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One of the documents which we have in our display cabinets in our strongrooms is a relatively recent addition to our collection. A couple of years ago we acquired a Commission of Array for the City of Worcester dated 14 September 1642, which was just as the first military actions of the Civil War were...

It is unusual to find information on a naval career in our archives. Here we discover something more about the life of Charles Dixon, whose naval career appears to have begun in the 1770s. The Foley Scrapbooks which are part of the Palfrey Collection have always been one of my favourite archives. And no matter...

The word wigs comes from “periwigs” which was the name of the particular long, curly wigs that became popular after Charles II was returned to the throne in 1660. They were used to simulate real hair and primarily used for adornment. However at the time, head lice were everywhere, and nitpicking was painful and time-consuming. Wigs stopped lice infesting...

Today we mark Explore Your Archive 2015 by looking at the extraordinary life of a man who worked for a short while as House Surgeon at Kidderminster Infirmary and went on to take part in one of the early Arctic Expeditions.  A chance discussion with a researcher in our Original Archive Area led to the...

We have started a new series on Tuesday highlighting the underrepresented parts of history and our collections – you can find them on social media by looking for #HiddenHeroes or #HiddenHistory.  These people or groups may be hard to find within the archives, or difficult to find in the archaeological record. It may be due...

Thanks to those of you who had a go at Almond Jumballs and sent in your photos. Rebecca’s are pictured below, which we were told were very almondy and tasty. Historical Shaped Biscuits Within the Slice of the Past recipe book, containing recipes taken from the archives, is one for Gingerbread. Gingerbread biscuits have been...

We are pleased to announce that our annual Archaeology Day will be on Saturday 17th November. We have an exciting programme of talks lined up from our staff about excavations and projects we’ve been running, and also by guests from other archaeological units and research groups who’ll share about their own work and discoveries in...

There are lots of bank holidays this month. But what does that mean? Bank holidays were first introduced in 1871 by banker and liberal politician for Maidstone, Sir John Lubbock. Thinking about bank holidays led us to look at our range of resources for researching local banks and the people who ran and worked in...

We continue our series on how members of staff have used the recently released 1921 census to further their own research. Anthony hoped to learn of the fate of his great-grandfather’s brothers after the First World War having discovered his great grandfather George Henry Roach using the 1939 Register. Using the 1921 Census, I hoped...

Mary Marchioness of Downshire and Baroness Sandys (1764-1836) was the middle child of Colonel Martin Sandys (1729-1768) and Mary Trumbull (1741-1769). Known as ‘the Little Marchioness’, she grew up as part of the extended royal circle – her father being an Equerry to the King’s uncle – yet her childhood was one of tragedy. An...