The British Record Society is a British
learned society
A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an discipline (academia), academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and s ...
that focuses on publishing
historic records, or, more specifically,
indexes
Index (or its plural form indices) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index''
* The Index, an item on a Halo megastru ...
to such records. In recent years, the Society has concentrated on the publication of name indexes to English
probate
Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...
records, and the texts of 17th-century
Hearth Tax
A hearth tax was a property tax in certain countries during the medieval and early modern period, levied on each hearth, thus by proxy on wealth. It was calculated based on the number of hearths, or fireplaces, within a municipal area and is cons ...
returns.
Foundation and early history
The Society was founded in 1889 to take over the Index Library, which had begun life the previous year as
W. P. W. Phillimore's private scheme for the publication of indexes to British public records, now the brief of the
List and Index Society
The List and Index Society (L&IS) is a learned society that publishes editions and calendars of historical records and occasional monographs.
The society was founded in 1965 by Sir Geoffrey Elton and others, with the aim of publishing and distribu ...
. The Society was also always interested in record conservation, and to act as what would now be called a pressure group for
archive
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...
s and their users, pushing for the creation of
county record office
In the United Kingdom (and particularly in England and Wales) the term county record office usually refers to a local authority repository, also called a county archives.
Such repositories employ specialist staff to administer and conserve the h ...
s and
county record societies. The inception of an official series of Lists and Indexes in 1892 reduced the need for private publication of indexes to records in the
Public Record Office
The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was m ...
. The Society consequently turned its attention to records held in other repositories.
In 1898 the Society’s Scottish section became the totally independent
Scottish Record Society
The Scottish Record Society is a text publication society founded at Edinburgh in 1897, but with earlier roots as the Scottish section of the British Record Society (founded 1889). Since its establishment it has published numerous volumes of cal ...
. In 1933 the Society's Record Preservation Section was similarly taken over by the newly founded
British Records Association
The British Records Association (widely known as the BRA, pronounced as three letters) is a British learned society founded in 1932 to promote the preservation, understanding, accessibility and study of historic records and archives. It is a reg ...
(B.R.A.).
Activities
Since the 1930s, the British Record Society has been primarily a publishing society for English records, frequently in conjunction with county historical societies. By 2012, 126 volumes of the Index Library had been published over 123 years, besides two extra volumes and some microfiche. Over the past half century the Society has largely, but not exclusively, concentrated on the publication of name indexes to
probate
Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...
records, and the texts of
Hearth Tax
A hearth tax was a property tax in certain countries during the medieval and early modern period, levied on each hearth, thus by proxy on wealth. It was calculated based on the number of hearths, or fireplaces, within a municipal area and is cons ...
returns from the 1660s and 1670s.
A longer history of the Society and its current activities will be found on its website.
A complete list of its publications up to 1982 will be found in E. L. C. Mullins, ''Texts and Calendars'', I and II, Royal Historical Society, 1958 and 1983. Details of those published after 1982 can be found on the
Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history.
Origins
The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...
's website.
Bibliography
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External links
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References
{{Authority control
1889 establishments in the United Kingdom
Learned societies of the United Kingdom
Archives in the United Kingdom
Archives in England
Heritage organisations in the United Kingdom
History organisations based in the United Kingdom
Charities based in England
Genealogical societies
British Record Society
Archivist associations
Library associations
Text publication societies
Book publishing companies of England