Z839

Archives of Francis Newton Ltd, Builders, Hitchin Gift of the Director of the Company via the Hertfordshire Record Office, July 1994 Catalogue of the appraised material retained after weeding. The main body of the archives of the company are deposited at the Hertfordshire Record Office. The material transferred to the Bedfordshire Record Office consisted only of project papers relating to building projects undertaken in this county. These were heavily weeded in July 1994. The informational (rather than evidential) potential of the records was the key criterion in the appraisal. The guidelines for the appraisal of District Council Planning Applications were used to select building projects for further appraisal (project buildings not meeting these criteria being destroyed in toto). Secondly, since the projects mostly related to buildings falling within a District area for which the Record Office's holdings of planning applications are acknowledged as weak, there was no question in most cases of destroying material because of possible duplication with material within the District Council archives. Having selected a project building as being of significance and worthy of further appraisal, the contents of the project papers were heavily weeded. All duplicate copy papers were destroyed. Particular emphasis was given to the retention of the following items: drawings (major), specifications, bills of quantities (costed if possible), final account papers and papers re variations on budget, correspondence with the architect on major project issues and detail of sub-contracted items (only in the case of projects on particularly 'historic' buildings or where local Bedfordshire contractors were engaged) detail of sub-contracted items. Otherwise substantial amounts of detailed instructions relating to the minutiae of a project and the acquisition of materials and sub-contracted labour for it were destroyed although sample items were occasionally retained in the case of the most significant projects (e.g.records giving wage lists of Newton's employees on an individual project).

1924-1989

From: 1924 To: 1989

fonds

building contractors, building plans, building specifications, Hitchin