Suffolk Local History Council and Suffolk Family History Society demonstrating to HLF that local organisations are fully committed to the proposed new facility and transformed service and are already doing what they can to help.

5  Digitisation of Suffolk’s Heritage collections o Activity to improve digital information and content The digitisation programme of scanning, inputting and cataloguing uncatalogued collections has continued. We have finished inputting the Archdeaconry of Suffolk Marriage Licences 1663-1914 on to the CALM electronic catalogue database, creating 18,676 entries and have so far scanned the originals for 1760-1914. The table below shows that for some periods there are more associated papers than for others.

Staff continued to uncover interesting examples:- o On the Marriage Licence Bond of 23 Apr 1756 of Richard Catamoul, Blacksmith of Ditchingham to Susan Browne of he makes his mark which is a horseshoe '∩' (Ref SROI FAA/23/15/169). o A later Marriage Licence Affidavit of 12 Apr 1906 shows a couple born in Norway who married in Ipswich. Sivert Brun, Singleman of 64 Eldom Street, South Shields, mate of the SS Thirlby, now lying in the Ipswich Dock and Laura Larsen, Singlewoman of St Bartholomew, Ipswich were to be married at St Bartholomew’s church. A search on Ancestry showed Sivert and Laura Brun living in South Shields in 1911 with one child, giving their place of birth as Norway. SS Thirlby was sunk by a German U-boat in 1917, with 2 casualties, but Sivert wasn't one of them. He died in 1919 in Brooklyn, leaving £403 to his wife Laura. (Ref SROI FAA/23/60/187).

9,874 entries from the volumes of Archdeaconry of Sudbury Marriage Licence, Bonds and Affidavits 1684-1839 have been input into CALM and 9,235 digitised.

The Bury Gaol books have now been scanned and the Woodbridge Gaol books fully catalogued on CALM. The cataloguing of the Gaol books is nearly complete. During this process Kerry Meal made some interesting and amusing discoveries including:-

6 o Criminals with very appropriate names: James Mutton (aged 37), Bricklayer was convicted at the Bury in 1816 of sheep stealing and received the sentence of 1 year hard labour (Ref SROI A1122/7/14). o The nature of some crimes i.e. DUI (Driving under the influence) does not change only the mode of transport - Robert Brown (age 22) was charged in May 1830 with furiously and violently driving a waggon and 4 horses on the turnpike in the parish of Melton whilst so drunk that he had no proper direction or government of the said horses by which means a poor woman travelling upon the road was nearly run over (Ref SROI B106/3/8.3/139). o An unusual inmate was found in Woodbridge House of Correction register of prisoners 1834-1842 - Walter Lee (age 24) Police Constable of Stradbroke who was convicted of neglect of duty by suffering one prisoner to escape from his custody! (Ref SROI B106/3/8.4/261).

Bury volunteers discovered the sad case of young Catherine Foster, “The Acton Dumpling Murderess” who was charged with the willful murder of her husband, John, by poison. John and Catherine had only been married a few weeks and the motive for the crime, if indeed she committed it, remains a mystery. A pudding bag containing traces of arsenic implicated her. She was sentenced to death and was the last woman hanged in public at aged only 18 on 17 April 1847.

Staff and volunteers at IRO including Amanda and Jill are inputting information on the Ipswich gaol books.

Work on the original wills has resulted to-date in:- o 74.5K catalogued on CALM o 38.4K catalogues available online o 23.7K digitised o 11.3K available to download from the new website.

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The greatly improved search functionality on the new website has resulted in an increased number of orders for copies and transcripts of wills of Suffolk residents from family historians. Other wills are of interest to those studying many aspects of the county’s history:- o That of Frederick John Catchpole, Brewer, of Ipswich of 1922 supports the study of brewing and public houses. Catchpole and Co owned the Unicorn Brewery in Foundation Street and its estate of pubs. This brewery closed in 1923 and the 56 tied pubs were divided equally between the Tollemache and Cobbold Breweries (Ref SROI IC/AA2/192/229).

Staff and volunteers at IRO have started entering Coroner’s Inquests from HB10 and EC5 on to CALM. 1,798 entries have been added so far including the unusual cause of the death recorded in 1826 of James Reeve of who was smothered by a load of rabbits (Ref SROI HB10/9/41/26). Volunteer Monica has done a fantastic job indexing the coroner’s inquests in the Ipswich Sessions bundles from 1836-1927. This information has been added to CALM and amounts to hundreds of names. o New SRO website - www.suffolkarchives.co.uk iPads, laptops and a widescreen monitor were used at the Suffolk Show on 1 June to “soft- launch” the new website. This impressive new site provides an interactive information source, marketing tool and shop transforming the customer experience in line with SCC’s “Public Access and Digital Transformation” project. The technical capabilities of the new site are still being tested including e-commerce. We hope this will be completed and the site fully functional by the beginning of November. However, it already provides easy public access to 900 years of Suffolk’s history and over 326,000 electronic catalogue records. It was an exciting moment on 31 May when digital images of wills appeared on the new website for the first time having been pulled through from the new digital preservation system Preservica. Uploading information is much easier than on the old Suffolk Heritage Direct site; so we can add catalogues on a regular basis. It has interactive timelines and maps, links to interesting information and stories, image galleries and online exhibitions e.g. a set of historic harbour and dock photographs. It also provides the latest news on ‘The Hold’: A Suffolk Archives Service for the 21st Century project. Please let us know about any unusual documents or facts you uncover whilst doing your research which you think others would be interested in.

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Catalogues now available on the website include:- o Ashburnham Family Archives including those of the Theobold and Gascoign, Poley and Gipps and Bridgeman Estates and the Crowley and Ashburnham Family Papers. These contain significant information on Barking cum Needham and surrounding parishes including Badley, Battisford, , Buxhall, Creeting St Mary, Creeting All Saints, Combs, Darmsden, Hitcham, Old Newton, Ringshall and Stowupland 1316-1917 (Ref SROI HA1). o Bunbury Family Collection 12th-20th Century was originally classified and listed on handwritten index cards by Miss Lilian Redstone. Edited and expanded descriptions of the many interesting records in the collection are now available in electronic format e.g. the Passport of Edward Herbert Bunbury (1811-1895) second son of Henry Edward Bunbury 7th Bart issued in June 1833 at the start of his ‘grand tour’ (Ref SROB E18/740/53).

o Twitter - Celebrating a Year of Tweets on @KeyToThePast BRO created a small visually rich, yet simple display highlighting how social media can be used on and offline to help people engage with historical and cultural information in an appealing and bitesize way to celebrate our twitter account which now has over 800 followers. o Digital Preservation A trusted digital repository/digital preservation system for both digitised and ‘born digital’ records - Preservica – is being developed and tested. SRO has worked with external suppliers Preservica and Orangeleaf to transform how digital files are managed, preserved and shared. This project is already recognised as an exemplar by TNA and other record offices as it combines a digital preservation system with automated workflows and G-Cloud storage, and links to the CALM electronic catalogue database and the new website. As a result we were encouraged to nominate it for ‘The National Archives Award for Safeguarding the Digital Legacy’ in the prestigious Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) Awards 2016.

