Published: Thursday, 9th October, 2008 08:00
King Charles I death on display at records
By Rose Harland
Comments (0)
Print Article
Pic by: Taline Jones
A MISSING poster for Agatha Christie and the parish record of the death of King Charles I are slices of Berkshire history on display in a new exhibition.
The Prisoners, Ghosts and Glass exhibition at the Berkshire Record Office in Reading’s Coley Avenue is part of its 60th anniversary celebrations.
It was opened on Monday [6] by the Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, Mrs Mary Bayliss, who reminded guests that her historic role also includes the title Keeper of the Records.
She said: “The records have frequently been neglected, lost or damaged in the past, but now we can all rest assured that the five miles of storage full of documents are meticulously cared for by county archivist Dr Peter Durrant and his staff. It is here for novices as well as experienced researchers to delve into, understand and enjoy.”
The exhibition traces the history of the record office and displays some of its key documents and papers, including an 18th confession of fornication, and the details surrounding the executed prisoner whose death inspired Oscar Wilde’s The Ballad of Reading Gaol.
Dr Durrant said: “The past isn’t always nice. We have records of poverty, exploitation and crime. But we also have records of generosity, aspiration and beauty.
“Archives have been described as the very essence of our heritage, and so they are, because they bring us face to face with the past and the people of the past in all its, and their, variety.
“They record the actions and events that have shaped our present. They help us to understand our past, they challenge us, intellectually and emotionally, and they can inspire our imagination.”
The record office opened in 1948 in Reading’s old Shire Hall in The Forbury, sharing space with the Assize Courts - and occasionally dangerous prisoners. It then moved to Shinfield Park with the now defunct Berkshire County Council before finding a purpose-built home in 2000 paid for by the county’s six unitary authorities.
More than 170,000 visitors and researchers have so far inspected its 200,000 books, boxes, files and rolls.
The Mayor of Reading, Cllr Peter Beard, said: “It’s a wonderful facility to have and I really would encourage people to come here and have a look round because some of the records are just eye-opening.”
The record office is open 9am-5pm Tuesday to Wednesday, 9am-9pm on Thursday and 9am-4.30pm on Friday. The exhibition runs until January 23.
Visit www.berkshirerecordoffice.org.uk
ends
Further Details
