Essex Record Office. Freedom of Information Request Acknowledged by Essex County Council

FOI Acknowledgement ECC2010920 02 17

20 February 2017

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your recent request for information which has been received by Essex County Council.

Your request is covered by the Freedom of Information Act, under which we must respond within 20 working days.

We will determine and let you know whether we hold the information you have requested and consider whether we are able to release the information or if it is exempt from disclosure.

ECC does not usually charge for providing information to its requestors as the provision of electronic copies is negligible, however under certain circumstances we may have to do so if providing the information costs more than £25. We will let you know before we do any work that would incur a charge.

Please note that the response and data released to you as part of this request will be published on the Essex County Council website. The website address is http://www.essex.gov.uk/Your-Council/Your-Right-Know/Pages/Your-Right-Know.aspx. All requests will be anonymised and no personal information including contact details will be disclosed as part of this process.

Please contact me if you would like further advice or assistance about your request, or your right to access information held by Essex County Council.

Yours sincerely,

Paula Girling

Your Right to Know

Information Services

Essex County Council

Essex Record Office: Possible Self-Financing of Service. Letter #3 from Our President

The Essex Society for Archaeology & History 

Cllr. John Spence, C.B.E., D.L., Essex County Council, PO Box 11 County Hall, CHELMSFORD, Essex.

19th February 2017 

Dear Cllr. Spence, 

Thank you for your letter of 13th February and for your kind invitation to meet you at County Hall. 

My colleagues and I will be pleased to meet you in due course, but before doing so would appreciate answers to the questions raised in my letters of 16th November 2016 and 23rd January 2017 to Cllr. Finch. It is important to have the information requested prior to our meeting so that we can fully prepare and can discuss details, figures and statistics with you. 

On behalf of the Essex Society for Archaeology and History; information has been requested in writing on two occasions, which has not been forthcoming. This is very disappointing and therefore at our last Council meeting on 21st January 2017, authority was given to pursue this under the Freedom of Information Act. Will you therefore kindly accept this letter as our formal FOI request for the information and documentation requested in our letters of 16th November 2016 and 23rd January 2017 to be fully supplied, within the requisite time limits please. 

Following this we shall happily meet you, but would ask for minutes of our meeting to be taken please. I look forward to hearing from you please. Thank you 

Yours sincerely

Adrian Corder-Birch, D.L., President, Essex Society for Archaeology and History 

Essex Record Office: Possible Self-Financing of Service. A Response from Essex County Council Portfolio Holder

Essex County Council 

Cabinet Office PO Box 11 County Hall Chelmsford Essex CM1 1LX 

Mr A Corder-Birch DI 

President, Essex Society for Archaeology & History 

Dear Mr Corder-Birch 

Date: 13 February 2017 

Thanks for your further letter of 23rd January addressed to Cllr David Finch. As I am the Portfolio Holder for Heritage Culture and Arts I felt it would be best if I replied direct. 

Essex County Council is well aware of the high regard in which ERO services are held. We are keen to generate more revenue — it always seems to me that the best policy is for residents to pay for the services they consume when they can afford to do so. But that does not mean that there is any question of closure or cessation. 

You have asked again for the release of numbers which we feel would be inappropriate — statistics themselves can be misleading if unaccompanied by an explanation. I am therefore writing to invite you, and 1 or 2 colleagues, to come and have a conversation with me at County Hall. 

As we do not have a phone number for you, could you please contact my PA Sally Hills ... regarding a suitable date to meet. 

Incidentally, it was good to attend the Colchester Roman Circus presentation last Thursday where I met one of your fellow officers — all very interesting. 

Yours sincerely, 

Cllr John Spence CBE DL Cabinet Member for Finance, Housing and Planning. 

Cc Cllr D Finch 

Essex Record Office: Possible Self-Financing of Service. The President writes to Essex County Council

The Essex Society for Archaeology & History 

Cllr. David Finch,

Leader,

Essex County Council,

PO Box 11,

County Hall,

CHELMSFORD,

Essex.

CM1 1QH

Your ref: DF/ac

                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                23^rd January 2017

Dear David,

Re: ESSEX RECORD OFFICE

Thank you for your letter of 1^st December 2016, which was carefully considered at the ESAH Council meeting on 21^st January.  Incidentally, this meeting was held at the ERO, which is one of a number of ways in which ESAH supports the ERO.

