Bromsgrove Court Leet archive records have officially been made available to the public for the first time.
Following a project arranged by Bromsgrove Court Leet in partnership with Worcestershire County Council’s Archive and Archaeology Service at the Hive, Court Leet records have been catalogued and are now available to the public.
During the long history of Bromsgrove Court Leet, records of meetings and the business of the Court have been kept including information on decisions taken and the names of the residents living in the Manor of Bromsgrove.
Such records were first kept by the Court or held in St John’s Church, but in recent years the documents have been deposited with Worcester County Archives to safely store and protect the documents.
At the Spring Court meeting in 2023, the Custodian of the Records, Jo Slade, proposed to the members of the Court that the deposited boxes be professionally catalogued so that a complete record of what is stored can be made available.
Included within the boxes were 17 Court Rolls dating from 1726 to 1891, presentments, various legal documents, agendas and papers from Autumn and Spring Court meetings, along with various menus and press cuttings all dating from between 1737 and 1948.
Jo Slade, Custodian of the Records at Bromsgrove Court Leet and leader of the project, said: "It is so important that the historical records of Bromsgrove Court Leet are professionally stored and looked after. By cataloguing the information contained within the documents, they can now be made available to all.
"Bromsgrove Court Leet has funded the project as all members recognise the value and significance of the collection and are keen to both preserve the documents and ensure they are used.
"The team of volunteers have really enjoyed delving into the past in this way and have often been distracted by the content of the documents. We are extremely grateful to the team at The Hive for their professional support throughout the project and to volunteer Helen Voyle who dedicated so much time to the project."
A small group of volunteers began the process of preparing the ancient documents for cataloguing.
Firstly, the documents were unwrapped and carefully cleaned before being given a number, written in pencil, relating to the box where it is stored.
The content of the document was recorded on a spreadsheet with the given catalogue number.
The process of cataloguing the archives took ten months to complete with the majority of the work being undertaken by one of the volunteers, Helen Voyle, who visited The Hive once a week for six hours over the course of the project.
Ms Voyle noted the contents of more than 3,500 items.
The data collected from the documents was given to the Senior Archivist team who uploaded the information to the online database.
The catalogue is available for anyone to explore online, and researchers interested in viewing the documents can do so in the search rooms in the Archives Department at The Hive.
An event was held at The Hive in Worcester to celebrate the end of the cataloguing stage of the project and to announce that the catalogue entries are now available to view online.
Hosted by the Bailiff of Bromsgrove Court Leet, Philip Thomas, guests included Deputy Lieutenant Dr Umesh Udeshi and High Sheriff of Worcestershire Charles Moyle JP.
Members of Bromsgrove Court Leet, representatives from local historical societies and employees from The Hive and Explore the Past were also in attendance.
As part of the presentations at the evening event, Helen Voyle, the Lead Cataloguer, spoke to the guests about the documents she had numbered and recorded, and the characters from the past who she had got to know through their letters, written notes and minutes taken.
It is hoped that people interested in Bromsgrove’s history and the business and workings of a Court Leet will make time to view the content held within the boxes now that they are available publicly.
To search the online catalogue visit www.e-services.worcestershire.gov.uk/CalmView or get in touch with the team at Explore the Past at The Hive.
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