Archives

In the belief that archives are the bedrock of historical studies, HAT promotes, encourages, helps to finance and generally supports the preservation, conservation and organisation of materials of all kinds – documents, photographs, recordings, film and video and digital files.

HAT is committed to supporting the preservation and celebration of valuable local archives through our grants system, events and other related activities. 

Discover Local Archives

Hampshire has one of the richest collections of archives in the country. As well major collections – at Hampshire Record Office, Winchester, and the city archives of Southampton and Portsmouth –  there are also important archives held at the Universities and a wide range of smaller collections, associated with local history and heritage groups, museums and historic sites, companies, genealogists and other individuals, and families with significant archives. Some of these collections are of national importance.

Don Eades with the photographic negative collection (credit: David Jeffery)as a.1

your archive

Many people have photographs, documents and materials that have personal historical value but many do not realise that these items also have a wider historical value. We strongly believe that understanding your past is key to shaping a better future and we encourage everyone to care for their own archives and to share those with us and others – whether that’s through depositing their archive in the appropriate local repository, creating an accessible archive for others or simply by sharing their stories telling us of their experience in creating an archive. This website features stories written by various authors using their own research in local archives and which we think are particularly interesting. If you have an archive-related story that you think would be of wider interest then please do tell us about it and if suitable we will add it to the stories we have published on this site. 

Stories from the Archives

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Podcast
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Series 2: Episode 8 – LGBT Histories in Hampshire

In this episode, Daniella was joined by Dr Clifford Williams, a historian researching the history of the early gay and lesbian youth groups in England, to discuss LGBT histories in Hampshire. Clifford discusses his books A History of Women policing Hampshire and the Isle of Wight 1915-2016 (HCHS) (2016) and Courage to Be (The Book Guild Ltd) (2021), as well as LGBT figures in Hampshire and the materials available to research these stories.

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Podcast
FINNOREILLY27@GMAIL.COM

Series 2: Episode 7 – Hampshire under Elizabeth

This episode explores the history of Elizabethan Hampshire, during which Daniella was joined by Josh Harper, who is has a current role with the Visitor Experience, Collections, and Curatorial teams at the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth. During this episode, they discussed what was happening during Elizabeth I’s reign on a national and local scale, as well as what materials Josh used to study this period of history.

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