ESAH and its members support and are anxious to continue to support the ERO and its work, not least through the use of the ERO as a venue for meetings, but also, at an individual membership level, through the use of the ERO’s non-digital resources, through the blog, twitter account and newsletter.  ESAH recently arranged and paid for on behalf of the ERO, the printing of a flyer for the forthcoming Lost Landscapes Conference to be held at the ERO. Collectively and individually we value the excellent services provided by the ERO extremely highly and are anxious about the future.  Our principal concerns relate to the implications for the services offered to the public, including our members, in light of Stephen Dixon’s report for which clarification is requested please. 

Council was concerned about the disappointing lack of any detail and the failure to answer directly the questions contained in my letter of 16^th November 2016.  Council also considered that for a public service your phrase of “trading deficit” was rather curious.  What are the implications of this please?

We fully appreciate that your staff are busy but can you please answer the following questions to give ESAH an idea of the current running costs and staffing levels of the ERO in advance of proposed changes:

1.       Current income to date?

2.       2016-17 income target?

3.       Projected 2020 running costs?

4.       Current staffing levels?

5.       Will there be an opportunity for public consultation on any plans that affect the ERO?  We feel that it is important that we, as major ‘stakeholders’ are given the opportunity to comment on ECC proposals in detail, at an early stage. 

I look forward to hearing from you please.  Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Adrian Corder-Birch,

President,

Essex Society for Archaeology and History

Chelmsford: Potential Excavation of Ancient Burial Site

In the news: http://www.essexlive.news/chelmsford-care-home-plans-could-lead-to-exciting-excavations-of-anglo-saxon-cemetery/story-30105123-detail/story.html

Walthamstow Archaeological Site on View: 13 February 2017, 11am-1pm

A public event at the Holy Family College Wiseman Site (entry via Vinegar Alley), Walthamstow will be held to display the exposed archaeological excavation project and a number of the finds including a roman coin.

If anyone is interested in viewing the excavation and the finds we will be opening the site from 11-1 on Monday 13 February 2017. The site entrance is located in Vinegar Alley and anyone visiting the site should report to that entrance and not the schools entrances please as they will be shut for Half Term.

The viewing area will be on grass and contain light mud so appropriate footwear should be worn.

Searchroom Hours Cut at Essex Record Office

Announced this week by Essex County Council: a reduction in searchroom opening hours is announced from April 2017.  The reason: reduced footfall and the need to make budget cuts. Those visiting the searchroom are asked to complete a questionnaire to assess the impact of the changes.

Essex Record Office Searchroom opening hours survey

We are planning to change the opening hours of the Essex Record Office (ERO) Searchroom from Tuesday 4 April 2017. We are running this short survey to check that this change will not have too great an impact on our users.

The ERO Searchroom is currently open for an average of 34.5 hours per week. Under new arrangements, detailed below, the Searchroom will be open for an average of 25.25 hours per week. The new pattern of opening will still include some evening and weekend opening hours, and a week when we are open for five consecutive days. We hope in this way to still provide for researchers who travel significant distances to visit, or who cannot visit during regular office hours.

The reasons for making this change are:

·         Like all public services, the ERO is facing tough financial challenges. With reductions in public sector budgets, we are not able to sustain our current opening hours. We are working to reduce costs where we can, and to generate income to secure the future of the archive service.

·         With advances in digitisation there is less demand today for our traditional Searchroom service. More users access our records online from home, or make their visits to archives shorter by photographing records to work on at home. Searchroom visits peaked in 2002 with an average of 58 users per day, while in 2016 we had an average of 27 Searchroom users per day.

·         Budget constraints mean that we are operating with a smaller team. By being open less, we will be able to staff the Searchroom sufficiently to maintain service levels on days when we are open.

The new opening hours will be on a four week system, made up of one long week followed by three shorter weeks. The days we will be open will be clearly advertised on our website and around the building, and printed copies of a calendar will be available.

Week 1			Weeks 2-4
Monday	Closed	0	Monday	Closed	0
Tuesday	10:00-20:00	10	Tuesday	10:00-17:00	7
Wednesday	10:00-17:00	7	Wednesday	10:00-17:00	7
Thursday	10:00-17:00	7	Thursday	10:00-17:00	7
Friday	9:00-16:00	7	Friday	Closed	0
Saturday	9:00-16:00	7	Saturday	Closed	0
	Total hours:	38		Total hours:	21
Average no. of hours per week: 25.25

All of our other services will remain unchanged.

