Copying services

Copies can be made from items in the archives and local studies library collections in many formats, as long as the original is in good physical condition and suitable in size and format. There may be copyright restrictions, from statutory requirements or from decisions of the owner.

Finished work may be collected or sent by post; unless special arrangements are made,  advance payment on all orders is necessary.

Photocopies can be made on A3 or A4 sized paper, these can be enlarged or reduced in scale as appropriate on request, to correspond with the available paper sizes.

Items which are too large, too heavy, too frail, too tightly bound, or too awkward in format to be placed on the copier without risk of damage can not be photocopied but such material may be suitable for photography (especially maps) or microfilm (especially volumes).

Other items that can not be photocopied are Parish registers, Will registers copies, bound newspaper volumes, Inclosure awards, Tithe maps (but photocopies can be made from reduced-scale photographs), Tithe awards (except for printed awards already detached from maps), more than 10% of the sheet area of Ordnance Survey maps within the last 50 years.

Reader-printer copies can be made from microfilm or microfiche. Self-service machines are available for fiche and film. Please give full and accurate references including date, page and column for newspaper articles otherwise you may incur a research charge; staff cannot search for wrongly or inadequately cited material.

Parish registers, Will registers, Register Bills and Bishop's Transcripts, transcripts of parish registers, monumental and churchyard inscriptions, newspapers, census returns, pre-1837 nonconformist registers, certain manuscript volumes have been microfilmed for the express purpose of supplying reader-printer copies in place of photocopies can all be copied in this way.

International Genealogical Index (except for individual surnames), certain microfilms from British Library or other institutions (though permission is held from the National Archive) can not be copied. 

Photographic Prints are often a practicable means of reproducing documents, especially maps, which cannot be photocopied; they are also more durable and of a higher quality. Copies of photographs will be supplied where copyright allows. Orders usually take 2-3 weeks to complete.  Negatives made in the course of fulfilling orders remain the property of the Record Office.

35mm microfilm is particularly suitable for volumes or lengthy series of documents. The normal current scale of charges applies to new filming but a reduced quotation will be made where a copy can be taken from an existing stock negative. Please contact us for further details.

New/master microfiche can be supplied.  Copies can be made for a reduced fee where a master microfiche is already held, e.g. of parish registers.

All reproductions are supplied for the purposes of private study and research only in the first instance. Copying these provided is not allowed without prior permission. Publication in any form requires our permission, it may be necessary for the document owner or copyright owner to be consulted. A charge may be payable on publication; please contact us for further details.