Record Offices

During my forays in UK over the past month I have visited, or attempted to visit, record offices.
Results -
In Kent I went to Maidstone to the newish record office at the Genealogical and Research Centre at the Library .. very helpful and I found a great will for a Smith ancestor to my amazement ..
In Sussex I went to Lewes and due to the attempts of a Satnav to lose me or worse, I gave up at the first attempt on 16 May when I was told to go to the Castle Precincts. On the 12 June I booked into accommodation in Lewes and was going to walk to Castle, luckily reception rang the RO and was told that it had just moved to the University outside Lewes at Falmer. I am considering the possibility of visiting it in July, but not sure if that will trigger an avalanche or flash flood!!
In Cornwall I drove to Truro and despite the Satnav taking me to the wrong place I found the Record Office. I wondered why there were not many cars in the car park and when I got to the door I found a notice saying that they are now closed the first week of every month to do what I think sounded like assessments ........ So sad that I hadn't checked online. We enjoyed our visit to Truro, but I would have enjoyed the RO more.
In Somerset the drive through Taunton to leave my friend at the shops was very slow due to roadworks .. At their new record office I looked through a lot of records, but I did not have enough time .. I should have stayed close by the centre for the RO and I might return yet. I certainly won't drive through Taunton again, on my return to collect Deb, it took me 20 minutes to get through one set of traffic lights . .. there were buses jammed coming in from a sidestreet and it was a nightmare .. fortunately a very helpful young girl at a coffee shop (her feet were killing her and she wanted to sit down lol) told us how to get out of Taunton in another direction..
So my advice is .. check their websites and if in doubt phone .. Julie

[ElizabethHerts]

Julie, I can share your frustration. These forays need careful planning these days. A lot of the ROs close on Mondays these days, which means what were weekend breaks now have to become mid-week breaks. I'm afraid ROs and libraries have been subject to cuts in funding, and now records are becoming more readily available online I think some counties think that is a good excuse to cut opening hours.

[maryphil]

Julie
It is such a shame a lot of record offices have suffered from cut backs.
The wonderful Bedfordshire R.O. is a shadow of it's former self and a case in point, it's lost most of it's brains to either retirement or redundancy. Last month five members of staff went. One lady who was made redundant had worked there for 28 years.

[ElizabethHerts]

I have no experience of Bedfordshire RO, Maryphil, but HALS (Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies) doesn't seem much different to me. Its staff are mostly very helpful, but no youngsters. There were at least three visible the last time I went, and I rarely go into the Archives section.

Thanks Liza and Mary .. it is a shame that there are staffing cutbacks, it makes the personal contact that more difficult and I really believe that local knowledge is invaluable.
The RO I failed to mention was Buckinghamshire at Aylesbury where I went with Glen a few days after I arrived in early May. Their records are brilliant, probably because Glen has done so much groundwork, pouring over records that I would never have time to find. This enabled us to find wills .. Of course this has spoilt me for other places.. I am not aware of any staff cutbacks but it is possible.
When I came 2 years ago I know that Exeter in Devon was closed on Monday which was a shame as I stayed Sunday overnight. I was intending to go there this time but because so many wills were destroyed in the Blitz, I don't think I would really get anywhere.

[Phoenix]

Herts has the lovely Chris Bennett as archivist, so I'm glad to hear it hasn't deteriorated. He is probably a good twenty years my junior.

Norfolk has a lovely record office, Julie

Have to say that you do need to check before you visit. I have arrived to discover stocktaking is on, or (more embarassing!) that they have never opened on that day of the week.

I was thinking of going to Norfolk Phoenix, but I am a bit shattered at the moment. My friend who I was travelling with ended up with in hospital at 2.30 am on Friday night and the next couple of days were a bit of a nightmare...
At the moment I don't think I could absorb any comprehension more difficult than infant school primers ... Hopefully in a few weeks I might be more coherent .. I am hoping that Daphne's northern straight talking next week will unscramble my brains lol
Being in A & E when you are home is bad enough, but half way around the world another thing .... I've got to say that Pembury Hospital (RTW) was absolutely brilliant and I can't praise the NHS staff more highly ..

[Phoenix]

I'm not surprised you are feeling shattered! Hope your friend is starting to feel better. Our hospitals are a huge challenge, even when you are fit.

Phoenix, I know there are a lot of problems with the NHS but Deb and I couldn't fault the new RTW hospital at Pembury. The staff were absolutely amazing. Deb's hayfever trggered an asthma attack. The A & E had an extremely busy night before we arrived. I believe a nursing home had people affected by smoke from a fire. Deb didn't present normally, her oxygen levels were so low that she was nearly blacking out and they thought she could have had a clot in her lungs. A CTscan eventually ruled that out .. In 36 hours with antibiotics, steroids and asthma medication she improved so dramatically that she was able to be taken off the oxygen and given the clearance to fly home to Aus. I've heard from her that she is safely home .. but I can tell you that it was very stressful at the time. So if you are sick .. Pembury is a model hospital for the NHS

[Mary from Italy]

Goodness, that sounds scary.

Was she due to be travelling home already, or did she bring the trip forward?