Maria Faulkner was expecting to be bored when the MA Professional Writing students were ‘encouraged’ to attend the tour of Cornwall County Record office. Anticipating dusty staff with wispy hair and hearing trumpets, she was delighted by the reality...
{mosimage}Greeted by two members of staff – Niamh Downing and Alison Spence – plus a glorious array of maps, parchments, photographs and documents, I was soon carried away by their enthusiasm and the chance to bury myself in the collection of photographs, diaries, letters, posters, old maps and inventories. I was like a child in a sweetie shop and I couldn’t decide what to buy.
Research is often seen by writers as a boring or time consuming necessity. The memories that haunt us might include libraries imprinted with the word SILENCE, librarians with ‘hands-off’ looks, and filing systems that appear to defy our search. In reality the Records Office, for a writer, is not only a serious and in-depth resource, it is also a haven of delight.
Primary research
As a form of primary research it offers many things. Items that are archived have been gifted or purchased as material that will help inform generations to come. These are both of practical use for writers exploring themes such as science and technology or health and education. There are also photographs offering information on dress, setting and technical details. The latter can act as inspiration for stories, characters and events.
{mosimage}Once I had donned the white gloves that protect the past, I was particularly drawn to the copy of a letter by Frances Abbot where he describes his meeting with Lord Byron.
“I heard the garden gate below close on its hinges, turning around it was Lord Byron.”
The writing describes in humorous detail his conversation with Lord Byron about his intended trip to Greece. His description of Lord Byron’s manner towards him and the dialogue between them is very revealing. In addition Frances Abbot turned out to be a fascinating man who travelled around the Holy Land, Egypt and the Mediterranean before becoming a hermit at Niagara Falls. He liked to meditate hanging by his feet from the branch of a tree over the falls. He died when the branch gave way in September 1831 and he plunged into his beloved waterfalls. What a potential story!
Research treasure
We were allowed as part of the tour to visit the Strong Room. The smell of ageing paper assaulted our nostrils and huge bays of rolling shelves silently revealed 32,000 references with unique reference numbers. Shelf upon shelf of boxes and volumes greeted us. It was like Indiana Jones on a tiny scale. The air conditioning kept the treasured material cool, whilst we shivered and stuck close to our guide as the four and a half miles of strong rooms would be easy to get lost in. Our guide showed us the large grey boxes which housed 80,000 loose wills and testaments. It was a sombre moment.
She was very enthusiastic about the series of school log books, as these would provide the most inexhaustive, funny and poignant research for any writer wanting to revive the old regime; a great source of social history from schools all over the county. The horror or mystery genres was also to be found in the prison records of Bodmin Gaol. Personal details of those who committed a crime right down to the tattoo they wore were recorded here, based on the idea that the criminal was a composite type. Here we could follow the stories of notorious and not so notorious criminals.
One special treasure attracted us all. It was an Elizabethan document. A record of Sir Frances Trudgeon’s lands, on vellum, with the Great Seal of Elizabeth I. It recorded the lands taken from him and given away.
{mosimage}Another outstanding document was the Deeds from Lostwithiel, in Latin, from the medieval period, depicting the lands owned and who had the rights to those lands.
The largest archived record made us feel we had entered the world of Harry Potter. At any moment we expected a gnome to appear, tutting at us for peering irreverently at the huge account ledgers, big enough to conceal a lost infant, dominating the shelves. Other rooms housed 20-25,000 maps, some so large they had to take them outside and in through the window when required for display! 10-12,000 mining records of closed down mines were a sad reminder of the demise of this great industry.
By the time the tour was over I was reluctant to leave and was pleased to discover I could make an appointment to visit for any personal research requirements. All you have to do to make the same interesting trip is to visit their site and let them know your specialist area. They are helpful, friendly and enthusiastic so don’t worry about fearsome ‘dragons’ bearing down on you – unless you forget to put the white gloves on of course.
All images copyrighted to CRO
www.cornwall.gov.uk
Cornwall Record Office delivers a county archive service via a team of five archivists, seven archive assistants, a learning officer and an administrative assistant. Public records are the records of any government department in the UK and the records of any office, commission, other body or establishment under government departments or ministries. A visit to the Cornwall Record Office offers you the opportunity to take a look behind-the-scenes at Cornwall’s renowned archives. They hold a range of documents dating form the 12th to the 21st century, including thousands of maps, places, photographs, parchment documents and volumes containing information on local families and their estates, businesses, industry, churches, schools and villages. The record office is able to supply copies of many documents held in its care. To obtain copies you must complete the relevant order form and pay the appropriate charge.
