A year into my one and a half year contract I am responsible for locating and collecting the files and papers produced by the District Councils. Spanning a period from 1974 to 2009 this means some of the files are 35 years old. Unsure what to expect, it has and continues to be a very rewarding role meeting lots of people in a great many roles and locations, who are all passionate about preserving the history of the county.

                                                                     North Wiltshire District Council Minute Books

Why start collecting now?

Following the creation of the Wiltshire Council as a unitary authority the four District Councils ceased to exist. They were Kennet District Council, West Wiltshire District Council, North Wiltshire District Council and Salisbury District Council.  The reorganisation meant many files did not have an owner, became inactive or no longer used on a daily basis. As a result, the records needed to be assessed for both their legal and historical value, collected and archived at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre for use by future generations.

While the district authorities took great care of their records, finding suitable storage space to hold them all before they were transferred to the state-of-the-art archive facility at the History Centre was an inevitable problem that they faced. At the same time, Wiltshire Council is looking to re-organise its offices into modern fit-for-purpose facilities. Therefore, my journeys have taken me to some interesting buildings and spaces in the search for archives, such as:

A Walk-in safe … Among the many locations where material has been stored I visited a walk-in safe which held some interesting records, notably deeds relating to the railway at Station Road, Devizes, going back as far as 1848; Pelham Puppets the puppet makers of Marlborough and an area that used to be known as Bowling Alley in Pewsey. It was a strange experience and access to the safe was through two doors. The first was made of solid metal and the second door had a steel strip surround with iron bars just like the jails seen on the telly. Working in the room was generally peaceful with some occasional strange noises from the room above.

My first visit to a nuclear bunker … A visit to a former nuclear bunker in Salisbury unfortunately did not produce any files although some had been stored there in the recent past. It was deep underground and with each step taking us deeper the air became cooler. Once inside and deep underground the air felt very still and cool. A large faded map hung on the control room wall as a stark reminder of the worrying times of the cold war. It was hard to imagine living in the series of small rooms, unable to re-surface in the event of a nuclear war.

Stairs and more stairs … I found the most arduous and attractive locations in Salisbury, many of the Council offices were based in old town houses with lots of stairs. The stairs came in many varieties, some were narrow and wound around the inside of the building sometimes leading all the way to the loft space, on one occasion two flights of stairs with a small platform halfway went straight up to the first floor, almost 30 steps in total. Needless to say I have become a little fitter as a result.

Files, papers and lots of preparation … Collecting the material has been a revelation because most of it is not bound in hardback volumes but come as loose leaf document, lever arch files or document wallets. The files are prepared for preservation by removing all plastic, staples and paper clips which will degrade over time, possibly rendering files unusable. Then they are sorted into groups and then their details are entered onto a catalogue, so they may be found when someone performs a search. They are finally stored in our modern, secure, temperature and humidity controlled strong rooms and made available on request to the public who may consult the archives in our search room, subject to data protection rules which do apply to some of the records we have collected.

Malmesbury's Town Defences

The archives include … Tidworth Master Plan from 1964, Area and conservation statements for places including Ashton Keynes and Little Somerford, Old Sarum Flying Club forum correspondence papers, Planning applications (samples) dating back to 1975, District Council newsletters, Official District Council tourist guides (which have photographs and adverts of the period), Financial ledgers, Leaflets for various campaigns, Registers of sealed documents issued by the Council and photographs of places throughout Wiltshire.

 
Financial General ledger

For example … Minute books, these are often in bound volumes and they record the decisions committees make and give a clear insight to the administration of the District Councils. Another document I found quite intriguing because I never knew there were defensive walls around Malmesbury is from the collection of urban design and historic buildings files. In the same series files record the changes made to Chippenham High Street including the street furniture such as bollards and seating. These documents are part of a large collection recording the heritage of urban design in our county. I found the Chief Financial Officer’s correspondence with the Chippenham Borough Lands Charity interesting because it contained maps of the borough before the A350 made its mark. The charity was set up in 1554 to aid people who live within the Parish of Chippenham.

And finally … Sewer maps! A large collection of sewer maps from Kennet District Council record the location of sewer pipes and the former sewer ditches. These maps provide a very accurate reference to the location of often forgotten sewerage because they were laid over 100 years ago. While collecting these records I found out that sewers were originally open ditches that ran alongside streets and roads.

If you have enjoyed this article, the following entries may also be of interest:

A Day in the Life of An Archivist

So, Just What DO our Visitors Come to See?

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