The Kew building, before the name-change to The National Archives.

The Public Record Office (PRO) of the United Kingdom is one of the three organisations that make up the National Archives (the others are the Historical Manuscripts Commission, and the Office of Public Sector Information). The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The National Archives (TNA is a British Governmental organisation created in April 2003 to maintain a National archive for " England, Wales The National Archives (TNA is a British Governmental organisation created in April 2003 to maintain a National archive for " England, Wales The Office of Public Sector Information ( OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of Her Majesty's Stationery Office (usually abbreviated as HMSO The name is no longer used officially, though many scholars prefer to continue to use it since there is the possibility of confusion with the National Archives of several other countries, including the USA. List of archives A national archive is a central Archive maintained by a Nation.

Functions

The functions of the archives remain unchanged. It holds a collection of records of public business in England, Wales and the UK, including the records of court proceedings going back to the Middle Ages, and the original manuscript of the Domesday Book. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A court is a forum used by a power base to adjudicate disputes and dispense civil, labour administrative and criminal Justice under its The Domesday Book (ˈduːmzdeɪ bʊk also known as Domesday, or Book of Winchester) was the record of the great survey

History

The Public Record Office (PRO) was established in 1838 to reform the keeping of government and court records which were being held, sometimes in poor conditions, in a variety of places. Year 1838 ( MDCCCXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Some of these were court or departmental archives (established for several centuries) which were well run and had good or adequate catalogues; others were little more than store-rooms. Many of the professional staff of these individual archives simply continued their existing work in the new institution. A good number of documents were transferred from the Tower of London and the chapter house of Westminster Abbey, though the Domesday Book was not moved from Westminster until the 1850s, when proper storage had been prepared. Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower) is a historic monument in central London A chapter house is a building or room attached to a Cathedral or Collegiate church in which meetings are held The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a large mainly Gothic church The Domesday Book (ˈduːmzdeɪ bʊk also known as Domesday, or Book of Winchester) was the record of the great survey

The PRO was placed under the control of the Master of the Rolls, a senior judge whose job had originally included responsibility for keeping the records of the Chancery Court, and was originally located in the mediaeval Rolls Chapel (the former Domus Conversorum) on Chancery Lane at the boundary of the City of London with Westminster. The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the third most senior judge of England and The Court of Chancery was one of the courts of equity in England and Wales. The Domus Conversorum ( House of the Converts) was a building and institution in London for Jews who had converted to Christianity. Chancery Lane is a principal thoroughfare of the City of London. For London as a whole see the main article London. The City of London is a geographically Westminster is an area of Central London, within the City of Westminster. The first Master of the Rolls to take on this responsibility was Lord Langdale, while his Deputy Keeper, the historian Sir Francis Palgrave, had full-time responsibility for running the Office. Henry Bickersteth 1st Baron Langdale (18 June 1783–18 April 1851 was an English law reformer and Master of the Rolls. Sir Francis Palgrave FRS, born Francis Ephraim Cohen, ( 1788 - 6 July 1861) was an English Historian.

There was no right to consult the records freely for scholarly purposes until 1852, despite the 1838 Public Record Office Act's intention of enabling public access. An Act of Parliament is a Law enacted as Primary legislation by a national or sub-national Parliament. Fees were paid by lawyers who used the archives to consult a limited number of documents. These charges were abolished for serious historical and literary researchers after a petition was signed in 1851 by 83 people including Dickens, Macaulay, and Carlyle. Thomas Carlyle (4 December 1795 – 5 February 1881 was a Scottish essayist satirist and historian whose work was highly influential during the Victorian era.

A purpose built archive was designed and built between 1851 and 1858 (architect: Sir James Pennethorne) and extended onto the site of the Rolls Chapel, which was demolished as it was structurally unsound, between 1895 and 1902. 1851 ( MDCCCLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Year 1858 ( MDCCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common An architect is a licensed individual who leads a design team in the Planning and Design of buildings and participates in oversight of Building Construction Sir James Pennethorne ( 4 June 1801 &ndash 1 September 1871) was a notable 19th century English Architect and planner Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1902 ( MCMII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Public search rooms were opened in 1866, but greater access led the authorities to restrict certain classes of document, and to favour visitors who were experienced in dealing with historical material.

The growing size of the archives held by the PRO and by government departments led to the Public Records Act 1958, which established standard procedures for the selection of documents of historical importance to be kept by the PRO. The Public Records Act 1958 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom forming the main legislation governing Public records in the United Even so, growing interest in the records produced a need for the Office to expand, and a second building was opened at Kew in south-west London in 1977. Kew is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in South West London. Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays The Kew building was expanded in the 1990s and all records were transferred from Chancery Lane to Kew or the Family Records Centre in Islington by 1997. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 The Family Records Centre (FRC provided access to Family history research sources mainly for England and Wales. Islington is the central district of the London Borough of Islington. Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar The Chancery Lane building is now known as the Maughan Library, the largest library of King's College London. The Maughan Library and Information Services Centre (more commonly known as The Maughan Library) is a 19th Century Gothic building located on Chancery Lane King's College London is a British Higher education institution and co-founding constituent college of the federal University of London.

Merger with the Historical Manuscripts Commission

In April 2003 the PRO merged with the Historical Manuscripts Commission to form a new previous site on Chancery Lane to Kew in 2004. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. The National Archives (TNA is a British Governmental organisation created in April 2003 to maintain a National archive for " England, Wales "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The National Archives of Scotland and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland were and remain entirely separate institutions. Based in the capital Edinburgh, the National Archives of Scotland (NAS are the National archives of Scotland. The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI is situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Most documents held by the PRO were formerly kept "closed", or secret, for 30 years, although this changed significantly when the UK's Freedom of Information Act came into force. The 30 year rule was abolished and closed records in the PRO are subject to the same access controls as all other records of public authorities under the FOIA. However, some records remain closed for long periods, for example individual census returns are kept closed for 100 years. A census is the procedure of acquiring information about every member of a given population In 2002 the PRO set up a website to allow online access to the records of the 1901 census, and was overwhelmed by the numbers of people wanting to access the site. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages Since then, The National Archives has digitised all open census records through partnerships, and all can be searched online.

External links

• The National Archives - official website.
• Specialist and Local Records Offices in England and Wales
• Specialist and Local Records Offices in Scotland
• Research Guide: Visiting a Records Office
• Your Archives - wiki for users of The National Archives

Further reading

• John D. Cantwell, The Public Record Office, 1838-1958 (HMSO 1991)
• Philippa Levine, The Amateur and the Professional: Antiquarians, Historians and Archaeologists in Victorian England, 1838-1886 (Cambridge University Press, 1986)

The Australian state of Victoria calls its archives Public Record Office Victoria. The Office of Public Sector Information ( OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of Her Majesty's Stationery Office (usually abbreviated as HMSO For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Public Record Office Victoria (PROV is the government archives of the Australian State of Victoria.