This month sees the centenary of a major success for women’s suffrage. When the Representation of the People Act became law on 6th February 1918, women over 30, who were occupiers of property or married to occupiers, became entitled to vote for the first time in British history. West Sussex Libraries have been finding out…
Tag: archives
In Remembrance – Driver George Slater – Graylingwell War Hospital – WW1
I had assumed that every patient who died in a UK war hospital during World War 1 would have a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) headstone, but I was wrong….. I am cataloguing the records of Graylingwell Hospital in Chichester, among which are some items about Graylingwell War Hospital (1915-1919). There are no existing formal…
Continue reading ➞ In Remembrance – Driver George Slater – Graylingwell War Hospital – WW1
Witchcraft and the ‘Wicked Women’ of Sussex
Prior to the British Witchcraft Act of 1735, the infamous witch trails of the Early Modern period saw widespread moral panic sweep through a religiously unstable Europe, resulting in the horrific punishment of individuals for their supposed sorcery. Although no instances of witch drowning or burning have been evidenced in West Sussex, accusations of witchcraft still led to the persecution…
Continue reading ➞ Witchcraft and the ‘Wicked Women’ of Sussex
Family History Fun Day – A genealogical extravaganza for all the family!
Come along and join us at Horsham Library on Saturday 21 October, 10:00- 4:00pm for a West Sussex Libraries Family History Fun Day! There will be an opportunity to meet experts from Sussex Family History Group, West Sussex Record Office, Times Digital Archive, Guild of One Name Studies and others. Information Librarians and Archivists will be available to…
Continue reading ➞ Family History Fun Day – A genealogical extravaganza for all the family!
Record of The Month
Forgery and Scandal at Chichester Old Bank I first came across the story around this month’s record when volunteering at Chichester District Museum (now the Novium). The Social History Curator at the time said that sometime in the early 1800s a man -John Binstead, a drawing teacher, was charged with forging a bank note from…
All roads lead to WSRO..
Vehicle licensing records aid Classic Car restoration We can receive all manner of enquiries here at the Record Office, and while some may assume that our reach is bound by county borders, and primarily focussed on local history, we are always eager to highlight that the simplest of records can have far-reaching effects. We recently received…
Record of the Month
Churching As a former midwife now working as Searchroom Assistant, I am always interested in records relating to childbirth. So I was intrigued when I came across an illuminated manuscript version of an Order of Service for the ‘Churching’ of women (our reference: Par 56/7/9) in the Compton parish records. The term ‘illuminated’ refers to…
Record of the Month
The mystery of the Mary Celeste continues at West Sussex Record Office Although we receive all manner of enquiries here at the Record Office, some cause us to investigate a little further, or highlight records within our collections that deserve a closer look. One such enquiry was made last week, regarding a Certificate of Discharge…
Sussex and the US: Closer than you think
In the final instalment of our American-themed blogs to celebrate Independence Day, we are looking at the many and varied connections between famous faces in America’s history and the county of Sussex. Founded in the 17th and 18th centuries, thirteen British colonies on the east coast of North America declared independence in 1776 and formed the United States of…
Chichester’s Admiral: Sir George Murray and the American War of Independence
Continuing our week of themed blog posts focussing on West Sussex links with America, today’s focus is on Royal Naval Officer (later Vice-Admiral) Sir George Murray, a Chichester local who saw service throughout the American War of Independence, as well as the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. A few days prior to the signing of…
Continue reading ➞ Chichester’s Admiral: Sir George Murray and the American War of Independence
West Sussex Record Office 