These awards are a world-wide celebration of those who have made significant and innovative contributions to ensuring our generation’s digital legacy will be available tomorrow. SRO was therefore delighted to be selected as a finalist against some very stiff competition.

9 Winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Wellcome Trust in London on 30 November. For more information on the awards, visit the DPC website

Preservica is also the proposed long-term digital preservation solution for SCC; as it links to SharePoint (SCC’s new electronic file management system.)

Infographic providing some insight into SRO statistics http://www.suffolkarchives.co.uk/suffolk-record-office-glance/

Suffolk County Council (SCC) new information management system SRO is supporting the SCC Information Management and SharePoint Teams with the development of a new retention schedule/taxonomy/filing scheme to facilitate SharePoint development and improve information management. SRO investigated, trialled and provided a template and guidance notes on an online local government records ‘retention tool’ so it could be used by SCC Strategic Information Agents.

The Record Office (LRO) celebrated its 30th Anniversary in December 2015 LRO was established in Lowestoft Library in 1985 to serve the north-east of the county or an area equivalent to that covered by Waveney District Council. A strongroom for archives was created out of part of the library basement book stack and a Searchroom from part of the upstairs reference area. Branch/Area Archivist Rosemary Rogers (later Steer) was appointed in September 1985 to oversee the branch and the movement of the main archive collections relating to this part of Suffolk from IRO e.g. parish records. Local studies reference collections including that of the Port of Lowestoft Research Society were transferred to the new record office and David Wright became the branch Local Studies Librarian. The office opened to the public on 16 December. The strongroom was extended in 1991-2 enabling the Adair and other collections to be moved from Ipswich. When the library building was refurbished in 2002-3 the record office moved out to temporary accommodation in Oulton Broad Library. It then moved back into the current much larger searchroom, with a sorting room and more office space, (which had formerly been the library lecture hall, projection room and associated storage). The strongroom is however full and some large collections relating to the north of the county have moved back to Ipswich e.g. Cross Ram & Co, Solicitors of .

Former record office staff - Derek Charman, Joint/County Archivist of County Council and Ipswich County Borough Council, died on 13 January 2016 aged 93 SRO contributed information on his career in Suffolk for an obituary in the Archives and Records Association Journal. He was appointed on 1 August 1950 and left on 31 March 1970 to take up a post with the British Steel Corporation. He worked with both authorities, the Diocese and the National Register of Archives to ensure notable collections were deposited. He was also responsible for ensuring records in the custody of parish councils were surveyed; so the county council complied with its obligations under Section 281 of the Local Government Act 1933. Surveying started in 1958 and was completed in 1963 - records of parish churches were surveyed at the same time resulting in deposits by Parochial Church Councils.

He ensured local authority departmental records were weeded under proper regulations and those of permanent administrative and historical value passed to the record office. In 1950 East Suffolk County Council appointed a Records Clerk to list the council’s legal records, which resulted in files, minute books and other records coming to the record office. This service was developed further in 1967 with the appointment of a Modern Records Archivist.

He set up the SRO Repairs/Conservation service in 1955/6 having spent time in the Public Record Office (now TNA) in October 1954 studying the organisation of their service.

In 1954/5 he was seconded to Nigeria to advise the government on the organisation of their new record office. This was followed in 1963/5 with a secondment to Kenya to advise on a records service and in 1965/6 he supported the Ministry of Overseas Development and the British Council by supervising the courses of study in the UK of visiting Archivists from Kenya and Tanzania.

10 Record Office Staff news Congratulations to Hannah Eyles, Searchroom Assistant at LRO who gained her Archives and Records Management MA from UCL and now has a 6-month contract with the Britten Pears Foundation, at Aldeburgh as a Project Archivist.

There have been a number of staff changes this year:-  LRO recruited 2 Searchroom Assistants; Neil Coles who started in December 2015 and Katie Angus who arrived in January 2016.  Emily Tillett, Amanda Markwell, Ian Lambert and Melissa Ambrose started as Searchroom Assistants at BRO in December 2015. Amanda was also appointed as a Research Assistant. Ian subsequently took on the role of Digitisation Assistant.

We were sorry to say goodbye to several staff during the year:-  Brenda Gower retired from her post as Searchroom Assistant at Lowestoft in November 2015, whilst Heidi Hughes decided to give up her hours at Lowestoft to focus on her Ipswich Searchroom Assistants post.  Sally Looker retired at the end of August having worked first for the Bury St Edmunds and West Suffolk Record Office from 1973-1974. Following the completion of her history degree, Ken Hall appointed Sally to an Assistant’s post at Bury. One of her memories of this time was the challenging task of reading a box of Queen Victoria’s letters. She also recalls Peter Northeast’s regular Saturday attendance and documents arriving via a dumb-waiter in the Searchroom at Angel Hill. She remembers travelling between Ipswich and Bury in the office van along the old A45 running through Stowmarket to deliver and collect archives from the conservation section located in a former WW2 air raid shelter near Tower Ramparts. Sally later worked for the Suffolk Record Office Ipswich Branch as a part-time Library Assistant with Elizabeth Watthews from 1985. She helped prepare the local studies library for the move from County Hall to the new IRO in Gatacre Road in 1990. She later became an Archive Assistant and more recently a Searchroom Assistant. Sally’s expert knowledge of both archive and local studies collections and calm, helpful approach to customer enquiries will be a difficult act to follow.  Dot McDermot also retired at the end of August as Cleaner at IRO. Dot is an institution in her own right, as she cleaned during the building work of 1989, and then helped get ready for the big move and opening to the public in June 1990. She remembers getting stuck in the lift for over 3 hours during the move. Needless to say she has not used the lift since! Her association with the building goes back even further as she worked at the old Road School when it was a Drama Centre from 1974. Her smiling, cheerful interest in the service and staff will be missed. She is continuing to work next door for Eastern Angles; so we hope she will pop in to see us from time to time.

Retirement of Dr John Ridgard John retired this summer having taught Latin Palaeography classes at IRO for many years. Firstly under the auspices of UEA’s Department of Continuing Education and from 2008 for SRO following the University’s decision to discontinue these classes. John’s expertise attracted students from a wide area and variety of backgrounds. Many progressed from Beginners, through Intermediate and on to an Advanced Study Group, gaining the skills and knowledge which empowered them to tackle the transcription and translation of many Suffolk documents resulting in numerous articles, books, talks, exhibitions and offerings to the understanding of the county’s history. The Advanced Group provided a forum to which students could bring problem documents; so the combined efforts of the group could be brought to bear on them. Many of John’s former students will join record office staff in expressing our deep gratitude for the significant contribution he has made to the study of history in the county and the legacy he leaves by passing on his knowledge to so many others.

11 New prices coming in autumn 2016 As part of the suffolkarchives.co.uk development SRO reviewed its services and charges, considering all the costs involved and comparing them with those offered by other record offices. This was last done in 2011 and has led to some changes and increases.

Staff have received training on the new finance systems that will allow customers to request quotations and pay online for copying orders as well as downloading digitised images on a pay-per- view basis. Online payment for research, outreach events and booking facilities such as room hire, display boards etc will follow in the winter.

