How to use the Archive Catalogue

Select a topic category

On the catalogue welcome page, you can select the link to the particular topic category you're interested in and browse the entries.

Note that where an item is relevant to more than one topic category, it is listed in the one of greatest relevance. If you can't find an item under the category that first occurs to you, it may be worth looking under other categories that might also be relevant.

An example is items about Kennington, the next village to Radley to the north. This is because most of Kennington was, until 1 April 1936, part of the civil parish of Radley (and was referred to as a 'township' of Radley). The boundary between the new civil parish of Kennington and the now smaller civil parish of Radley generally followed the same line as between the North and South Wards of the old Radley Parish. Items in the RHC archive relevant to when Kennington was part of Radley are listed in topic category M Places, whereas those that are not are generally listed in topic category B Berkshire & Oxfordshire.

To return to the the list of topic categories, click on About the archive catalogue. You'll find this link at the top of all the lists of entries.

Search for a name or place

Type a suitable word or short phrase into the Google search box and click on the blue search button.

This will produce a new window listing the results found. You can sort these by 'Relevance' or by the 'Date' the entry was added to the online catalogue (starting with the newest first).

Clicking on a result from the list will display the whole page of the online catalogue where the entry you want is listed. You can either scroll down the listing to find the entry you want or use the browser search function to find it.

Search a single page

This might be one of the topic pages, or the page for a specific journal collection, or a list of will transcripts.

Use the search function on your browser to find the entry you're seeking (e.g. Ctrl + F, and look for the search box).

Ask for help

If you can't find you want or need help, please contact the archivist who will be happy to assist you.

Consulting an item in the archive

• Books may be borrowed by Club members for their own research at the discretion of the archivist.
• Other items can be consulted by Club members for their own research on application to the archivist.
• Where the Club holds material electronically and there are no copyright or data protection issues, it may be possible to provide a copy of the file or, for audiovisual items, a web link. This is at the discretion of the archivist and should be discussed with him.

At the archivist’s discretion you may be invited to make a donation to the Club in acknowledgment of the help given and any materials provided.

Contact the archivist