Essex Archaeology & History News: Contents #161-180 (3) O-Z

Ongar Conventicle in the 1590s … 172.27

Ongar, Schoolmasters and Teaching in Seventeenth Century … 179.11

Online Presence, Our … 169.3, 170.8

Oyster Under Serious Threat, Native Essex … 170.8

Parthenon Marble Found in Essex … 172.26

Phillips BEM, Andrew, Congratuations … 170.1

Planning System … 180.5

Planning System Making A Case for the Historic Environment … 179.4

Pleshey Castle Report possible funding from the Castle Studies Trust … 170.9

Pleshey Castle, Excavations at, 1972-1981 … 177.9

Pleshey Castle, Visit to … 170.7

Pliny Rediscovered … 172.13

Plume Lecture 2012 … 167.16, 169.5

Pottery Fragments, ESAH Finds New Home for … 177.18

Probert C K, A Victorian Scrapbook Author Identified as … 164.7

Programme and Excursions Secretaries … 163.15

Publisher Offers … 180.24

Rackham, Oliver. Obituary … 176.22

Rainham Church and Hall, Visit to … 164.8

Rainham Hall … 176.18

Rare Pamphlet … 173.12

Readers Letters … 177.22, 179.23, 180.23

Rettendon, Bishop's Palace at? … 162.2

Rich, Diaries of Mary, Countess of Warwick (1624-1678) … 171.13

Roxwell, Rebuilding at Skreens, in 1699 … 167.11

Sadd, John, & Sons Ltd Builders and Timber Merchants of Maldon … 176.6

Saffron Walden Museum Society … 163.7

Saint, The Vengeful … 177.4

Salmon, Nathaniel (1675-1742) … 180.10

Scottish Migrants 1603-1762 … 169.4

Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 … 172.29

Sea Coal … 174.9

Secretary, An Appeal from the … 168.4

Shrews, Parboiled … 172.30

South Weald, The Medicinal Spring at … 172.19

Southend and the Royal Hotel Came to Build an Essex Icon, How … 176.7

Spurrell, Frederick, An Essex Antiquarian … 175.14

St Osyth Planning Application Objection … 179.5

St Osyth Planning Application Update … 180.20

Stondon Massey Byrd Festival Gains International Reputation … 164.6

Stondon Massey Rectory … 179.9

Stondon Massey, William Byrd and the Authorised Version of the Bible … 168.5

Stondon Massey, William Byrd Festival 2011 at .. 162.15

Stondon Massey, William Byrd's Library at … 161.9

Stour Valley A Prehistoric Landscape … 176.12

Stow Maries Aerodrome … 167.10

Strange Wonders, Three … 179.14

Stray, An Essex … 165.10

Stuchfield, Martin, Appointed Deputy Lieutenant … 175.22

Taper Burns on Structural Timbers … 173.8

Thames Saling Barge, The Galant Glenway … 180.14

Thameside Explosives Industry, Hulks at Holehaven Creek and the … 175.5

Thatching Straw, Threshing for … 168.8

Tindal, Judge Sir Nicolas Conyngham, and the Wager of Battle … 179.13

Training Excavations … 163.13

Transactions, A Quest for Early Volumes of the Society's … 167.9

Transactions, ESAH, Third Series Vols 1-30 Index … 164.8

Transactions, Essex Archaeological Society, Volume 1 (1858) Digitised … 164.11

Tree Ring Dating, New Insights into … 163.7

Ulting Wick and Ulting Church … 178.22

Upminster Windmill, Secured Thanks to £1.4m Grant … 172.7

Vernacular Architecture Volume 45, 2014 … 177.20

Victoria County History Essex Diamond Jubilee … 165.3

Victoria County History of Essex the current position … 163.3

Victoria County History Southend Project … 178.3

Victorian Society Exhibition Saving The Century … 178.6

Wall Paintings in Churches … 163.9

Waller's Poor Opinion of Essex … 162.9

Walls, Crinkle Crankle … 168.11

Waltham Abbey, Leverton Charities … 178.16

Warrener's Lodges … 168.13

Weathersfield, Boydells Farmhouse … 176.21

Website News … 179.11

West Essex Archaeological Group … 172.7

West Hanningfield Church Bell Tower … 177.19

Wilkinson, Tony, archaeologist. Obituary … 174.21

Willingale Bells … 165.5

Wilson, Arthur (1595-1652) … 162.5

Winchester, Anglo Saxon Hospital at? … 164.16

Windmills, Volunteers Needed to Help with a Survey of Essex … 162.16

Window Glass … 164.14

Window Glass, An Addendum … 165.9

Witham, Restoration of Church Monument to John Hervey … 179.20

Wolfstones, Dogstones and Quernstones … 178.19

Woodland, Restoration of Ancient … 162.9

Woodland, The Oxlip and Ancient … 165.4

Woods, New Killer Ash Dieback Stalks Essex … 169.12

Woolhouse, Rev John, Vicar of West Mersea 1630-1642, A Common Ale-house Haunter and Drunkard … 179.15

