Archives - Hampshire County Council

Archives - Hampshire County Council Free access to historical material covering over 1000 years of Hampshire history. Welcome to the Archives and Local Studies service at Hampshire Record Office.

We collect archives relating to Hampshire and Hampshire families, and film and sound archives relating to central southern England. We also house Hampshire's local studies library. You are very welcome to visit us online or in person. No appointment necessary! Our entire holdings have been Designated by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council as an outstanding collection of national and intern

ational importance, providing an unparalleled resource for the knowledge and understanding of the history of the geographical area of Hampshire. Before you visit us we advise checking our online catalogue or list of popular records to check whether we have what you are looking for. http://www3.hants.gov.uk/archives/catalog.htm

Researchers need a CARN (County Archive Research Network) ticket. These are free and can be issued immediately if you have proof of name, address and signature. One-day temporary tickets are also available. You will need to show your ticket each time you enter and exit the search room. At Wessex Film and Sound Archive you can see and hear history, from late Victorian times to the present day, through moving images and sound recordings. The Archive contains over 35,000 film and sound recordings relating to central southern England, including film and tapes of local TV and radio, to study and enjoy.

Our 'accession of the month' for August is a watercolour, dated 1858, showing a lodge at Cranbury Park, between and Hu...
31/08/2026

Our 'accession of the month' for August is a watercolour, dated 1858, showing a lodge at Cranbury Park, between and Hursley, which arrived a few days ago (45A04/30).

We think it is probably Top Lodge, close to the boundary of Otterbourne and Hursley parishes, described on Historic England's website at https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1095808.

The architect of the lodge appears to be unrecorded. John Buonarotti Papworth is stated to have made alterations at Cranbury House itself in about 1830, and he did design estate cottages in the 'cottage orné' style, so we wonder if he could have designed the lodge - but we would be interested to receive other suggestions.

Would you like to delve more deeply into archives? We have several events planned over the next few months which may hel...
15/08/2026

Would you like to delve more deeply into archives? We have several events planned over the next few months which may help you!

Do you find reading old documents a challenge? Our 'Reading old handwriting' sessions help you discover ways in which our forebears commonly formed particular letters, standard abbreviations they used, and typical phraseology to look out for.

On 14 September, 6pm-7.30pm, we will explore wills and probate inventories (lists of people's goods at the time of their death), and on 16 November, 2pm-3.30pm, we will look at typical manorial documents showing how the administration of local manors influenced everyday life. £15 per session, booking required.

Our illustration shows an extract from the inventory of the goods of Mildred Read of Linkenholt, 1631. This portion lists the goods in the chamber over the kitchen, including a bedstead, a green rug and a green chair (1631A/080).

Would you like to do some research on a Saturday? Our next open Saturday is planned for 19 September, 9.30am-4pm, as part of . If you haven't been before, this is a great time to visit for the first time and to piece together hidden histories for yourself. Free, no need to book.

Have you ever wondered what happens behind the 'staff only' doors in the Record Office? You can find out on our next Behind the Scenes tour on 16 October, 2pm-3.30pm. Booking required, £15.

For details of all our forthcoming events, and to book, please visit www.hants.gov.uk/librariesandarchives/archives/events.

We've recently catalogued an archive of estate agents' sale particulars brochures, comprising over 350 items from the 19...
10/08/2026

We've recently catalogued an archive of estate agents' sale particulars brochures, comprising over 350 items from the 1930s to the 2000s.

It was a pleasant surprise to find, in a brochure for the sale of Avon Castle Hotel, near , in 1949, a brochure promoting visits to the hotel, which we presume dates from around the same time or a little earlier (20A26/R11).

You can see our catalogue of this series of brochures at https://archivescatalogue.hants.gov.uk/records/A26020

For here is a detail from a map showing part of the centre of Ringwood in 1769.It was surveyed by Thomas Bishop and wa...
03/08/2026

For here is a detail from a map showing part of the centre of Ringwood in 1769.

It was surveyed by Thomas Bishop and was intended to show the location of the farm and lands of John Willis, but also shows local landmarks such as St Peter and St Paul Church (labelled E) and the Market Place, to provide context.

