On the 15th July several members from both the family history groups visited Doncaster City Archives where we had a very interesting afternoon. Jess Hogg and her colleagues gave us an insight into the work that goes on behind the scenes to allow members of the public access to historic material and their plans for the future of the Archives. We were shown into the strong room and saw a variety of documents, how they are stored and got an explanation of the environmental conditions, which are vital to their conservation.
In the reception area we saw the Queen Elizabeth II charter for when the town became a city. Then in the research room we were shown the Queen Elizabeth I charter. Several types of documents were laid out for the group to look at including various map types including Goad and Ordnance Survey plus railway records which the group found very interesting.
The visit was very successful and has inspired at least one member to return and another to visit the Archives where their family comes from, plus the archive gained a couple of volunteers.