Celebrating our collections dating from 780AD to the present day
Chosen by John Godfrey, researcher In light of Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th birthday this year, a Loyal Address was delivered by the Lord Lieutenant on behalf of the people of West Sussex. Celebrating the many occasions The Queen has visited the county, the book highlights her connection to West Sussex through the decades of…
Continue reading ➞ The Queen visits Chichester, West Sussex Gazette, 3/4/1986
Chosen by Emma O'Driscoll, House Steward, and Sarah Hughes, Research Assistant, West Dean College This vellum-bound manorial ledger is one of the earliest documents concerning West Dean House and Estate, and reflects the socio-political climate of 350 years ago. The left-hand page, written at the time of Oliver Cromwell’s death in 1658, is in English.…
Continue reading ➞ Manorial ledger, 1652-1726 and 1800-1820 (Acc 18218)
Chosen by David Barling, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, West Sussex County Council This fascinating minute book records the concerns and activities of local residents at a period that includes the First World War and its aftermath. It shows how the Parish Council dealt with a wide variety of issues and it is remarkable…
Continue reading ➞ Steyning Parish Council minute book, 1908-1927 (Par 183/49/1)
Chosen by the Guinea Pig Club (text by Sam Gallop, Chair of the Guinea Pig Club) The Archive of the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, which includes the patient case files and research records of Sir Archibald McIndoe and his teams, is of national and international importance. During the Second World War this hospital…
Continue reading ➞ Faces from the Fire: the biography of Sir Archibald McIndoe, 1962 (Lib 18911)
Chosen by James Cooper, Director at Stansted House This map shows in artistic and graphic detail the lands and tenements belonging to the Stansted Estate, one of the foremost estates in Sussex in the late 18th century, then owned by Richard Barwell. The extent of the lands at the western end of the county is huge.…
Continue reading ➞ A survey and plans of the estate of Richard Barwell, 1785 (Add Mss 2158)
Chosen by Susan Millard, member of staff This anonymous letter was addressed to the Duke of Richmond and was sent to his estate at Goodwood. We can see from the reverse page that it was considered important enough to be forwarded to his London home. Such letters, written during the agricultural disturbances in the winter…
Continue reading ➞ ‘Swing Riots letter’, 2 Dec 1830 (Goodwood Mss 1446 fA18)
Chosen by Lady Emma Barnard This remarkable notebook was kept by my great-aunt Veronica, the daughter of Clive and Alicia Pearson, who lived at Parham. Veronica deposited it with West Sussex Record Office before her death in 1993; it is a moving record of wartime life on the estate, a vignette of an extraordinary time.…
Continue reading ➞ ‘Parham in the War’, 1940-1947 (Parham 1/4/10/3/3)
Chosen by Holly Wright, member of staff These Ministry of Food recipe leaflets were produced during World War 2 to help the nation make the most of their food in spite of rationing, a necessary measure first enforced on 8th January 1940 as a result of the enemy bombing or blockading of the supply ships heading for…
Continue reading ➞ World War 2 Ministry of Food recipe leaflets (Add Mss 54,872)
Chosen by Joyce Sleight, researcher Some years ago I attended a talk on the work of WSRO at Worthing Library given by a member of the Searchroom staff. In the informal chat that followed I mentioned that as a history teacher and librarian at Steyning Grammar School I had charge of some of the school archive. He…
Continue reading ➞ Steyning School Register, 1840-1876 (Acc 10206)
Chosen by Andrew Rackley, member of staff Archives aren’t all about paper. Technology has changed significantly over the last 70 years and the Record Office has been changing with it. As records are increasingly produced solely in a digital format (‘born-digital’), the content held here increasingly goes beyond what you might think of as traditional…
Continue reading ➞ Billingshurst Oral History Project collection, 2015 (Acc 18164)
West Sussex Record Office 