Friends excursions: the Parliamentary Archives
Thursday 7 December 2017 11am - 12.30pm
Meet at Black Rod's entrance, Houses of Parliament, SW1A. Directions will be included with your ticket.
£25.
Friends of the RA book first
Booking and attending Friends excursions and events
Friends exclusively tour the Parliamentary Archives, learning about the process of the continuing preservation of the records of the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
The Parliamentary Archives preserves and provides access to the archives of the House of Lords and the House of Commons, as well as collections of private political papers and records of political bodies and pressure groups, including Lloyd George, Bonar Law, and Lord Beaverbrook, with records dating back to 1497. Our private tour of the Archives encompasses an overview of the way parliamentary records are kept, examining the fact that they are still kept on parchment. Our guide discusses the challenges of preservation, the developments that have been made to move items to digital format in the internet age, and the challenges this presents. We will view a selection of historical documents in the Act Room during the tour.
This is a unique opportunity to explore the archives, which are planned to move out of the Houses of Parliament within the next 10 years.
This event is also taking place on 19 July 2017.
Please note official photographic ID will be required to be shown to security, or entrance may be denied. Acceptable forms of ID are: passport, driving license or freedom pass.