ERO @ 75: The Open Day

Well, colour me exhausted!

After a thoroughly enjoyable Heritage Open Day on Saturday, I am sure you will forgive us a brief hiatus in the social media sphere. We all had a great time and we hope you did too. It was great to see so many people, roughly more than 500 came through the door by our closest estimates and every tour was packed. In fact, in the the end we had to lay on a few additional tours to ensure as many people could enjoy a guided tour of our searchroom or a visit to our conservation studio (from which one of my friends returned green with envy, saying “Some of the kit in there…fantastic!” He may have had too much blue icing though.

Our thanks must also go out to all our lovely volunteers without whom the day would not have been possible.

I thought I should share with you a few of the photos from the day, there are many more to follow.

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Lord Petre, Lord Lieutenant of Essex, Councillor Kay Twitchen, Chairman of Essex County Council and Stephen Dixon, Archive Services Manager, cutting our 75th Anniversary cake.

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Discovery Day

Thankyou to everyone who came to our Discovery Day on Saturday!

Talking to you on the day and reading your comments on our feedback forms it seems like people certainly enjoyed themselves, whether it was attending Nick Barratt’s fantastic talk, getting advice from our expert staff, or going on tours to see how we take care of Essex’s history.

The ERO decorated with Heritage Open Days bunting!

The Friends of Historic Essex bookstall in the local history marketplace 

The ERO Education desk, complete with slates

 Looking at maps for sale

On tour in the Searchroom

On tour in the repositories

Checking out the ERO Treasures!

Dr Nick Barratt, talking about why we still need archives when we’ve got the internet

 In the Conservation Studio 

 

Demonstrating the leaf caster, which very cleverly fills in holes in paper documents with new paper pulp

One of the fascinating things on show – an enormous seal of an enthroned Elizabeth I

Remember that we are open Monday-Saturday every week for you to come and enjoy this fantastic resource, whether you have a specific research question in mind, or just want to come in to have a look around the Searchroom. Find out how to visit us here.

There’s plenty more to enjoy from the ERO over the coming months as our packed autumn events schedule gets under way, beginning with Discover Maps on Thursday 20 September 2pm-4pm, and the first of our autumn conferences, Essex-on-Sea on Saturday 22 September. Find out about all the great events we’ve got coming up on our events page!

Photos 1-3 Hannah Salisbury; 4-15 Edd Harris

5 days to go!

Just 5 days to go until our Discovery Day!

On Saturday 8th September we are throwing open the doors, so you can come and find out all about what we do, what we keep here, and how we can help you with your research.

One of our main events is a keynote speech from historian and television presenter Dr Nick Barratt, who recently dropped in for a chat. Here he is in the Essex County Council chamber, giving you some top tips on researching your family tree:

 

Dr Barratt’s talk, ‘Why do we still need archives when we’ve got the internet?’, is at 1.30pm, and entry is free. Places are limited, so guarantee your seat by pre-booking on 01245 244620. See our events page for more details about everything else that’s going on at the Discovery Day and out other great events.

The Discovery Day is part of Heritage Open Days.

Dr Nick Barratt at the Essex Record Office

Ahead of his keynote speech at our Discovery Day on 8 September, Dr Nick Barratt recently dropped in for a chat. Here he is in the Essex County Council chamber, talking about Essex history, and why archives are so important:

Dr Barratt’s talk, ‘Why do we still need archives when we’ve got the internet?’, is at 1.30pm, and entry is free. Places are limited, so guarantee your seat by pre-booking on 01245 244620. See our events page for more details about the our Discovery Day and other great events.

The Discovery Day is part of Heritage Open Days.