World War II Heritage Project … 171.10, 172.5, 174.14

Wrecks, Rescues and Telegraphy … 170.5

Zeppelins Centenary Commemoration 2016 … 180.19

Essex Archaeology & History News: Contents #161-180 (2) F-N

Fambridge Ferry over the River Crouch … 180.17

Fighting Essex Soldier Conference … 171.16

Fonts, Church, Drawn by William Harvey Pridham (1886-c1908) … 164.7

Foulness Island, The Broomway … 167.5

Foulness, Poor Law Provision on … 173.18

Fragile Heritage … 175.11

From the President … 161.1, 162.1, 163.1, 164.1, 165.1, 166.1, 167.1, 168.1, 169.1, 170.1, 171.1, 172.1, 175.1, 176.1, 177.1, 178.1, 179.1, 180.1

Gilman, Paul, A New Role for … 166.2

Great Dunmow Maltings, Visit to … 178.21

Green, Angela. Obituary … 176.23

Greensted's Stained Glass, The Shipwreck of … 168.10

Halstead, Guided Tour of Holy Trinity Church … 166.16

Halstead, Help Needed with Oral History Project in … 172.7

Harlow Roman Temple Digitisation Project Awarded £500 ESAH Grant … 174.13

Harlow Roman Temple Digitisation Project Update … 177.9, 180.8

Harwich Redoubt and Victoria County History … 178.12

Harwich, Visit to … 165.6

Harwich-Shotley Gate Ferry, Suspension of the … 178.3

Hearth Tax in Essex Conference … 165.16

Hereford Mappa Mundi … 161.8

Heritage Crime Investigation Rumbles Dutch Deception (1665) … 177.3

Heritage Crime Meetings Launched … 176.21

Hewitt, Major William Alfred TD ACIB (1923-2013). Obituary … 171.3

Heybridge Captain in 1622, Expenses of … 180.16

Historic Association Essex Branch … 170.16

Historic Building Courses … 169.16

Historical Association, Essex Branch … 161.15, 162.15, 165.16, 168.16

Holland Haven Project … 174.6

Home Front Legacy 1914:1918 Project … 174.14

Homo Sapiens, Changing Ideas About the Evolution of … 167.14

International Medieval Congress … 169.14

Jarmin, Mr, A Searcher for Hid Treasures … 167.8

Jaywick Martello Tower, Visit to … 177.6

Laindon and District Gas Light Coke and Water Company … 179.20

Lake, Hazel, Harlow Historian Obituary … 171.10

Langford, The Oldest Human Cremation in Britain Found at … 175.3

Lawford, Rev. Charles Merivale (1808-1893) of … 166.6

Leyton, Visit to, in 1709 … 161.10

Library at the University of Essex, The Society's … 165.2

Library Purchases and Donations … 177.20

Library, ESAH, An Amazing Collection … 173.1

Library, Morant Histories Restored to … 172.15

Library, Rare Unpublished Book Reaccessioned to Society's … 173.4

Local Historians, Seeking Interviews with Essex … 165.5

Local History Day, Essex … 171.16

Loughton, British Postal Museum and Archive Store, Visit to … 173.15

Lufkin, Two Forgotten Essex Antiquaries John and Thomas … 161.12

Machyn's, Henry, Essex References to Journal … 176.20

Macky's, John, Account of Essex … 169.15

Maintenance, Home, in the Seventeenth Century … 180.6

Maldon, 144 & 144A High Street … 166.14

Maldon, 144 High Street … 165.6

Mersea Barrow 1912-2012 … 167.7

Mersea Barrow Bones: Experts confirm unique find … 170.12

Mersea Island, Visit to … 176.3

Mildmay, Henry, Saved by a Timber Framed House … 172.22

Morant Commemorations Fifty Years Ago (1966) … 176.18

Morant Lecture 2011 … 164.4

Morant Lecture 2014 … 172.14

Morant Lecture 2015. The Disney Family and The Hyde, Ingatestone … 173.19

Morant Lecture at Stebbing 2016 … 178.21

Morant, Philip (1700-1770) … 180.4

Morant, Philip, Dines Out in Cambridge … 173.19

Morley, John, of Halstead in His Own Words … 173.10

Mountnessing, Thoby Priory and its Lands, The Last Days of … 175.8

Mucking, Landscape Creation at … 161.16

Mucking, The Creation of New Essex Landscape at … 168.12

Mucking, The Meaning of … 177.21

Neale, Kenneth (1922-2016). Obituary … 178.24

Newsletter Double Issue … 172.3

Notices … 175.21

Numismatic Society, Essex … 161.12