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 academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership ...

that focuses on publishing historic records, or, more specifically, indexes 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 st ...

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 c ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. 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. 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 regi ...

(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

records, and the texts of

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

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