Durham County Record Office: the official archive service for County Durham and Darlington
- Accessibility statement
- Contact us
- About Us
- Our Records
- Visit Us
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Family History
- Birth, marriage and death records
- Census records
- Parish registers
- Place names index
- Nonconformist Church Registers
- Wills
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More Family History Sources
- Adoption
- Army Records
- Bankruptcy
- Bishops' Transcripts
- Cemeteries and crematoria
- Coal Mining
- Directories
- Divorce
- Durham Obituaries
- Education
- Electoral Registers for County Durham
- Emigration/Immigration
- Family History Organisations
- Guild Records
- Hearth Tax Returns
- Jewish Community
- Land Tax Assessments
- Law and Order
- Libraries
- Marriage Licences, Bonds and Allegations
- Medical Records
- Military Records
- Missing Persons
- Newspapers
- Photograph collections
- Poor Law
- Salvation Army Church
- War Memorials
- Gypsy Roma Travellers
- Learning Zone
- Shop
- Collections Search
- Website Help
- Legal Information
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Exhibitions
- 'Adventurers and Pirates' - Hetton Coal Company, 1820
- Looking back at Consett Steel Works
- Celebrating Gala Day 2020
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County Durham remembers VE Day 1945
- 'We have come through' - Remembering VE Day 1945
- 9th Battalion DLI: From D-Day to Berlin
- 9th Battalion DLI: VE Day
- 9th Battalion DLI: In Berlin, June - September 1945
- Berlin Victory Parade, 7 September 1945
- Victory Parade at Belsen, 8 May 1945
- The Northern Echo, Victory edition, 9 May 1945
- VE Day and Durham Schools
- 2nd Battalion DLI: Burma 1945
- 2nd Battalion DLI: Rangoon Victory Parade, 15 June 1945
- VE Day and the Durham Miners' Association
- County Durham celebrates VE Day
- Haswell Victory Celebrations, 1945
- Soldier: Victory Souvenir edition, 8 May 1945
- Parade: European Victory edition, 26 May 1945
- VE Day not forgotten by one Spennymoor family
- County Durham celebrates VJ Day
- Victory Day, 8 June 1946
Governance and policy
Information about the legislation, management and policies that govern the archive service at Durham County Record Office.
- Mission statement
- Governance
- Legislation
- Archive Service Accreditation
- Policies
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Mission statement
Durham County Record Office collects, conserves, secures and makes accessible historical records relating to County Durham and Darlington to enable learning and education, business operations, local accountability, and personal enrichment.
Governance
Durham County Record Office is part of the Resources Service Grouping at Durham County Council.
Management of the Record Office transferred from the former Adults, Wellbeing and Health service to the Assistant Chief Executive's Office (ACE) in 2012. ACE was renamed Transformation and Partnerships (TAP) in June 2016. Under the realignment of TAP services in December 2019 the archive service transferred to Resources.
For more information see the Council structure page on the Durham County Council website.
Legislation
Durham County Record Office provides the official archive service for Durham County Council and Darlington Borough Council under a number of pieces of legislation, including:
Public Records Act 1958
Durham County Record Office is appointed as a place of deposit for public records and is inspected by The National Archives to ensure compliance.
Local Government (Records) Act 1962
This Act confers discretionary powers for local authorities to provide an archives service.
Local Government Act 1972
This Act requires local authorities to 'make proper arrangements with respect to any documents that belong to or are in the custody of the Council or any of their officers'. In 1999, the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions issued guidance as to what was meant by 'proper arrangements'.
Parochial Registers and Records Measure 1978
This measure governs the inspection and care of parish records. The Diocese of Durham has appointed Durham County Record Office as the place of deposit for parish records.
An inspection of all parishes in the Diocese of Durham is carried out every five years under the Parochial Registers and Records Measure 1978.
Archive Service Accreditation
Accredited Status was awarded by The National Archives in July 2018 (accreditation number 2018-21).
Policies
These policies describe how we manage our archive collections, our organisational responsibilities and our commitment to archive service users.
Access policy
How we provide access to our archive collections.
Access Policy 2021 to 2024 (PDF, 223kb)
Agreement for the deposit of records
About the conditions of loan, storage, access and use of records deposited in the archives.
Durham County Record Office agreement for the deposit of records (PDF, 159kb)
Appraisal policy
How we ensure that we preserve permanently as archives only records of evidential and historical value to County Durham and Darlington, and what criteria and standards we use.
Appraisal Policy 2021 to 2024 (PDF, 220kb)
Collecting policy
About the records we collect and the conditions, legislation and guidance for their acceptance.
Collecting Policy 2021 to 2024 (PDF, 220kb)
Collections care and conservation policy
About the strategic approach to caring for and conserving our archive collections, and the principles guiding conservation activities necessary for long-term preservation and security.
Collections Care and Conservation Policy 2021 to 2024 (PDF, 272kb)
Collections development policy
How we liaise with existing archive owners and donors, external organisations and communities to ensure that existing collections grow, and we acquire new collections that are representative and worth preserving.
Collections Development Policy 2021 to 2024 (PDF, 232kb)
Collections information policy
About our accession register, cataloguing, finding aids and document locations information.
Collections Information Policy 2021 to 2024 (PDF, 225kb)
Collections management policy
How and why we acquire, preserve, develop and facilitate access to the collections in our care.
Collections Management Policy 2021 to 2024 (PDF, 211kb)
Copying policy
About the principles guiding permission to copy and permission to publish archives in our collections.
Copying Policy 2021 to 2024 (PDF, 203kb)
Customer care standards
What to expect when you visit us, contact us, visit our website, ask us to do research for you, order copies, attend one of our events or ask us to participate in an event run by you.
Customer Care Standards 2021 to 2024 (PDF, 238kb)
Deaccessioning policy
How we appraise and dispose of unwanted records.
Deaccessioning Policy 2021 to 2024 (PDF, 215kb)
Digital preservation policy
How we ensure that our born-digital archives remain authentic and accessible in the medium and long-term.
Digital Preservation Policy 2021 to 2024 (PDF, 276kb)
Digitisation policy
How our digitisation programme helps to preserve archives, widen access, especially online, enhance our learning offer and, where possible and appropriate, generate income to help care for the archives.
Digitisation Policy 2021 to 2024 (PDF, 202kb)
Learning and outreach policy
How we aim to provide innovative and effective learning and outreach activities for a wide and diverse audience, onsite, off-site and online, supporting schools and communities and forming effective partnerships.
Learning and Outreach Policy 2021 to 2024 (PDF, 217kb)
Volunteering policy
How we work with volunteers.
Volunteering Policy 2021 to 2024 (PDF, 210kb)