Buildings

Additional shelves installed at Lowestoft In April 36 extra shelves for the preservation of archive material were installed in the strongrooms so the branch could continue to take in small accessions.

Overhaul of Ipswich mobile shelving Problems earlier this year with the mobile shelving at IRO, which is now 25 years old, highlighted that the whole system required a major service. Thank you to all those who were inconvenienced by the temporary cessation of productions whilst engineers worked on the tracks, chains, bearings and handles to give the shelving a new lease life to keep it functioning until we move into ‘The Hold’.

Roof repairs at Bury The two flat rooves on the main record office building were repaired this summer with no disruption to collections and only minimal disturbance to our neighbours.

Improvements to the BRO environment The building site fencing has been taken down, bushes cleared, and the surface of the car park repaired and marked out.

Equipment

New iPad purchased by FOSRO The purchase of a new iPad by FOSRO for LRO proved very useful at the Beccles Charter Weekend 2-3 July. It enabled the record office team to demonstrate our marvellous collections in a rolling slide show of photographs showing Beccles from the 1890s to the 1970s. Images of early documents in the Beccles Borough Collection, stories and the features were also easily displayed on the new device. An image of a dragon from the Beccles Fen Corporation Book of 1552 proved a hit with many visitors.

New photocopiers/printers All three branches now have new networked digital printers/photocopiers/scanners as part of the SCC contract.

New reader printers at BRO and LRO New high resolution digital reader-printers are now in operation, attracting many positive comments from customers.

Collections

Conservation and Preservation This year the Conservator spent more focused time assessing the condition of items notified as being unavailable for use or in need of attention to protect them from further damage. In many cases new protective packaging (and handling notices) have resulted in items been made available once again.

Practical conservation work included the repair of Stradbroke tithe map (Ref SROI FC83/C1/13), the only copy in Suffolk. New lighter repair techniques were used for the first time to better ensure long- term preservation.

12 Various items were conserved for exhibitions including ‘Anniversaries’ at Endeavour House (Dec 2015-May 2016) and the site visit of HLF to IRO in February 2016. These included a notebook of diary entries 1815-1873 by Elliot Chalker of Mutford with verses concerning Waterloo and Napoleon (SROL 1150/2/C/5/6); mid-17th cent copy of the Inquisition Post Mortem of Michael de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk (original dated 21 Oct 1415) (SROI HA411/3/1/3/1/3); and a case book of St Audry’s Hospital Melton (Suffolk County Asylum), 1841-1985.

Condition Surveys and reports were made on the Ashburnham Family Archive for TNA and on the Milden Parish registers and records for FOSRO. The latter enabled FOSRO to decide how best to spend some of the Barbara Barlow legacy on Milden records in which she had a particular interest. A volume of charity receipts and disbursements 1751-1881 (SROB FL605/11/1) is as a result being conserved.

Accessions Since the last AGM SRO has received over 300 new accessions and FOSRO has deposited its own archive at IRO:  GB471 Committee and AGM minutes, 1983-2014; Financial and membership records, papers relating to external grants and correspondence about purchases, 1983-2013.

FOSRO also purchased in October 2015:  HD4013 MANOR OF WALSHAM HALL IN MENDHAM: Court book, 1579-1620

Middle School closures have continued to ensure a steady flow of school deposits including:- ADB748 Hardwick, 1976-2015; ADB736 Howard, 1972-2016; ADB749 St Louis, 1971-2016 and ADB750 St James, Bury St Edmunds, 1972-2016.

Other notable new accessions include:-

Bury  FN500 ST EDMUNDS CATHOLIC CHURCH, BURY ST EDMUNDS: Registers containing baptisms, marriages and burials, notes on the state of the Mission and some confirmations, 1756- 1832; Register of receptions 1888-1907; Coldham Registers (2 vols) 1795-1907; Letter from the Presbytery regarding donation made by Captain Rushbrooke, nd; Typescript 'The New Shrine 1275-1320' - an account of the relics of St Edmund recorded by BRS Houghton, 1965; Manuscript 'The Shrine of St Edmund' by AJ Bedell(?), nd; Copy of 'Supplement to The Tablet' - an account of how King Henry VI spent Christmas-tide 1433-4 with Monks of Edmundsbury, 1891; An account of the fire of 1465 at the ' Church of S Edmund at Bury', etc.  GC746 FREDRICK THURSTON, CHEMIST, LONG MELFORD: 20 Letters and a leaflet entitled 'Thurston's Alternative Condition Powders'.  GC748 ‘BURY ST EDMUNDS AGAINST THE WAR’: Images, slogans, banners, correspondence etc, 2003-2004. This group was linked to the Iraq ‘Stop the War’ and ‘Suffolk For Peace’ campaigns.  HC596 BASHAM BUTCHERS: Meat Delivery books, 1928-1931 (the Basham family took over the business from the Garrard family).  HC599 GAINSBOROUGH’S HOUSE HOTEL, SUDBURY: Visitor's Books, 1935-1950. (Containing the names of many US servicemen who stayed at the hotel during the war including that of Staff Sergeant Robert S Arbib author of Here We Are Together – The notebook of an American Soldier in Britain (1946). Arbib was an engineer in the 820th Engineer Aviation Battalion constructing US Army Airforce airfields. He also worked as Base Postal Clerk, and regularly visited Sudbury – the clearing centre for all US mail. His account of life in Suffolk during the war shows great affection for the people of Sudbury and includes a chapter on 'My Favourite English Inn', describing the Gainsborough House Hotel.)  HD2785 LK CLARKSON: Recipe book compiled c1875.  HD3341 WATER MEADOWS DEFENCE CAMPAIGN, BURY ST EDMUNDS: Papers, correspondence and newscuttings, 1997-2002.  K1322 IMAGES OF BURY ST EDMUNDS: 2 albums of photographs and postcards compiled by the Brinkley Family, 19th-20th cent.

13  L505 SANTON DOWNHAM: 9 tape recordings of residents talking about aspects of contemporary life, complied during the Forest Heath District Council sponsored 22 Villages Millennium Project, which resulted in a book.  M714 BARDWELL INCLOSURE AWARD AND MAP, 1831.

