Celebrating our collections dating from 780AD to the present day
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 Sheila Rhodes, volunteer Edward Heron-Allen was a remarkable man. Born in London in 1861, Heron-Allen's interests were many and varied; a qualified solicitor, he was also an expert in violin making and cheirosophy (the art of reading a person's character through the formation of their hands and fingers), a published author of early science-fiction stories and…
Chosen by Peter Wilkinson, former member of staff The records of the diocesan courts, particularly in the period from Queen Elizabeth’s reign to the start of the Civil War, give us a unique picture of local life in Sussex. On the one hand we see the bishop and his officials trying to keep a…
Chosen by Matt Dell, member of staff Although our oldest record here at West Sussex Record Office dates to 780AD, you would be mistaken in thinking that only historic records live under our roof. In addition to the collections of religious records, military records, estate papers and more, we are also home to the Records Management Service, which manages the County…
Continue reading ➞ Chichester – Parking of Cars in the Highway, 1936 (WDC/CL28/1)
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 