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Clocking up more than 8,000 visits each year, Cheshire and Chester archives and local studies Service is the single point of reference for all local archives relating to the county’s history.
 This vast storehouse of the past preserves and provides access to many thousands of records and printed items - from official and public documents of schools, hospitals, the courts and the church to private legal manuscripts, tenancy agreements recorded in finest copperplate and archived material of many businesses and organisations.
Visitors call to research topics as diverse as early Norman castles, the English Reformation, 18th and 19th century gardens or ancient highways.
Also stored are microform copies of census returns for the whole county which are also available, by area, in local libraries. Not surprisingly, year on year rising numbers of visitors to the service’s public searchroom places increased demand on resources. Even so, every effort is made to simplify the research experience.
Records stretching back to the 12th century and snaking along an estimated 10 kms of shelving provide telling insight into the way life was lived in Cheshire
Q What major prehistoric structure was built at Eddisbury?
A A hill fort, developing from the Iron Age, then re-fortified by the Anglo-Saxons.
Q What caused an archaeological stir when unearthed at Lindow Moss in Wilmslow in 1984?
A The preserved body of a Celtic man,nicknamed Pete Marsh, now on display in The British Museum
Q Which tribe of Celts occupied Cheshire in Roman times?
A The Cornovii - named by the Romans.
Q Why is it thought that the Bridestones near Congleton were built by people of Irish origin?
A Similar earlier examples of this court cairn structure exist in Northern Ireland
Did you know?
- Prestbury in Macclesfield has a Saxon name meaning ‘priest’s town’.
- Disley village in the Goyt Valley is virtually the furthest point in the county from Chester
- Parkgate in West Cheshire is renowned for its home made ice cream
- The annual rush-bearing ceremony at St Stephen’s Chapel in Macclesfield Forest marks the period when worshippers used rushes to sit on instead of seats.
- At Barthomley in Crewe during the Civil War 12 villagers were smoked out of a church tower and massacred by Royalists.
- At Rostherne, Knutsford in 1840 the owner of the village closed its two public houses ‘ for the benefit of the
Reference: The Cheshire Teaser by David Perkins,Legends Books, 1989
 Visiting a record office can be a daunting experience for the first-timer; weekly 20 minutes tours for new users explain how to get the most out of it. Guidelines are given on the general lay-out of the searchroom, how to use the catalogues and indexes or order documents, find microfilms or get copies.
So far the record number of visits in anyone week stands at 233 - while overall the number of e-mail enquiries has reached such a level that the service is reaching the limit of its capacity to handle further increases in demand.
The volume of stored information tops 1100 cubic metres - and is not confined to the Record Office alone, but also in former prison accommodation in Chester Castle, in strong rooms at Chester Town Hall and even in the salt mines in Winsford!
A computerised database of around 4000 images of historic photographs and images of the county is expanding day by day - available at the Record Office search room and Ellesmere Port and Neston Libraries.For further information visit Cheshire and Chester archives and local studies.
'a vast storehouse of the past preserves and provides access to many thousands of records and printed items'
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