Ipswich  EG186 TOWN COUNCIL: Abbey of Leyston (Leiston) manuscript copy rent roll, made 24 Nov 1632, of the Ministry accounts of lands in the possession of the late Abbey of Leyston, 32nd year of Henry VIII (1540/41), lists rents paid in Leyston, Chedton, Myddelton, Knoddeshall, Buckloe, , Alderingham, Thorpe and Syffewell.  GB470 TOWN TRUST: 'Dunwich Town Trust and Pension Charity Plan of Trust Lands'; sundry other maps and plans of trust land in Dunwich, , Ellough, , including extracts from tithe maps and of excavations, St James Hospital, The Ship etc c1830s, 1880s-1977; Dunwich Town Trust & Pension Charity Minutes 1932-1967; Lists of Trustees 1889-1967; Account book of Dunwich Town Trust, Dunwich Pension Charity and Education Foundation, 1889-1966; rent books 1944-1982; Clerks files, general correspondence and papers 1967-1994/5; pictorial record of events in 2012.  GB476 IPSWICH HINDU SAMAJ: Minutes and correspondence, Mar 2006-Aug 2015 and applications for charity registration and grants 2006-7.  GB479 SUTTON HOO SOCIETY: Accounts, 2009-2015; 48 b&w and 91 colour images of Sutton Hoo dig led by Rupert Bruce Mitford, 1960s; 48 colour images of the 1960s dig reunion and notes, 2012; Sound files - Interviews 1-22 (wav, jpeg and word files).  GC440 SUFFOLK HORSE SOCIETY: Stud Book No 1, 1880 believed to have belonged to Herman Biddell. (Volume 1 of the Suffolk Stud Book is a classic amongst livestock books. The author, Herman Biddell, the first Secretary of the Society, spent two years tracing the pedigree of all animals alive at that time. These where published in the book, prefaced with a fascinating history of the breed and a contemporary account of the Suffolk and the people associated with it. The book was illustrated by Ipswich artist, John Duvall.)  GC844 SUFFOLK BADMINTON ASSOCIATION: Constitution, minutes, 1951-2009; Council Meeting minutes 1963-2010; Financial Records, Council Members lists; Fixture lists; Suffolk Schools Badminton Association records, 1973-2010; Suffolk Badminton Leagues 1979-1988; Eastern Region Counties Badminton Committee, 1978-1987; Tournament, 1950-1984; Ephemera etc.  HA47 LOWTHER FAMILY PAPERS: Diaries of James William Lowther [1855-1949] 1st Viscount Ullswater and Speaker of the House of Commons (73 vols) 1873-1949 and Notebooks detailing foreign travel, 1873-1874; Diaries of William Lowther [1812-1921], 1856-1866; ‘Sir George Sitwells recipt book’, 1845; Cecilia Isabella Frances Barlow, tour of the lakes, 1813; Journal of a tour of Germany, Denmark and Sweden, Parke family, 1860. (William Lowther married (Charlotte) Alice Parke (d. 1908), daughter of James Parke, 1st Baron Wensleydale in 1853.)  HA442 CRAGG FAMILY ALDEBURGH: Assorted material relating to the Cragg Sisters Tearooms, 110 High Street, Aldeburgh and "The Home School of Crafts" and craft shop run by Patience C Cragg at Walberswick including: various account books, 1950-2010, wages books, 1968-1990, diaries recording numbers of meals served, 1958-1989, correspondence, booklets, receipts, photographs, menus, recipe book etc 1950s-1960s; Visitors book 1964-1972; Diary of Patience Cragg(?) about events from outbreak of WW2-c1942; School exercise book of Joan Cragg; family photograph albums etc.  HA445 PAPERS OF PROF JM BLATCHLY 18th-21st century: Collection of original manuscripts, volumes and maps, plans, photographs, engravings, prints, woodcuts, drawings and watercolours of Suffolk buildings, places, views etc, brass rubbings, broadsheets, handbills, cartoons, church guides etc. Research notes complied by John for publications or intended publications etc. Correspondence, minutes, papers and press cuttings relating to Suffolk organisations he was involved in e.g. Ipswich Historic Churches Trust. Material on bookplates including original bookplates, notes, correspondence and research, his designs for bookplates, ephemeral items re the Bookplate Society; 'Ipswich Printers Ornaments' information on book embellishments and bookplates; Correspondence re Joan Corder appeal and much more.

14  HD3076 MIDDLETON-CUM-FORDLEY FARMING HISTORY: Biography of John and Phyllis Barber of Middleton-cum-Fordley, by Janet Barnes, 2005; typed history of 'The Lamb Sale Meadow, , by Janet Barnes, 2010; various sale particulars 1934-1962.  HD4049 CRICKET SCOREBOOK WITH CONNECTIONS: Matches played at Newbourne between the 1558 Artillery platoon of the RASC and Newbourne, later matches played at Leer (West Germany?), c1944.  HD4059 RESEARCH PAPERS OF GREVILLE BICKERTON: collected and collated for his book 'Sutton People: Some of whom lived on the Broxtead Estate, 1564-1914' (2006); coloured plan of proposed scheme to bring water to the Broxtead Estate for H & R Paul, by Munro Cautley, 1914.

Lowestoft  1588 BECCLES DISPENSARY AND HOSPITAL: Minute books, 1873-1877; Accounts, 1874-1938; Matrons reports, 1932-1966 and circulars, correspondence and maps relating to WW2 Emergency Medical Services. (This collection contains records of the three stages of the development of the Beccles Hospital from the Dispensary to the Beccles Hospital and then the Beccles War Memorial Hospital including in early 1939 a centralised state-run Emergency Hospital Service, employing doctors and nurses to care for those injured by enemy action. Beccles War Memorial Hospital was part of Eastern (No.IV) Region.)  2400 WATER AND GAS COMPANY MAP: showing the boundaries of the Great Yarmouth Waterworks Company and the Lowestoft Water & Gas Company, 1906.  2418 BOROUGH OF LOWESTOFT PROBATION RECORDS 1908-1940: Probation Officer's registers of offenders, 1908-1936 (8 Vols); files of offenders and vulnerable children 1930-1940. (These sensitive records are closed for 100 years.)  2425 DIARIES AND PAPERS OF DAVID WOODWARD: Diaries 2005-2011, Manuscript for his book Beccles Schooldays 1930-1948, Recollections and Reflections co-authored with Colin Baker (2012); Book Tatterlegs for Tea - More Suffolk Dialect in Tales and Verse by David Woodward (1998).  2431 RICHARDS SHIPBUILDERS: Instructions for use of the Dry Dock in Commercial Road, Lowestoft; 3 volumes recording ‘dry dock & slipway vessels and repairs’, 1960s; Employees’ Hours Record Book, 1944-1945; photographs; promotional brochures, 1970’s. (Lowestoft’s ship building industry is a continuing point of interest and nostalgia for local people. These records support research in the decline of the industry and the town’s changing identity through the 20th century.)  2433 PHYLLIS PAGE COLLECTION: Diaries, 1939-1945; ration and rent books, photographs and postcards. (Phyllis, the daughter of George W Page, Fish Salt & Manure Merchant and Caroline Gravells, was born in Lowestoft in 1922. Her mother died in 1927 and she lived with her grand- parents at 420 London Road South. The eye witness account in her diaries provides a detailed view of life in Lowestoft during WW2.)  2440 PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY OF LOWESTOFT PUBS: 2 albums of coloured prints taken by Ivan Reeman. (A complete survey Lowestoft pubs during the 1990s illustrating the changing face of Suffolk pubs and the marked decline in their number.)  2442 EMMANUEL CHURCH BUNGAY: Booklet - Tercentenary 1958; Memoirs of Revd Henry Marsh; Women's Fellowship (5 vols), 1956-1991; Papers re building works 2009; Booklet - Aspects of Nonconformity in Bungay; Church minutes, 1818–1987; Deacon's Meeting Minutes, 1898-1982; Subscription Book, 1699-1766; Church Council Minutes, 1982-1989; Collections Book, 1776-1793; Church Meeting AGMs, 1937-1963; Trustee's Accounts, 1865-1868 & Financial Statements, 1868- 1918; Cost & Accounts, 1787-1804; Marriage registers 1848-1911; Baptisms 1897-1988.

