M13/1/6a

Out letter book of George Herbert Fowler. Not indexed. Most are letters to printers (predominantly The Sidney Press) re. proofs, setting, printing etc of various publications including “Charts: their use and meaning” and various Bedfordshire Historical Records Society publications. There are also letters to Mr Bagshawe and others regarding BHRS publications, particularly the survey volumes. Very few personal letters all about finance i.e. income tax on small amount paid to him by the Historic Manuscripts Commission for survey work, letter to cousin Helen Fowler requesting repayment of loan (p151) ‘…I have been hit very badly by the failure of railways to pay their former dividends…’ and his will p225. The majority of the rest of the letters are relating to his work on the County Library committee and the Records Committee.

27 March 1931 - 8 March 1939

From: 1931 To: 1939

The most informative of which are as follows: p42. as Chairman of Records Committee in response to the request of the staffing committee details of Mr Emmison’s service and suggesting his maximum salary should be raised from £300 to £375 ‘the usual maximum for a chief clerk in our service. He would not reach that till 1937/38. As no expense, beyond that specified at his appointment will be incurred until 1934/35, I venture to submit that we should certainly try to retain a very valuable officer in the way suggested’ 18 Nov 1931 p46. To Mr Alston re. permission to publish Civil War papers from the Trevor-Wingfield collection. ‘I am serving a term of “hard labour” in the repair and arrangement of Mrs Trevor-Wingfield’s documents. The damp has damaged some, the mice have had many a good meal; the humans have torn and crumpled them, and muddled them all up, so that (for instance) I found three sheets of a will in one bundle, a fourth in another, and I have still to find the rest of that will! But many of the papers are sufficiently interesting to justify the time which I am spending on them.’ 30 Nov 1931 p64-69 To Sir Gilbert Garnsey, re. Messrs Howards’ Britannia Iron Works trying to get the company’s records deposited with the record office, prepared to pay waste paper prices, having visited the works ‘we would certainly be glad to take custody of most of these items’ 12, 17, 26 May 1932 p76 Letter of recommendation in favour of Mr F G Emmison in support of his application to Kent County Council for the post of Clerk of the Records. 8 Oct 1932 p84 Letter to Captain R Alston asking him to consider the possibility of depositing his older family muniments and requesting permission to contact Alston’s solicitors to see what muniments they have for the Odell estate, ‘…For several years past, this committee has tried to create a County Record Office, where students can work at local and other history; and it may now claim a considerable and growing success for its attempt. Several thousands of documents have been deposited in our care by their owners or custodians (including many solicitors); upon arrival, they are cleaned, repaired and catalogued; and are carefully stored in a fire-resisting building, proof against damp vermin and burglars…’ (see also M13/1/6b/1) 9 Feb 1933 p 91 To Dr Baker suggesting that one or two students from the School of Librarianship might spend two or three weeks in the long vac at Bedford to gain practical training ‘…I should interest myself personally in anyone who came from your school, being anxious to promote in every way archive work in England, and the recognition of ‘archivism’ as a profession. The work would include the whole routine of a document, from its arrival to its final home on a shelf, under the direction of the Clerk of Records. I should prefer to give the training in repair of documents myself…’ 2 March 1933 p 112 To Dr Baker. Committee has authorised the repeat of the experiment of student-assistants. Suggests two modifications, first pair to start earlier in the summer and that each pair should come for five weeks instead of four ‘…The clerk has to stop his work almost completely for their first fortnight, in order to get them on the right lines, and even for the second fortnight has to devote much time to them; we therefore hardly get our full equivalent out of them in four weeks, but we should in a fifth in which they could run better alone.’ 17 March 1934 p118 To Messrs Lucy. Request for estimate for additional shelving. 