The British Records Association (BRA) has recently partnered with Liverpool University Press (LUP) in publishing ‘English Archives: An Historical Survey’ by Richard Olney. The book is now available from LUP and other booksellers.
The book addresses the history of English records creation and recordkeeping from the perspective of the archives themselves. Beginning in the early Middle Ages and ending in modern times, it draws on the author’s knowledge and experience as both archivist and historian, and presents the subject in a readable and lively way.
Some archives, notably those of government and the established Church, have remarkably continuous histories. But all have suffered periods of neglect and decay, and some have come to sudden and violent ends.
Among the destructive episodes discussed in the book are the Viking raids of the Anglo-Saxon period, the Norman Conquest, the Peasants’ Revolt, the dissolution of the monasteries and the bombing raids of the Second World War.
The book has been written for both archivists and historians, but also for every reader who cares about the preservation of England’s past.
catholicarchivesociety.org 