The origins of Valentine’s Day are widely disputed, with several Saint Valentines claiming feast days during Lupercalia, an ancient fertility festival celebrated by the Romans from the 13th-15th Feburary. The two Saint Valentines most commonly associated with the 14th February, were both martyred in Rome. Valentine of Terni in roughly AD 197, and Valentine of…
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Record of the Month
AM 991 – Walking Journals (1931-1932) Simply titled ‘Rambles’, these 2 walking journals were deposited at the Record Office in 2016. They were written by Miss Lillian Ash who worked as a clerk at the Portsmouth Dockyard in the 1930s and handed to me as one of the many items the staff are given to…
Merry Christmas!
Wishing all of our friends and followers a very Happy Christmas from everyone at West Sussex Record Office! We've found this festive image from the archives which (appropriately!) was taken in the year in which we opened. It shows a Pantomime Party trip in January 1946 with mothers and children lined up beside their charabanc…
Victorian Christmas Traditions in the Archive
Many of our modern-day Christmas traditions are famously attributed to the Victorian period and the influence of Prince Albert, who bought German customs and festive celebrations to the UK. This new way of marking the Christmas period saw the introduction of many festive traditions we continue to enjoy today, from elaborate decorations to gingerbread, lavish Christmas menus,…
Continue reading ➞ Victorian Christmas Traditions in the Archive
Annual Closed Fortnight Activities
As many archive services do, West Sussex Record Office closes to the public for the first two weeks in December every year for a 'stocktaking' period. During the fortnight, searchroom staff are able to spend time catching up on odd jobs and housekeeping projects, as well as focusing on cataloguing. Throughout the year, we…
Christmas Gift Ideas from the Archive
Create your own quality prints, greetings cards or amazing gifts from our gallery of high quality historic images! Whether you’re looking for a gift for a history-lover, or a hard to buy for friend or relative, we have thousands of images from the archives that can be turned into the perfect gift. Our Online Picture…
From Charters to Cheese: Our 70th Birthday Open Day and Reception
After publishing a booklet featuring our 70 favourite records on Sussex Day (16 June), and posting each of those 70 records on this blog over the past 6 months, our 70th Birthday celebrations culminated on Saturday 12 November, with our public Open Day and evening Reception. The day was a great opportunity to get a…
Continue reading ➞ From Charters to Cheese: Our 70th Birthday Open Day and Reception
70th Anniversary Open Day Celebrations
In 2016, West Sussex Record Office has been marking its 70th Anniversary. In celebration, we asked our users, depositors, volunteers, supporters and staff to explore the archive and nominate their favourite document. We published a booklet featuring these 70 archives on Sussex Day (16th June) and here on this blog, we offered a little more…
Great War memoir, 1914-1917 (Add Mss 25001-25006)
Chosen by Sue Hepburn, researcher In five manuscript volumes and an edited typed text, entitled 'A March with the Infantry', the memoirs of Ralph Ellis are a powerful and compelling record of the life of a soldier serving in the Royal Sussex Regiment on the Western Front in the Great War. Ellis, an artist and inn-sign painter, lived in…
Continue reading ➞ Great War memoir, 1914-1917 (Add Mss 25001-25006)
1768 Map of Woodmancote and Albourne (Add Mss 17101)
Chosen by Frances Lansley, much missed late member of staff This is a map of Wick Farm in Woodmancote and Albourne , part of the estate of Sir Merrick Burrell of West Grinstead Place. The map, dated 1768, is painted in oil. As well as being a map it is a work of art. There…
Continue reading ➞ 1768 Map of Woodmancote and Albourne (Add Mss 17101)
West Sussex Record Office 