21 July 1934 p123 To F G Scott (Oxfordshire) giving Fowler’s valuation of applicants for the post of archivist where he knows anything personally. ‘…we have now had here twelve graduates of various universities as student assistants in the last two summers…among the twelve are…’ gives valuation of Miss Franks, Miss Birkett, Miss Langwill, Mr Walton. ‘…I may perhaps add that, on physical grounds, I should myself always select a man rather than a girl of equal mental qualifications for such a post, since the work involves a good deal of standing, running about, and carrying heavy books and bundles…’ 26 Sept 1934 p128 To Mr Scott (Oxfordshire) regarding the type of shelving to be obtained from Messrs Lucy for the new Oxfordshire office ‘…I fear that I shall seem to you very obstinate, but I worked out the whole thing so carefully at first, that I should need a very clearly advantageous alternative scheme before I could adopt another view. Long experience, often painful, has taught me what is needed for storage of miscellaneous records. But I quite admit that Messrs Lucy’s plan would be most excellent for books, with their smaller and more uniform sizes..’ 11 Oct 1934 p136 To Mr Scott (Oxfordshire) ‘so far as I know the firm [Messrs Lucy] has offered no reason for wishing to vary the pattern which we have found entirely satisfactory for nearly twenty years at Bedford…I hope that I drew a sink and tap at the WC end of the workshop area, which should naturally go in before the rooms are painted; and gas should be led in there if possible; electric heating is expensive and not very satisfactory for boiling, paste making etc. I will try to knock together some idea of the running costs and initial outlay for tools and materials. It will not, I think, frighten your council. The really serious question is the salary, when lodgings in Oxford are so dear…I am glad that you are sending Mr Walton to the BRA conference; such things will benefit his work and lead to the proper recognition of the Oxford muniment rooms’ 3 Nov 1934 p153 To Mr Scott (Oxfordshire) – enjoyed his visit ‘The Oxfordshire records will soon present a model to other counties…’ one weak spot ‘…now that he has shown his capacity, Mr Walton’s salary ought, for the credit of the Council, to be raised at the end of the year to £200 with (say) £20 increments to carry it to a £300 maximum…quite recently Kent offered £500 and Somerset £300…’ 25 Oct 1935 p156 To Messrs Lucy estimate for three rolling stacks accepted but require 6 shelves in each. 12 Feb 1936 p192 To Mr Cowley [successor to Dr Baker] re. student assistants cannot accept Mr Cowley’s terms ‘…a student assistant has to urn his keep – that is repay by the work that he does for us the time devoted to his training – till after the first fortnight or three weeks…the work is laid out as far as possible in a regular course of talks by me, and documents and repair by Mr Emmison, which would have to be duplicated or would be disorganised by people dropping in casually…’ 26 May 1937 p 211 To Miss Stokes of the Records Preservation Section ‘…Is the stamping necessary? And for what reason is it applied? Any repository which is fit to receive documents from the section can surely be trusted to keep them catalogued separately from other collections, as of BRA origin.’ 14 Jan 1938 p216 To Miss Major re. Bedfordshire Transcripts of Parish Registers held at Lincoln being transferred to Bedford. 17 Feb 1938 p223 To F G Emmison thanking him for report of the Clerk of the Peace for Essex, making reference to relations between them, Emmison’s period of notice and need for a testimonial ‘…you need not be afraid that it will be unkindly critical.’ 30 Mar 1938 p228 Recommendation of F G Emmison for the post of Archivist to Essex County Council 7 Apr 1938 p229 To the Librarian, Borough Library, Bedford re. suggestion for transfer of deed of settlement of the Old Library. ‘…The Committee feels that the document could not be in safer keeping than it is at present; and that the collection, in accordance with recognised rules for archives, should be kept together as a whole; it must therefore regretfully decline your suggestion…’ 3 May 1938 p230 To P V Davies, Public Record Office ‘I’m obliged to you for sending me a copy of your letter to the Hon Sec of Bucks Archaeol. Soc. It was welcome from my point of view, for it certainly made me the villain of the piece, and I like to know where I stand. When you have paid the visit which I understand you to propose – which is all that I had suggested to the Deputy Keeper – I shall be glad to learn whether you confirm or not my view of the repository as it stands.’ (see M13/1/6b/2) 12 May 1938 p249 To Alan Cirket [repairer then archivist, retired 1983] ‘…you are doing so well that I am willing to try to help you in a step up from the ordinary class of clerks; so that, if you can and do take advantage of it, you might get into a more technical class, with the chance of getting some day a regular post as Records Assistant here or elsewhere…’ (see M13/1/6b/3) 19 Dec 1938

item

Fowler, George Herbert,
Fowler, Helen,
Emmison, Frederick George,
Alston, R.,
Cirket, Alan,
Davies, P V,
British Record Association,
Garnsey, Gilbert

Essex, Kent, Oxfordshire, archives, Clerk of Records, libraries, Essex County Council, Oxfordshire County Council, archivist, Bedfordshire Record Office, Britannia Iron & Steel Works Limited, Sidney Press Limited, publishing, PRIVATE FINANCE, railways