Hackney Archives Open Day
You’ve watched the family history programmes and got the research bug, so now it’s time to get digging in the archives yourself.
Hackney Archives is a treasure trove of local history. You can research your family tree, unearth old photographs of your house, and learn more about Hackney’s rich and colourful local history.
The archive, located at 43 De Beauvoir Road N1 5SQ, is hosting a special open day on Saturday 8 April 2006 between 10am and 4pm.
Archives are documents that have been created by an individual, family, business or organisation and have been specially chosen to be kept permanently. They can be written papers, illustrations, photographs or visual and sound recordings.
“Everyone is invited to get to grips with their own history,” says Kim Wright, Corporate Director of Community Services.
“Archives contain real treasures. Friendly and helpful staff will help you access the wonderful collections, and guide you through the resources available.”
A special exhibition will focus on the history of theatre in Hackney, from Shakespeare to the present, via pleasure gardens, puppets and Pop goes the Weasel. Local history books, posters and postcards will also be on sale.
The Hackney Archive open day is part of a national Archives Awareness campaign, coordinated by The National Council on Archives with support from The National Archives and Museums Libraries and Archives Council.
Did you know:
Hackney Archives was established in the 1965. It looks after the administrative records of Hackney Council and those of organisations and individuals with links to the area.
Hackney Archives’ visual collection boasts 21,000 images, and there are more than 12,000 books in the local history library. If you stacked up all the Archives’ records it would reach 500 metres high.
Many records are unique and irreplaceable and have to be housed in secure conditions and handled with care for their protection. Temperature and humidity is monitored and kept within certain limits, and people accessing the archives are asked to observe certain rules, such as using pencils rather than pens.
For more information contact the Archives: Tel 020 7241 2886, Fax 020 7241 6688, archives@hackney.gov.uk
Page updated: 28 Feb 2007