The Jersey Archive

An archive is a place for the storage and preservation of documents, volumes, maps, plans and photographs. They are considered to be primary sources of evidence and can be used to research events that have occurred in the past. Archives can be many hundreds of years old, the oldest document that we hold at the Archive is dated from 1378. It does not matter how old the record is, if it is important enough, the archivist will catalogue it as part of a collection and make it available to the public to look at.

Use of Archives

Archives can be used to research topics and subjects that you are interested in and for school projects. They provide pieces of evidence that can then be used to find an answer to a question. The main uses of the archives in Jersey are:

Family History
German Occupation
House History
Jersey History

Using the Jersey Archive

You can come into the Jersey Archive to look at original documents. You must be issued with a reader's ticket. You can then search the computer catalogues for any subject, name or place you are interested in and order the documents you want to see with your reader's ticket. The documents that you order will be retrieved from the strongroom and delivered to the reading room for you to look at. It is a good idea to search through our computer catalogue on the internet before you come into the Archive to make sure we hold something that you will be interested in.

A guide to using the Archive

The documents that we hold at the Archive are unique and irreplaceable. To ensure that they survive for future generations, we have several rules to follow when using the Archive.

Do place your coats and bags in the lockers provided
Do sign the register on every visit
Do use a pencil to take notes - ink and biro will never come off paper, parchment or photographs
Do ask for help reading the document
Do place large volumes on a cushion
Do ask if you want to trace or to arrange photocopying of any items
Do clean your hands before touching documents
Do use a slip of paper to follow a line of text - the ink may be fragile and easily rubbed off with your finger
Do keep documents as they were given to you, unless they were already folded or rolled
Do place archive material flat and safely on the table
Do use the refreshment area provided where you can eat and drink. These activities are not allowed in the reading room. This includes eating sweets and chewing gum.
Do remember that archives are unique and irreplaceable so please treat them with care and respect, regardless of their age