Durham County Record Office: the official archive service for County Durham and Darlington
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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
Collecting and preserving archives
Information about our work to preserve the archive heritage of County Durham and Darlington.
Since 1961 Durham County Record Office has accepted more than 9000 deposits of records ranging from small collections of personal papers to the records of large companies. Our earliest document dates from about 1122 and the most recent records added to the archives include County Council committee reports for the current year.
Over five miles of records are stored in secure, atmospherically controlled strong rooms, to ensure they survive for future generations.
The Record Office accepts deposits of records and welcomes information about records in need of long-term preservation. If you know of records of local significance, especially where the survival of these records is in any way at risk, we would like to hear from you. Records can either be gifted to the Record Office or else placed on long-term loan. No charge is made for this service (although we do reserve the right to cover our costs if records are subsequently removed from the Record Office).
Durham County Record Office agreement for the deposit of records (PDF, 159kb)
Important historical documents have been found in attics, cellars and even in dustbins and skips! We are always willing to examine records in private custody, either single items or large collections, and advise on their care and preservation.
We can advise any individual, business or organisation about the records which should be selected for permanent preservation from the bulk of modern papers. When considering which documents should be preserved, please remember:
- Age is not necessarily a criterion of historical value
- Many modern records and papers are of potential historical significance.
If you would like further information on depositing records please contact us.