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| Archives Overview |
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The archives of the Drapers’ Company are held at Drapers’ Hall. The collection encompasses not only the corporate archives but also those of the various charitable trusts administered by the Company. Over the centuries the Company and its charitable trusts have been major property owners and as such the archive collection includes many deeds for London properties dating back to the 13th century. Subject areas covered by the collection include City history, pageantry and hospitality, charity (education and poor relief), and the English settlement in County Londonderry.
The corporate archives include the charters (granted since 1364) and grants of arms (including the earliest surviving grant to a corporate body in England, dated 1439), the minutes of the Court (1515- ), accounts (1475- ), membership records and various other books and documents detailing every aspect of the development and day-to-day existence of the Company.
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The earliest Wardens' Accounts, 1415-42
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The archives of the charitable trusts in the main cover the investment and administration aspects of the trusts. Few series have survived providing details of beneficiaries.
In addition, the Company possesses a unique archive relating to its former estate in Northern Ireland. This collection is stored at the Public Record of Northern Ireland (PRONI) where it is available for research. Whilst a microfilm copy is available for research at Drapers’ Hall initial enquiries relating to the collection should be addressed to PRONI at:-
address 66 Balmoral Avenue, Belfast BT9 6NY, Northern Ireland
tel (+44) 028 90 255905 fax (+44) 028 90 255999 email proni@doeni.gov.uk
website http://proni.nics.gov.uk/records/private/drapers.htm
The Company’s archives are open to the public for research by appointment at the discretion of the Company: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 10am – 3.30pm.
An enquiry service is provided and information leaflets about the History of the Company and its Hall are available on request. For detailed enquiries, researchers will need to attend at the Hall to undertake research themselves. All enquiries should be addressed to the Archivist detailing the nature of the enquiry.
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