Contemporary Collecting in 2015/16  GB478 U3A IN EAST SUFFOLK: Constitution; AGM minutes, 1989-2014; Committee meeting minutes, 1988-2014; Annual accounts, 1991-2009; Treasurers record book, 1988-2006; Post holders in U3A East Suffolk, 1988-2009; Members handbooks and lists, 1988-2014 (closed for 50 years); Newsletters, 1994-2012; digital Newsletters, 2013-2014; etc (IRO).  GB480 FRIENDS OF BELSTEAD HOUSE: Belstead House Association AGM Minutes, 1986- 1995; Friends Minutes, 1993-2012; Belstead House Advisory Committee Minutes, 2000-2005; Accounts 1981-2015; Charity Commission annual returns, 2009-2013; Newsletters, 2007-2012; Papers re winding up and sale, 2013-2015 (IRO).

15  GC843 BANGLADESHI CENTRE IPSWICH: Ephemeral material re the Curry and Culture project including Launch Brochure & Schools Resource Packs, 2015 (IRO).  HD4046 ST AUDRY'S PROJECT 'TELLING IT LIKE IT IS': 'A Short history of St Audry's Hospital in Suffolk' produced as part of the Comic Relief funded Project 'Telling it like it is'. DVD 'St Audry's Case Notes' - quotes and images from the records held at IRO; DVD 'Dr Kirkman invites' - clips from the launch on 28 March 2014 at the Museum of East Anglian Life, 2014 (IRO).  K1020 CONSTRUCTION IMAGES OF THE BACON CURVE RAILWAY LINK AT IPSWICH: CD Rom of c135 images and 3 video clips taken by Ken Austin and a copy document detailing the project, 2013-2014 (IRO).  HD3213 COCKFIELD JUBILEE: Queen's Golden Jubilee 2002, working party minutes and CDs of photographs (2); 2012 Jubilee, Committee minutes, letters, DVD of event, visitors book, etc (BRO).  2378 DOCUMENTARY FILM "BENDY CARAVANS & EVERLASTING PENS": A portrait of Evered Wigg, pioneer of radio, inventor, visionary and proprietor of the Kinnodrome cinema in Kessingland - m4v file on disc, with accompanying notes, 2016 (LRO).  2413 ANTHONY VINCENT WHATLING: CD of interview with "Tony" Whatling Subpostmaster and proprietor of Tony’s Store, for over 60 years with edited transcript, 2014.

Cataloguing The archivists have continued to catalogue small new accessions and additions to existing catalogued collections on receipt. Archivists, Searchroom Assistants and Volunteers are also focusing their efforts on inputting existing catalogues, paper lists and card indexes on to CALM for uploading to the new website.

After five years of collecting, cataloguing, numbering, packaging and depositing numerous ‘instalments’ of the Suffolk Scouting Archive, volunteer Richard Freeman has in recent weeks made his final deposit of Scouting material. The next stage is to enter his catalogues onto CALM for the Ipswich, Bury and Lowestoft areas as GL400, GL500 and 2300.

FOSRO volunteer Frances Gander finished the mammoth typing of spreadsheets for the Cautley Barefoot Architects Collection (SROI HG400) for importing into CALM (330 spreadsheets were imported in total). Judy Walsham, another volunteer has continued to wrap them in protective packaging.

Lowestoft staff and volunteers catalogued a variety of collections including:-  558 Lowestoft and East Suffolk Methodist Circuit: Baptisms books 1812-1859, Baptisms registers 1837-1899, Marriage registers for Beccles 1927-1977, Preachers meetings minutes books 1859- 1891 and 1950-1972 and many other treasures.  1515 Paul Scriven Collection  1704 Waller and Sons  1227 Beccles Borough photographs c1930s-1970s including portraits of local dignitaries, landscape shots showing the changing make-up of the town and surrounding areas as well as spectacular images of Beccles Regatta were catalogued by volunteer Elaine.  2183 Scrapbooks of Walter Upcraft of Harbour Master at 1960s-1970s including presscuttings of nautical affairs and local, national and international events.  2337 Photographs of Charles Stock  2359 Worlingham Drama Group  2393 Inner Wheel Club of Lowestoft  2394 Lowestoft High Street Deeds 1680-1855

How SRO contributes to SCC’s priorities

Supporting Economic Growth – by contributing to cultural and heritage tourism and the creative economy. SRO continues to draw tourists to the county from elsewhere in the UK and overseas contributing to the economy as well as encouraging people to find out more about what’s in their area through information and images supplied for TV documentaries, websites, books, magazine articles, exhibitions and other events. The new website is already helping us to extend our reach globally.

16 Filming at BRO for a programme in the BBC Fake or Fortune series This featured a possible work by Julian Freud. The painting of a man in a black cravat had been shown to experts at Christie’s in the 1980s who had initially identified it as a Freud – but when they spoke to the artist, he denied it was his work. He however had a habit of destroying work he did not like and had a long standing feud with a former owner of the portrait artist Denis Wirth-Miller. Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould, Art Dealer and Historian, presented the results of their investigations to leading authorities on Freud’s work, who believed it was a work by Lucian Freud done whilst he was at the Anglian School of Painting and Drawing at Benton End on the outskirts of Hadleigh in Suffolk in 1939 based on the paint used and brush strokes. This school was established by Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines in 1937 as an environment in which artists could explore their potential and where formal instruction was kept to a minimum. Lucian Freud attended the school from the age of seventeen in 1939. Denis and his boyfriend, Richard “Dickie” Chopping, had found the portrait in one of the barns at the art school or in a nearby junk shop during WW2 and they were convinced it was one of Freud's. Local newspapers and Hadleigh Show catalogues held at BRO were examined by the research team.

Response to research report compiled for Who Do You Think You Are? Australia “You have both done a great job for us in trying to track the elusive Robert Dade and the reports were both very thorough. ……… it was a worthwhile exercise for us. Thanks again – I am singing the praises of Suffolk Record Office.”

Participation in Mass Social Media Campaigns to raise awareness of Arts and Heritage in Suffolk The Record Office sent 2 images plus a paragraph of text for our partners to promote and in turn we promoted their collections and activities over Easter. Spring was seen as a good time to encourage people to start the research they had always promised themselves they would do. The campaign enabled SRO to inform more people about its amazing range of collections on the history of Suffolk and its people. “Whatever aspect you want to look into, the record office contains all kinds of material that will help. You can investigate family, property, or local history, discover what used to happen in your neighbourhood, what organisations and businesses were based there etc.”

More recently we were involved in a similar campaign to promote the Global reach of Suffolk using #GlobalSuffolk and used our Twitter Account @KeyToThePast to promote the activities of our museum and arts partners e.g. Suffolk SongFest, Henham Steam Rally, Lowestoft Literary Festival and much more.

