What is Shropshire Archives?
Shropshire Archives preserves and makes accessible documents, books, maps, photographs, plans and drawings relating to Shropshire past and present. It is the sole archives repository and local studies library for the County of Shropshire, a branch Diocesan Record Office for the dioceses of Hereford and Lichfield and is approved as a place of deposit for Public Records and Manorial and Tithe documents.
The building has a total floor space of 1,500 square metres and includes two public search rooms and a coffee room. Shropshire Archives is open 30 hours per week, including one late evening and all day Saturday. More than 15,000 people per year visit Shropshire Archives, with many more reaching us via our website. We provide a service for schools, an outreach and events programme as well as a very active Friends group. There is a link to the Friends’ website on this page.
How many records do you have?
Shropshire Archives holds over 5 1/2 miles of historical records and publications covering the whole of Shropshire and Telford.
Where are you and how do I find information about visiting?
For more information, please use the link 'Visiting Shropshire Archives' on this page or check 'Visiting Shropshire Archives frequently asked questions'.
Are any of your records available on the Internet?
You can search for details of many of our collections using our Online Catalogues or the national Access to Archives website. These provide detailed descriptions of the records and should help you to identify those which will be useful for your research. For more information, select the link ‘What we hold at Shropshire Archives’ on this page.
The Secret Shropshire website contains images from the collections at Shropshire Archives. There is a link to this website on this page.
How far do your records go back?
The earliest document at Shropshire Archives dates from the late 8th century. It is a fragment of a manuscript commentary by Jerome on St. Matthew chapters 11 and 13.
The oldest documents with specific Shropshire connections are deeds in estate collections dating from the 12th and 13th centuries. These include a charter from King John. We also have some very early documents relating to the admissions of burgesses in the Borough of Shrewsbury.
At the other end of the timescale, we have last week’s editions of the Shrewsbury Chronicle and Shropshire Star and we continue to collect documents which will be of interest to future generations.
Can you look for information for me?
We can search for information for you as part of our Research Service. Further information about this is given in the section ‘What Shropshire Archives can do for you’.
We also have an enquiries service. As part of this we can answer queries regarding bookings and the availability of documents and we can give general advice on the types of documents we hold. We answer enquires by telephone, email, post and fax. If your enquiry is complicated, however, we advise writing or emailing with the details as this gives us time to provide a comprehensive answer. We aim to answer all enquiries within 10 working days. We can do a very limited 10 minute search as part of the enquiries service (for example searching for a baptism in a small parish where the year but not the full date of the baptism is known). For any further searches or for lengthier research, then you must use the Research Service or visit in person.
Do you have copying facilities?
We have two self-service reader/printers for copying from microfiche and microfilm. Staff can also provide copies and can make photocopies (within copyright guidelines and providing this does not damage the book or manuscript). Documents (within copyright guidelines) may be photographed on purchase of a photography permit. A day permit costs £5, a weekly permit costs £10, and an annual permit costs £30. Guidelines for photographing documents are attached to this page.
Our Copying and Reproduction Service also offers high quality photographic, digitization and microfiching services. For more details please select the link ‘What Shropshire Archives can do for you’ on this page.
Do you provide a service for schools?
Yes! Shropshire Archives can help teachers by providing focus packs of specially selected source material for use with children at Key Stages 1 and 2. We can also design Focus Packs for use by secondary schools.
The Shropshire Routes to Roots website was designed by staff at Shropshire Archives and Oswestry Library in consultation with teachers and education advisors. It shows how sources at Shropshire Archives can be used as a learning resource and includes a sample Focus Pack. We are currently working with schools as part of the Telford Culture Zone.
For more information, please select the link 'What Shropshire Archives can do for you'. There is a link to the Routes to Roots website on this page.