Manorial Documents Register
History and Archives Research Group Jacob Scott History and Archives Research Group Jacob Scott

Manorial Documents Register

The Manorial Documents Register (MDR) is the official index to English and Welsh manorial records and provides brief descriptions of documents and details of their locations in public and private hands. The National Archives at Kew now provide online access to this resource. Manorial documents include court rolls, surveys, maps, terriers, documents and books of every description relating to the boundaries, franchises, wastes, customs or courts of a manor.

Read More
Oxford Dictionary of Family Names during Lockdown

Oxford Dictionary of Family Names during Lockdown

For a short period of time the Oxford Dictionary of Family Names has made its database available for free. "This huge, new dictionary is the ultimate reference work on family names of the UK, covering English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, Cornish, and immigrant surnames. It includes every surname that currently has more than 100 bearers, and those that had more than 20 bearers in the 1881 census."

Read More
Free access to digital record from Kew
History and Archives Research Group Jacob Scott History and Archives Research Group Jacob Scott

Free access to digital record from Kew

The National Archives are making digital records available on their website free of charge for as long as our Kew site is closed to visitors. Registered users will be able to order and download up to ten items at a time, to a maximum of 50 items over 30 days. The limits are there to try and help manage the demand for content and ensure the availability of our digital services for everyone.

Read More
Free resources on Muse
History and Archives Research Group Jacob Scott History and Archives Research Group Jacob Scott

Free resources on Muse

In response to the challenges created by the global public health crisis of COVID-19, Project MUSE is pleased to support its participating publishers in making scholarly content temporarily available for free on our platform. With many higher education institutions moving into an exclusively online learning environment for the foreseeable future, we hope that easy access to vetted research in the humanities and social sciences, from a variety of distinguished university presses, societies, and related not-for-profit publishers, will help to support teaching, learning, and knowledge discovery for users worldwide.

Read More
The Rainfall Rescue Project is seeking volunteers
History and Archives Research Group Jacob Scott History and Archives Research Group Jacob Scott

The Rainfall Rescue Project is seeking volunteers

The UK has rainfall records dating back 200 years or so, but the vast majority of these are in handwritten form and can't easily be used to analyse past periods of flooding and drought. The Rainfall Rescue Project is seeking volunteers to transfer all the data into online spreadsheets. You're not required to rummage through old bound volumes as the Met Office has already scanned the necessary documents - all 65,000 sheets.

Read More
How will a no-deal Brexit affect Library collections?
History and Archives Research Group Jacob Scott History and Archives Research Group Jacob Scott

How will a no-deal Brexit affect Library collections?

The Government has recently published advice on how copyright laws will change in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The library will certainly be affected by changes to the management of 'orphan work' images. See the paragraph below for details. If this comes to pass the Library will create a new policy to apply to those requesting the use of orphan works from within our collection.

Read More
Digital Public Library of America
History and Archives Research Group Jacob Scott History and Archives Research Group Jacob Scott

Digital Public Library of America

The Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world. The collections holds material relevant to the study of Kent. On January 6, 2016, The New York Public Library enhanced access to all public domain items in Digital Collections so that everyone has the freedom to enjoy and reuse these materials in almost limitless ways.

Read More
Kent Messenger Group Digital Archive
History and Archives Research Group Jacob Scott History and Archives Research Group Jacob Scott

Kent Messenger Group Digital Archive

The KM Group digital archive is available online. It has been expanded to include the newspapers from both the First and Second World Wars. The archive provides a fascinating insight into Kent’s leading role in the Great War, World War II (especially the Battle of Britain) and will prove an invaluable tool for anyone interested in the period.

Read More