Local media coverage BBC Radio Suffolk promoted our Gala Event in March and local papers including the Ipswich Evening Star picked up on our HLF grant for ‘The Hold’: a Suffolk Archives Service for the 21st Century. The Bury Mercury highlighted the ‘Hidden Gems’ to be found in BRO in April including the magnificent illuminated Psalter created by Bury’s 12th century monks, Georgian leisure pursuits described in the diary pages of James Oakes, a letter from Charles Dickens and even a full run of the Bury Free Press! Whilst another article in the East Anglian Daily Times showed pictures of Kate West, Tutor of the IRO Paleography course and one of our lecturers. A Happy Customer was also recorded in print in East Anglian Daily Times saying "Oh, I could find my past on the internet but only 10% of all the records in the records offices are online because it needs transcribing. Emma Sealy and the team at the Suffolk Record Office really put themselves out to help us."

Heritage Open Days 2016 IRO prepared a display on the history of Ipswich Institute’s building, which was open and talked to visitors about the work of SRO.

Historian Dr Pat Murrell gave an illustrated introduction to some of the private, public and commercial buildings of late Stuart and Georgian Bury St Edmunds based on extensive original family and local history archives.

17 Railway Arches Project LRO has continued to work with eight other Heritage organisations and several local schools on the collaborative People’s Arches project headed by The Lowestoft Enterprise Company with funding from SCC and Abellio Greater Anglia to erect display boards in the empty archways at Lowestoft Railway Station. These boards, each with a different theme embrace the history and heritage of the area, improve the station environment and help portray a positive image of Lowestoft to local residents and visitors alike. After consultation with other organisations the Record Office’s board theme is ‘early Tourism’. The images selected were scanned and used by a designer to achieve a professional and aesthetically pleasing arrangement.

Suffolk Show 1-2 June SRO had a presence in both the SCC marquee and on the Suffolk Horse Society stand at this year’s show and engaged with nearly 500 people. We used these opportunities to promote the new website, the development of the new heritage facility ‘The Hold’ and forthcoming support for community research projects through ‘Mapping Suffolk Stories’. We also demonstrated the contribution we had made to the Horse Society’s project to catalogue and preserve their collection so it is more accessible. The Society’s exhibition will be on display in IRO early next year.

Ipswich Town Football Club Another customer e-mailed in January “to thank everyone at Ipswich Record Office for everything that you did to facilitate my research into the history of Ipswich Town FC. Initially, I spent several weeks with you in 2012, looking at archival holdings, photographs and newspapers. I have made a number of follow-up visits since. On every occasion I found the Record Office an incredibly welcoming and constructive place to work. Everyone who I encountered was friendly and eager to assist (with searches, technology, permissions, etc.). The environment in the reading room was such that I positively looked forward to spending time there. My article about Ipswich Town's wartime experiences and late conversion to professionalism, which draws heavily upon IRO's holdings, has now been published online in Sport in History (please see the link below). The print version is due out in 2016; so far it has generated interest in the region and nationally, with the publisher kindly agreeing to make it freely accessible to the general public until April. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17460263.2015.1089415

Other local authors carried out research in SRO and are helped to sell their publications through our searchrooms including:- Holywells, Home of the Cobbolds by Clive Hodges, which charts the history of Holywells Park and the family who lived there. It was commissioned by the Cobbold Family History Trust to celebrate the culmination of the £3.5 million restoration of the conservatory, stables, walled garden, ponds etc which used IRO maps, plans, photographs etc.

North Sea War, 1914-1919 by Bob Malster highlights the work of local fishermen and sailors involved in patrolling our coast and sweeping for and laying mines in their drifters, trawlers and paddle steamers converted to meet naval needs; as well as the day-to-day activities of the warships of the Harwich Force in guarding merchant convoys.

Four Tenements and a hay house: the story of Ipswich’s workhouses by Ray Whitehand covers the history of the different properties, used to house the deserved poor of Ipswich, ranging from Christ Hospital which opened c1574 to Heathfield, which officially closed in 1930.

From Wool to Cloth: The Triumph of the Suffolk Clothier by Dr Nick Amor tells the story of the growth in the county’s woollen cloth industry in the second half of the 15th century and the wealth it generated resulting in the great churches at Hadleigh, Lavenham and Long Melford. He discusses the rise of the clothier and those involved in the various stages of cloth production as evidenced from original records. Up until the late 14th century, individual dyers, weavers, fullers and finishers worked for themselves, then merchants began to trade with the Hanseatic League ports of Northern Europe which had previously been closed to them. These merchants bought the raw wool and paid subcontractors to spin, dye, weave, full and finish it for them.

18 Raise educational attainment and skill levels SRO continues to contribute to raising educational attainment and skills development amongst all ages by making archival material more accessible to learners, researchers and people interested in family or local history.

Schools, Supplementary Schools and those with learning difficulties A talk was given to Thomas Mills High School 6th Form in June on the work of the record office highlighting the way collections are preserved and made accessible by staff and volunteers to help people with many different areas of research. Some of these students are now helping with the school archive.

Leaders from the Suffolk Supplementary Schools visited IRO in October 2015 to learn more about the material held and as a result workshops were delivered to the Kerala Community Supplementary School (KCSS) in November and in February to the Achievers Supplementary School. The parents of pupils attending KCSS are mainly from Kerala, SW India but many of the pupils were born in the UK. The pupils attending Achievers are mainly from an Eastern European background and have been in the UK for a relatively short length of time perhaps three years or less. The students looked at historic photographs, maps and school records and will contribute information about their schools to record office collections.

Throughout October the Lowestoft Library was visited by groups of primary school children, who also had a tour of the Record Office helping to inform them about the resources available to them and the purpose of a Record Office. It also created a sense of wonder, awe and pride in their local area when we told them how old our archives are and demonstrated unfamiliar technologies such as microform readers and mobile shelving.

School-age work experience students came on work experience for 1-2 weeks across the service and helped with a broad variety of public and behind the scenes activities working alongside members of the Searchroom and Collections Teams.

In January LRO designed and hosted a group visit of 36 pupils and 9 teachers from The Ashley School Academy Trust in Lowestoft (a school for children with complex and moderate learning difficulties). After consultation with one of the teachers a session focusing on archives relating to Lowestoft’s London Road North was designed to help the students understand chronology, the concept of ‘the past’ and to give them a better understanding of how the town has changed. They became Archivists for the morning examining maps from 2016 back to 1618 and the North East Suffolk photographic collection. They also took away resources to help them compare London Road North in the past to how it looks now.

2016 Summer Reading Challenge Young readers taking part in the Libraries Summer Reading Challenge, themed around the works of the popular children’s author Roald Dahl, and their families saw a display of old school log books, admission registers, punishment books as well as historical items such as slates and satchels to link with Dahl’s book Matilda.

Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education Students enrolled on a Certificate Course in Local History visited BRO in October to gain practical experience; so that they felt confident in using archives for their research. They were given a talk on the material held, tips on how to conduct research and how record offices operate, followed by a tour and opportunity to look at a wide range of sources.

