Preserving 1,000 years of Sheffield history at city archive
- 4 years ago
The 400-year-old parchment, yellowed with age, is tough and flexible between my fingers.
“This is infinitely stronger than the paper we write on today, which just disintegrates with age,” explains archivist Pete Evans as he holds the leather-bound book – containing Sheffield baptism records from the 17th century – in his hands.
“Digital records are also quite fragile, in reality, so parchment is hands-down the best medium for recording information; it works, it survives thousands of years - it will outlive us all!”
As Pete slides the book back onto the shelf, I glance down the corridor, lined on either side by large metal bookcases; row after row, Sheffield City Archives stretches ahead – millions of documents, photos, audio cassettes, and maps dating back nearly 1,000 years, all stored under one roof.
It’s a history-buff’s heaven, and I can see how somebody could lose themselves for several days in here, digging through the treasure trove that has been accrued in the city over the last century.
“This is infinitely stronger than the paper we write on today, which just disintegrates with age,” explains archivist Pete Evans as he holds the leather-bound book – containing Sheffield baptism records from the 17th century – in his hands.
“Digital records are also quite fragile, in reality, so parchment is hands-down the best medium for recording information; it works, it survives thousands of years - it will outlive us all!”
As Pete slides the book back onto the shelf, I glance down the corridor, lined on either side by large metal bookcases; row after row, Sheffield City Archives stretches ahead – millions of documents, photos, audio cassettes, and maps dating back nearly 1,000 years, all stored under one roof.
It’s a history-buff’s heaven, and I can see how somebody could lose themselves for several days in here, digging through the treasure trove that has been accrued in the city over the last century.