We’re returning to the capital just as several important borough collections make a move, writes Jonathan Scott
Around Britain
With so much material online through the partnership between the London Metropolitan
Archives and Ancestry, a great deal of first-steps research for London can be carried
out at home. The availability of source material such as parish records, electoral
records, directories and school records drawn from LMA’s stores can help you circumnavigate
some of the inherent difficulties of researching in such a vast sprawl. You can see
the full extent of the collections at ancestry.co.uk/search/categories/london_met_archives and explore LMA’s own catalogue via www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things
-to-do/history-and-heritage/london
-metropolitan-archives.
Despite this jumping-off point, things soon become more complicated as you dig deeper, or if you’re researching parts of Greater London outside LMA’s coverage area. If you’re after occupational records, for example, then you have a complicated patchwork of borough archives to consider. In the process of compiling this article, we contacted every single one, and soon discovered that several were either on the move or on the cusp of reopening.
For example, Headstone Manor and Museum (headstonemanor. org) looks after the archives for Harrow. It’s currently in a state of partial closure, amid various improvements – enlarging the searchroom, research space and archive store. There’s likely to be continued disruption as different phases of the project are completed, but the aim is for everything to be fully operational again by June next year. In the meantime, staff have launched an online catalogue, to which they’ve added some of the most popular family history material such as directories, maps and microfilm sources: headstone manor.calmhosting.net.
A Collection From Kodak
The museum holds a large collection of material relating to Kodak, whose factory was a major local employer for decades. Archivist Mary Brown says, “We have many people come here to research the history of Kodak and all the recreational activities the factory supported for the workers. These included sports teams and theatre productions.”
They have similar collections for Hamilton and Co. Brush Works, another important Harrow employer, as well as material amassed by prominent local historians such as EM Ware, who spent his life meticulously documenting the area.
Mary adds that the museu