UCS now University of Suffolk A familiarisation day was held for new UCS history students in October. IRO also welcomed three work placement students; Catherine Paddon, Mike Hobbs-Hurrell and Amanda North. Mike listed Ipswich Borough plans in DC10:12996 and Catherine inputted information from one of the Ipswich Gaol Books into CALM so images can be linked to the catalogue records. They also had a successful day in the conservation workshop cleaning records from a charcoal biscuit factory! Catherine and Amanda also helped as student ambassadors on the SRO stand at the Suffolk Show.

19 “Live projects" linking to ‘The Hold’ have already given students across many different disciplines, not just history the opportunity to show their talents as well as providing professional practice opportunities:-  Third year BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design students contributed to ‘The Hold’ by generating impressive design proposals for the ground floor reception, exhibition, café and shop areas during an 8-week project building on feasibility work produced by Concertus Design and Property Consultants. These were presented to the SRO management team at ‘client meetings’ and a panel of judges from SRO, Concertus and UCS selected a stunning "shell-inspired" design by Bryony Briggs as the best overall.  Students from the Suffolk Business School Events, Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure Management course helped to plan and deliver the Gala event in March.  Groups of students on the BA (Hons) Business Management with Marketing degree course evaluated the current marketing communications implemented by SRO. They created proposals for a new marketing plan and activities to attract new audiences and potential donors, including possible new names and straplines for the proposed new record office facility, use of social media and the new website, as part of their marketing communications module.

Staff from the History Faculty and a core group of local teachers are working with SRO to develop proposals for generating an improved offer to local schools and flexible responsive curriculum materials as part of the ‘Mapping Suffolk Stories’ activity plan.

Community identity, engagement and learning SRO empowers and supports local communities and individuals to live independent lives, develop a ‘Sense of Place’, belonging and community pride – ‘Supporting Lives Connecting Communities’ by collaborating with other local organisations to help people find the information they need and to live a fuller more active life by meeting those with similar interests at outreach and learning events or through volunteering.

Support given to local archives, museums and societies

Young Archaeologists In January Stuart Burgess of the Norfolk Museum Service and leader of the Young Archaeologists Club was supported to find resources for his field walking project on the Somerleyton Estate. He was thrilled as he managed to connect the group’s pottery finds to early settlements marked on the estate map of 1652 saying "I can't thank you all enough for your help". SRO staff are also working as consultants supporting the Somerleyton Hall Estate Office to gain effective physical and intellectual control of its historic and current records to ensure important items are identified early and preserved for future generations.

Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History (SIAH) Wheeler Conference 23rd April A new publication - A Dictionary of Suffolk Place-names – part of a national series of volumes was launched at the Conference. This was a collaborative project with the University of Nottingham and was partly funded by a bequest to SIAH, from Antony Wheeler. It used many sources in the SRO and provides people and communities with important information on their origins and ‘Sense of Place’ giving clues to migration and settlement, and the consequent effects on language and names.

Supporting Suffolk Local History Council (SLHC) Parish Recorders Scheme and Societies Day SLHC Parish Recorders had a very successful visit to IRO on 5 April, whilst staff attended a special Recorders’ Day on 16 April at Rumburgh. They provided advice and information on the preservation of archive material to ensure changes in local life and landscape are recorded to support parish council and community engagement with their past and present. The Record Office also supported the SLHC Volunteers Group who gave a presentation on their work at the record office during Societies’ Day on 5 March. They commented afterwards “We certainly got the message across that we had done a lot of work over the years and hopefully we managed to give them the idea that we had enjoyed it too.”

20 Beccles U3A Group, Tuddenham St Mary and Melton Local History Groups and others 13 members of the Beccles U3A group visited LRO in September 2016 building on earlier contacts made during a visit to Beccles to promote our proposed new heritage facility and at Beccles Charter weekend. The Tuddenham St Mary History Group came to the Bury office in October 2015; after attending a heritage focus meeting in April. Many of the group hadn’t been to the office before and were amazed by the amount of material relating to their parish. They were also delighted to view the parish tithe map especially conserved for their visit. A talk was given in October to the newly formed Melton Local History Group on how they could start researching the history of their area. Other groups visited our branches to see documents relating to their area, learn about how they are preserved and can be used including; Southwold Museum, Aldeburgh Local History Group and Capel Ladies Club.

Lowestoft Navigation School In October LRO presented an exhibition on the recently catalogued collection from the Lowestoft Navigation School (Ref SROL 1401). Members of the public were invited to help identify students in photographs from 1958-1969. Many Alumni of the Navigation School came forward creating a wonderful dialogue between new visitors and Record Office staff. The exhibition also resulted in several copying and digitisation orders.

Time Out Group In September and October Record Office staff helped to run sessions for the Time Out Group, of over 65s promoting welfare, social contact and independent living. The ‘Let’s get Quizzical’ display, a guessing game of ‘spot the celebrities’ in Lowestoft from archive photographs in the Lowestoft Journal as greatly enjoyed by 17 attendees. In October an impromptu ‘Time Out’ session was put together at short notice when a booked speaker cancelled at the last minute. This involved running a Lowestoft Nostalgia session streaming videos from the East Anglian Film Archive website for 25 participants. Another ‘Time Out’ session was treated to the original report of the attack of the black devil dog - Black Shuck and viewing the archives from 1577 which recorded the incident at Bungay St Mary’s Church.

Historical walks Highlights of the last programme included two community learning walks. ‘Take the Kirkley Turnpike’ explored the history of the old road and its evolution into the main shopping street for the community. The second walk ‘On the Trail of the Lowestoft Witches’ examined the history of the sites relating to the events and trial of three 16th century Lowestoft women accused of witchcraft. These popular walks helped local people and visitors to engage with their historical environment as well as encouraging exercise and social interaction.

Advice and information supplied by SRO staff, or a small amount of research carried out by the team can very quickly help people to help themselves as the following examples show:-

“Thank you so much for the images and hurrah the place is Crowfield which now proves the conjectured later life of my estranged GtGt grandfather Robert Fenn. Robert & his wife Harriet …. separated in 1817 for some unknown reason and for the next 180 yrs Robert was not mentioned and erased from family records. Regardless of the circumstances it is wonderful to now have him returned into the family’s history.”

“Your simple kind act in doing that search has opened a new door to my past as this marriage was hitherto hidden…...you have provided a link to startling connection as it was probably his landlady’s daughter called Grace he married. He was not yet eighteen, having been born in August 1898.”

“thank you so much for your efforts on my behalf in tracing Frederick Watson's WW1 records. And many thanks also for ideas for further searches, I am most grateful for these, and will follow them up in due course. It is most kind of you to take the trouble to help our endeavours.”

“At the top of a rather austere staircase I opened the door to the Records Office and stepped in to a wonderful world of fascinating books, treasure-filled filing cabinets and really helpful staff…….I will be going back for more. I am now the proud owner of a Records Office readers ticket and can only recommend it as an excellent place to go.... The Lowestoft Bugle, April 2016.

21 Another visitor born in the 1930s was absolutely delighted to find the school admission records for herself and her siblings and pleased when record office staff were able to put her in touch with Social Services to try to find out more about when she was in Suffolk Children's Homes. She had come back to the UK especially to try and find out about her childhood and meet up with one of her sisters who she hadn't seen since the 1960s when they were split up.

