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Written Question
National Archives
Thursday 18th December 2014

Asked by: Joan Walley (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has and in what time frame to digitise (a) records from North Staffordshire and Newcastle Manor Copy Rolls and (b) other records in the National Archive; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Simon Hughes

Surviving manorial documents dating back to the 12th century are spread across a number of repositories and private owners, and digitisation would be a matter for the record owners. The National Archives holds a paper index (the Manorial Documents Register) which describes and locates these records and is available for the public to view in its reading rooms. The National Archives and its partners are currently revising, updating and publishing this index online, and entries relating to North Staffordshire and Newcastle will be made available online in 2015.

The National Archives is committed to digitising as many of the historical records it holds as possible and with its partners currently digitises around 10 million pages each year, with a focus on those series of records which are most in demand.