National Library and Best of UK Archives Awarded UN Status

Tue, 13 Jul 10 14:04:00

LONDON, UK – 14 July 2010.  A never-released film on the last Liberal Prime Minister The Life Story David Lloyd George and the Peniarth Manuscript Collection (with the famous Laws of Hywel Dda) are among ten items and collections to be the first-ever entries on a list of the UK’s outstanding documentary heritage. The ten winning items come from across the country, span nearly 1000 years of history and embody the pivotal moments and periods that have shaped the UK.

 

These items are the first inscriptions to the UNESCO UK Memory of the World Register, an online catalogue created to help promote the UK’s documentary heritage across the UK and the world. The register is part of a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) programme to support and raise awareness of archives.

 

The first entries on the UK Register have been launched at www.unesco.org.uk/ukregister.

 

The winners were chosen by the expert committee of the UK Memory of the World programme following a nomination and review process which began in 2009.

 

“We were incredibly impressed by the diversity and richness of the first nominations to the register,” said David Dawson, Chair of the UK Memory of the World Committee. “Given the UK’s rich documentary history, I’m sure these winners are just the tip of the iceberg. We hope this will encourage more people to get involved with their local archives and museums.”

 

These ten items and collections will be recognised at the House of Lords on 14 July at an event hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Archives.

 

The UK Memory of the World Programme is part of the UK National Commission for UNESCO’s work to promote preservation of and access to the world’s archive holdings and library collections.

 

Harry Reeves OBE, the Commission’s Secretary General, said “These are some of the UK’s exceptional, but lesser-known documentary riches. We hope that awarding them UNESCO Memory of the World status will help give them the recognition they deserve in this country and around the world.”

 

Country-level Memory of the World Registers exist around the globe, helping to promote documentary heritage of local significance. The international level register, which features items of global significance, includes items from the UK such as 1215 Magna Carta, the Mappa Mundi and the film The Battle of the Somme. Together, these registers are the public face of UNESCO’s Memory of the World programme.

 

The next round of nominations to the UK Register will be launched in Autumn 2010.

 

MORE…

 

 

The 10 Inscriptions at a glance:

 

• By Region: 4 inscriptions from Scotland; 2 inscriptions from Wales; 4 inscriptions from England.

•  By Type: 2 films; 3 manuscripts/books; 5 collections.

 

The 10 items and collections being inscribed to the UK Memory of the World Register are:

 

• The Charter of King William I, circa 1067 (City of London Corporation)– appears to be the earliest royal or imperial document which guarantees the collective rights of the inhabitants of any town.

• Peterloo Relief Fund Account Book (University of Manchester) – records payments made to those who were wounded and to the dependants of those killed in the Peterloo Massacre of 1819, one of the most significant events in British history.

• The Women’s Voluntary Services for Air Raid Precautions (WVS) records, 1938 to 1992 (WRVS) – established in 1938 by Lady Reading, by 1943 WVS had just over one million members. Following WWII the WVS transformed itself into one of the leading providers of social care; its activities over the following fifty years inextricably linked to the growth of the welfare state. These records include reports from WVS centres across the country, providing a rich account of one of the largest volunteering organisations in British history.

• Letter from George Stephenson to his son Robert, Feb 1827 (Liverpool Record Office) – a unique holograph letter written by George Stevenson to his son Robert sent during the period of construction of the world’s first passenger railway between Liverpool and Manchester.

• Peniarth Manuscript Collection (National Library of Wales) – The most important collection of manuscripts ever assembled in Wales, it consists of 561 works in Welsh, English, Latin, French and Cornish, dating from the 12th to the 19th century.

• The records of the Company of Scotland Trading to Africa & the Indies, 1695-1707 (National Library of Scotland; the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc) – These letters and documents chart the history of the Company of Scotland’s plan to establish a trading colony on the Isthmus of Darien in Central America in the 1690s, a bold attempt at establishing a Scottish empire. Despite the financial strength of the venture it turned to failure and can be viewed as a component in Scotland’s move toward the 1707 Union with England.

• The Life Story of David Lloyd George (National Screen & Sound Archives of Wales) – Referred to by many film historians as ‘the find of the century’, this 1918 biopic is a unique item in the history of not just British cinema but World cinema. Thought to be the first feature length biopic of a contemporary living politician. Strangely, this film was never released.

• The Chepman and Myllar Prints (National Library of Scotland) – a volume containing eleven pieces of printing that include the earliest surviving dated book printed in Scotland; the drawings of pioneer cartographer Timothy Pont and works from Scotland’s first printers Walter Chepman and Andrew Myllar. 

• The Pont Manuscript Maps (National Library of Scotland) – the earliest surviving topographic and chorographic survey of Scotland, dating to between 1583 and 1614. Collectively they provide a key insight into early modern Scotland. The Pont manuscript maps form the substantive background content to the first Atlas of Scotland, published in 1654.

• The film St Kilda, Britain’s Loneliest Isle, 1923-1928 (National Library of Scotland) – Offers an insight into one of Scotland’s most remote communities in the years immediately preceding its demise. The 17-minute film captures scenes of a community that was soon to disappear. The tiny Gaelic speaking population was forced to migrate in August 1930 bringing an end to 2,000 years of human habitation on the island.

 

For further information on each item, including pictures, visit www.unesco.org.uk/ukregister.

ENDS

 

For photos, or to arrange an interview with the UK National Commission for UNESCO or one of the winners, please contact:

 

UK National Commission for UNESCO – Ian White on +44 (0)20 7766 3492; +44 (0)79 7922 7060 or iwhite@unesco.org.uk.

 

 

Notes to Editors

 

•  UNESCO’s Memory of the World programme was established in 1992 to promote preservation of and access to the world’s archive holdings and library collections. The vision of the programme is a simple but powerful one – the world’s documentary heritage belongs to all, should be fully preserved and protected for all and, with due recognition of cultural mores and practicalities, should be permanently accessible to all without hindrance.

 

The UK Memory of the World Register was established in 2010 to highlight documentary heritage which holds cultural significance specific to the UK. The Register is managed by the UK National Commission for UNESCO and complements the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register, which is a catalogue of documentary heritage of global significance and outstanding universal value.

 

In addition to maintaining Registers the Memory of the World programme campaigns to raise awareness of documentary heritage and to alert governments, the general public, business and commerce to preservation needs. The programme also raises funds and provides expertise to support preservation and digitisation projects in developing countries and for archives at risk.

 

• The UK National Commission for UNESCO is the focal point in the UK for UNESCO-related policies and activities. As an independent body, the UK National Commission brings together a network of nearly 250 experts from across the UK in the fields of education, culture, sciences and communication. Working closely in partnership with HM Government and UK civil society, the UK National Commission aims to provide expert advice to Government on UNESCO related matters, develop UK input into UNESCO policy-making and programme implementation, promote reforms within UNESCO, and encourage support in the UK for UNESCO’s ideals and work.