“Thank you so much for your important part in bringing this family to life for me. It is too late to meet them in person; but at least I feel I know a bit about them - as you do now too!”

Original floor plans for a house in Ipswich were supplied to a PC investigating an historic rape allegation possibly at that location.

Volunteers In 2015/16 85 SRO volunteers contributed 7,894 hours to cataloguing, indexing, scanning, packing etc projects working either at home or in the branches. The average number of hours worked per volunteer returned as part of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Archive Services Statistics 2015-16 was slightly up on the previous year at 92.9hrs. The following is just a flavour of what they have been doing and cannot unfortunately name everyone.

LRO hosted six volunteers who worked on indexing and cataloguing projects tailored to their individual skill level and interests. Some of these are retired and some are seeking to build their skill set in order to enter employment. Ros has carried on ploughing through the diverse and difficult contents of (SROL 1150) Birds Solicitors Collection.

At BRO Tony is working on the Rushbrook papers, whilst Carol and Tessa are now listing the map section of the Wheeler Collection. Betty and Patricia’s work to further the digitisation of the wonderful Jarman collection of glass plate negatives, owned by the Bury Past and Present Society and the Society’s website featured in the local press in May.

In IRO Angela is cataloguing the Frank Woolnough Collection of scrapbooks (SROI HD4052). Frank was Curator of Ipswich Museum between 1893-1920 and had wide ranging interests and regularly wrote a column “Nature Notes” for the local newspaper under the pseudonym Felix Walton. Hilary was delighted to discover some enchanting pencil sketches, pen and ink and watercolours of East Anglian scenes produced by Elizabeth Cotton of 22 Silent Street, Ipswich in 1885 and 1887 in Professor John Blatchly’s collection. Hazel is inputting the catalogue for the Blois Family Archives (SROI HA30). David is working on the Ipswich Caribbean Experience (ICE) archive as well as packing and numbering the latest deposit of Holt-Wilson papers (SROI HA240). The SLHC group continue their Thursday morning indexing of records from the Poor Law Institution collections. A further 18,000 names are now ready to be added to a second CD for the name index.

Jonathan has now input well over 1,000 records from HA53, the Barne Family Archives into the CALM database and is really interested in the glimpses of everyday life this task provides and comments. The very first entry was Letters Patent of Oliver, Lord Protector, granting naturalisation to thirty Huguenots (Ref SROI HA53/1/1/1). A letter from Margaret Mayne tells her niece in December 1723 "I have been a great sufferer in the general Calamity of the South Sea Company" (Ref SROI HA53/6/7/3). It is generally thought there was little preparation for the First World War, but there were exceptions. On 31 December 1912, over a year before it began, Major Barne received advance notice, marked "SECRET", of the plans for regimental mobilisation in case of war being declared (Ref SROI HA53/6/14/10). And, finally, amongst the dry legal changes of landownership there was a little gem showing it was not all hard headed business: (Ref SROI HA53/8/4/1) records a lease for 101 years at a rent of one red rose of a meadow called Whytes in Northales or Cove Hithe, there must be a story behind this, but what was it?

We are sorry to learn that after many years of volunteer work on local studies and other collections Ruth Serjeant has decided to retire. Over the years Ruth has done sterling work to ensure IRO’s collection of local periodicals received from parishes, community groups, schools and a myriad of ‘interest’ groups are all boxed, labelled and indexed. SRO is always on the look-out for new additions to the list to keep the holdings up-to-date. Societies and groups are usually pleased to add SRO to

22 their mailing list, when they learn their newsletter or magazine will be kept permanently as part of the local history scene.

Manorial Documents Register (MDR) project Our brilliant MDR volunteers Claire and Kevin carried on with the project after the official launch of the Suffolk MDR in November 2014. They have been simply marvellous at checking the covering dates and gaps in the court records and updating and finalising the Authority Files. It is due to their dedication, determination and perseverance that we now have a more complete Suffolk MDR than we had in 2014 www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/mdr/. Kevin is also digitising Bury typescript paper catalogues to help get more information in digital form and ultimately, online. His advanced IT skills continue to be a real asset!

Courses, talks, workshops and film shows 215 learning events were held during 2015/16 with 3,859 attendees providing a catalyst for developing new skills, knowledge and confidence. One customer commented after an introduction to family history course "I'm a regular visitor to the Records Office and have always found the staff incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. This is the first course/talk I have attended and it has been very useful to me in identifying what sources are available and where to start on the trail." A diverse selection of entertaining talks and practical workshops were again provided utilising Suffolk’s archives to explore and retell the county’s rich history, bring together interested groups to share a passion for history and literature and enable new researchers to start reading and using old documents to trace their family history, find out about the social history of their property or the story of an historic landscape. The following are just a flavour of what was offered during 2015/16:-

Clive Paine once again produced a wide range of well attended talks and courses on: Rebellion, Cloth and Piety: Lavenham in the 1520s, The Civil War, Suffolk Explorers and the New World, Pauper Migration from Suffolk in the 1830s, Humphry Repton: Landscape Gardener of Suffolk Estates, Bread or Blood Riots in Suffolk and Cambridge, 1816, Guilds and Guildhalls in Medieval & Tudor Suffolk, Suffolk in the Era of Shakespeare (1564-1616) and The Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s.

Pat Murrell’s Delighting the Palate: The Culinary use of Garden Produce at Table and in the Stillroom from Local Archives and Dr Kate Jewell’s Cakes, Ales and Partying: Feasting and Fundraising in Medieval Suffolk were well attended. Kate convinced everyone that although medieval people worked hard they also knew how to celebrate! Her talk used original archives to illustrate the ways in which medieval Suffolk communities marked important festive occasions, and the activities they enjoyed at times of relaxation and entertainment.

Suffolk’s Early Maps and their Makers talk by Vivienne Aldous This looked at some of Suffolk’s early maps and the men who made them, why they were made and how, at a time when maps were new-fangled things and the surveyors who made them were sometimes viewed with suspicion and mistrust. East Anglia was an area where local map- making established itself in the later 16th century, and Suffolk had its fair share of home-grown talent.

Transport in Ipswich from Chris Turland (Ipswich Transport Museum) Chris covered the connections between rail, water and road transport, local omnibus development, and the growth of personal transport such as bicycles and the motor car with particular reference to local manufacturers.

23 Markets and Fairs in Medieval Suffolk - Prof Mark Bailey Mark’s talk explored the explosion in the number of markets and fairs in Suffolk during the 12-13th centuries, which created many of the county's market towns and transformed its landscape, society and economy.

Life and Society in Suffolk villages through the centuries by Dr Margaret Thomas This course considered the impact of economic, political, religious, and cultural change on the evolution of village life in Suffolk focusing on examples from the medieval period to the 19th century.

Historic Timber Framing: The Medieval Carpenter’s Art John Walker, former chairman of the Essex Historic Buildings Group looked at how medieval carpenters constructed timber framed buildings, and how methods changed and declined as houses changed in the 16th century from being heated by an open hearth to ones heated by chimneys.

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