Issue 18 Summer 2020

Issue 18, Summer 2020 A drawer of index cards - a familiar sight to Kent Archives’ staff during lockdown! Like other local authority archives across the country, the exceptional circumstances occasioned by Covid- 19 has meant that Kent Archives has been temporarily closed to the public since 23 March, and staff have been working from home. In this edition of the Archives@Kent newsletter, Kent Archives’ staff tell us about some of the important archive projects that they have been working on during lockdown and how they will improve the service and help its users in the future. Depositors’ Database Project: Kent Archives’ Accession Registers Olivia Weekes and Katharine Martin, Project Archivists Our role as cataloguers means that it is difficult for us to work from home during the lockdown, as we do not have physical access to the collections held at the Kent History and Library Centre. Therefore, we have been working on a completely different project that not only keeps us busy but will benefit the Archives in the future! We are creating a Depositors’ Database in our cataloguing software, Calm. This is a comprehensive database of information regarding the individuals and organisations that have donated or deposited records with Kent Archives. It is important that this custodial history is kept up to date with depositor’s contact details, as it is vital for the authenticity and integrity of the records we hold. The database will therefore make it easier for us to identify who deposited specific records, highlight any other collections that person deposited in the past, and assist us if we need to contact the depositor with queries about their collections in the future. Since late March, we have been inputting the depositors’ information contained in the Kent Archives’ handwritten accession registers dating back to the 1930s onto a spreadsheet where it can be sorted and collated. We have now almost completed work on six of the registers, comprising a total of 5,823 entries to date, with just the final pages of the last register to go! This will then be uploaded onto Calm. Linking all the collections we hold to a depositor entry will take time and some careful research to make sure all the information is up to date and accurate. Luckily time is something that we have had rather a lot of over the past few weeks! We have been able to make a positive outcome out of a very serious situation, as we have been able to work on a project that we may not have had the opportunity to complete otherwise. Everyone has had to change their way of working but this has undoubtedly encouraged us to become more creative, flexible and adaptable in the way we work. It has also been a fun challenge and test of our palaeography skills at times to decipher some of the handwriting, especially in the early register entries! We have only been working at Kent Archives since December, and both of us have found that this project is allowing us to get to know the types of records and the collections in a way that would not have been possible so quickly under normal circumstances. We are gaining a better understanding of the types of depositors and the logistics of acquiring new collections, and we are excited to see the work we have produced assist the team going forwards. Working at Home during Lockdown (AKA Carry-on-Archives) Sheila Malloch, Customer Services Officer—Archives and Local History I would never have thought we would be going through this present situation, so working at home for weeks with no idea of an end-date has been a culture shock to me and my colleagues. A ‘temporary’ home office was hurriedly set up and I found myself with an ancient laptop, a tablet with a dodgy screen and a smart phone, sat at the dining room table (the smallest bedroom/my craft room had already been comman- deered). Not forgetting stationery, comfy cushions, Radio 4 for company and close proximity to the fridge. As visitors to the Archives searchroom will be able to confirm, we are usually a chatty bunch, and I have kept in touch with the rest of the team to discuss work progress and provide support. Plus, with the wonders of mobile technology, I have been able to talk whilst walking in circles in the garden and getting some of my daily exercise! So, what have I been doing? With Olivia and Katharine, I have been typing up entries from our Accession Registers, focusing upon the records that were received at the former archives branch office at Folkestone. The registers were digitised before we left the office and it is my job to type up the entries onto a spreadsheet. I can access the digitised images on my tablet and then type up the entries on my laptop. The registers are handwritten, and I frequently have to ‘google’ correct spellings of names and addresses: that’s where the smart phone comes in handy. All three devices need to be kept charged, and there have been many occasions when the snaking wires under the chair needed to be untangled (only to knot themselves together again mysteriously overnight). Once complete, this information will be checked and then exported to our electronic catalogue, Calm, to provide staff with a searchable database of our accessions records. In the past, if we had queries about a deposit we would have to look through the register entries in date order. As the entries date back to 1920, we could be looking at several years of information before finding the correct entry needed! Not only are the contents of the accession registers useful for office administration, but they have also ena- bled me to find out more about the history of businesses in the Folkestone area. For instance, I was surprised to find how many solicitors had operated in Folkestone, and it will be a difficult job to try to find out if they are still active, when they ceased being in business, and if they merged with other legal firms. It has made me want to visit Folkestone after the lockdown is lifted to get more of a feel for its history. Undertaking this work, particularly under present circumstances, has reinforced my belief that we are fleet- ing custodians looking after history for future generations. Our archive collections have survived wars, moves, re-organisations, and other pandemics. But, hopefully through modern technology, digitisation and social media, we have been able to bring you some of their special stories. I have titled this article ‘Carry-on -Archives’ because that’s what we are doing, carrying on trying to do our work, looking after and promoting our holdings. Hopefully there won’t be a film appearing of our efforts. Kent Wills and Inventories Indexing and Digitisation Project Jennifer House, Archive Collections Assistant From home I have been continuing the work of our fantastic volunteer, Diane, in transcribing the information from our card index of pre-1653 Rochester wills onto a spreadsheet. The card index covers both the loose original wills (which contain the testator’s signature and the act of probate, which marked the end of the pro- cess of legally proving the will), and the volumes of registered wills (which contain transcript copies of the will and act of probate entered by the Registrar). As I go, I am noting any issues that will need to be investigated when we can access the original records in our strongrooms again. This may be a case of clarifying whether the date cited is the date of death or the date when the will was filed or proved, checking the professions recorded, or confirming the correct document reference where the reference on the index card no longer aligns with the format used on Calm, our cataloguing system. Once all of the entries have been checked and edited, the details from these index cards will form the basis of a new index that will be made available on Kent Archives’ website. It is our hope that these steps will make accessing the valuable information that the wills contain (from the name, occupation and residence of the testator, to mention of fam- ily and friends and details of the deceased’s property and posses- sions) easier and more efficient. In time, we intend to also digitise the wills so that the images can be linked to the index entries via our online catalogue. Our ultimate aim is for digital copies of the wills to be ordered and downloaded directly from our website. In working on this project I have been surprised by the variation in the spellings of surnames: Rowe and Arow, Ridley alias Wridlocke! I can certainly appreciate how this fluidity can cause headaches to the fami- ly historian! I have also been interested to see the range of occupa- tions beyond the typical yeomen and husbandmen. There are barbers, victuallers, butchers, and cordwainers, as well as some less familiar to the modern ear: cutlers, maltsters and maltmen, hemp dressers and even a Queen’s trumpeter in ordinary. If you would like to know more about probate records, then our helpful Guide to Probate Records explains the records that we hold and how to use them in your research. Kent Wills and Inventories Indexing and Digitisation Project Anne Entwistle, Archive Collections Assistant During lockdown I have been typing up the Rochester Consistory Court Will Index cards for wills proved in this ecclesiastical court between 1660 and 1858. Each card gives details, where available, of the name of the testator, the date when the will was proved, the place where they lived, details of the person’s occupation or status, and the reference for the registered copy of the will and/or that of the original will.

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