To the right, diagonal paths cross The Furlong, now The Furlong Centre and Car Park. The map forms part of the Ringwood parish records (22M84/PZ1).

Our 'accession of the month' provides insights into the running of a local corner shop in the mid 20th century.It is a s...
31/07/2026

Our 'accession of the month' provides insights into the running of a local corner shop in the mid 20th century.

It is a small group of papers we have recently received relating to The Stores, Hunts Pond Road, Park Gate, run by Wilfred Herbert Churchill and his wife from 1935 to 1966. It includes a number of account books; invoices from suppliers giving an indication of how the shop was stocked; and a billhead of the previous shopkeeper, Bernard Terry.

Also included are papers about Locks Heath Congregational Chapel and the family's involvement in the congregation (46A26).

Mr and Mrs Churchill were from Swanage, Dorset and were married in Swanage Congregational Chapel on Sat 7 Dec 1935; it is believed that they came to Park Gate the same evening, attended Locks Heath Congregational Church on the Sunday, and started trading on the Monday.

Here is another . Our Conservator was recently asked to remove an archive document from an unsuitable frame, and discov...
25/07/2026

Here is another . Our Conservator was recently asked to remove an archive document from an unsuitable frame, and discovered this mezzotint engraving of a portrait of a gentleman - which was apparently there because it was within a cardboard mount that was being re-used as packaging within the frame.

Who is he? There are several clues: the document for which the mount was re-used relates to the Twyford area; the signature Jno [John] Temple appears on a small piece of paper, perhaps cut from a letter, fixed to the mount, which may identify the sitter, and there appear to be initials or a signature, probably of the artist, in the lower right corner.

Can anyone identify the sitter or the artist? Please do let us know.

It's Hampshire Day. We hold many books about the history of Hampshire, and this is one of the earlier ones, the Hampshir...
15/07/2026

It's Hampshire Day. We hold many books about the history of Hampshire, and this is one of the earlier ones, the Hampshire section of the Revd Thomas Cox's 'Topographical, Ecclesiastical and Natural History', published in the early 18th century under the overall title 'Magna Britannia Et Hibernia, Antiqua & Nova. Or, A New Survey Of Great Britain'.

The title page states that it was printed by Elizabeth Nutt in the Savoy, off the Strand, London, and sold by M [understood to be Mary] Nutt and J Morphew. Elizabeth (nee Carr) had married John Nutt in 1692, It appears that he was a printer and she was already a seller of newspapers and pamphlets. After John's death in 1716 she took over the printing business, and survived him by about 30 years; she and her son Richard extended the business, as printers, booksellers and newspaper stall proprietors.

You can find out more about the books we hold concerning Hampshire on the Hampshire Libraries catalogue at https://hampshire.spydus.co.uk/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/MSGTRN/WPAC/COMB

This weekend sees the finals of the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament. The photograph shown is of the teams involved in a tenn...
12/07/2026

This weekend sees the finals of the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament. The photograph shown is of the teams involved in a tennis match 100 years ago, Havant Rangers v Gosport Rangers

It is from a scrapbook kept by Eileen Ford, a girl guide from , who was involved with the Girl Guide movement for 73 years. A full list of the contents of the scrapbook can be seen on our catalogue, https://hampshire.epexio.com/records/A13154/1 (154A13/1)

The theme for July is . We hold numerous architects plans, which include plans of houses, schools, public buildings, ...
10/07/2026

The theme for July is . We hold numerous architects plans, which include plans of houses, schools, public buildings, pubs, country estates and churches

The examples shown are of the north elevation of the school house, Farnborough National School, c1868, by the architect George Devey (20M65/38/3) (now part of North Farnborough Infants School) and a house at Ringwood for The Electric Light Company, 1925 (46A20/C10/18/2)

Address

Hampshire Record Office, Sussex Street
Wi******er
SO238TH

Telephone

+441962846154

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Archives - Hampshire County Council posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organisation

Send a message to Archives - Hampshire County Council:

Shortcuts

Share

Category