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Here are some members of the committee after a recent meeting. |
The Friends of Historic Essex is a county-wide organisation and a registered charity. We were set up in 1954 to support the Essex Record Office (ERO) and to encourage the people of Essex to learn about the history of their county. The ERO houses the 'raw materials' of the county's history in a state of the art building in Chelmsford, and makes them available to members of the public without charge. The archives stored there include parish records of all kinds, records of county estates and families, court records, maps and illustrations. There is also a large reference library of books and journals, and computer access to websites such as Ancestry.com.
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We support the Record Office and Essex history in a variety of ways. We started a volunteer scheme several years ago which has gone from strength to strength. Two groups of volunteers meet regularly on alternate Tuesdays and Wednesdays (travelling expenses are paid), to carry out some quite complex jobs in the ERO.
A project to flatten, rebox and index old wills has just been completed,
although there is still much to do in entering the details into the ERO's
online catalogue. More volunteers are needed in this sociable activity!
Other volunteers are now indexing building plans from all over Essex,
and ancient shipping records from Essex ports. Indexing such records will
allow historians to use such valuable source materials for a wide variety
of possible projects.
The Friends also provide money to help buy maps, documents or books which might otherwise be beyond the Record Office budget. We also make grants to assist with publications on local history - such as the provision of expensive colour plates or indexing. For example, we have just helped the Essex Society for Archaeology and History pay for an index to be made of its Transactions, which date from the 19th century and are of great interest to local historians. Our most recent expenditure has been to purchase a computer system (and the appropriate desktop publishing training) for the new editor of the Essex Journal, which is run by a voluntary consortium of which the Friends are part.
As a county-wide organisation, our AGM is always held in a different
part of Essex, with appropriate speakers or a tour of the area after the
official business. We also make every attempt to provide a delicious tea
for those members who attend the AGM! 
Our
golden jubilee AGM in 2004, for example, was held at Ingatestone Hall;
the 2005 AGM at Copt Hall near Epping; and the 2006 AGM at Kelvedon. Our
golden jubilee AGM in 2004, for example, was held at Ingatestone Hall;
the 2005 AGM at Copt Hall near Epping; the 2006 AGM at Kelvedon; the 2007
AGM at the Maltings, Great Dunmow; the 2008 AGM at The Guildhall, Harwich
and the 2009 AGM at Essex Police Headquarters, Chelmsford.
So, if you are interested in getting involved with the raw materials of Essex history and the work of the Record Office would you like to join us? It will cost you £10 a year, for which you will receive a quarterly newsletter, free copies of the ERO's newsletter Update. You will also be entitled to a 20% discount on any of the many Essex Record Office publications.
Essex is a county of contrasts situated in the south east of England, and immediately north east of London. The county has a rich variety of landscapes which range from large urban areas in the south to vast rural areas with small towns and attractive villages in the north and north east. |
Download
the Autumn 2007 Friends of Historic Essex Newsletter (warning - large
file size 3.5Mb)
Read 'A Review of the first 40 years'. An insight
into how the friends were formed.
Essex Society for Family History
Essex Archaeological and Historical Congress
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