Haslemere Educational Museum
Culture & Learning Since 1888
Museum Library and Archives
Open to the public on Tuesdays from 10.00 to 16.00

Documents

This large collection of over 22,000 items includes diaries, legal documents, political documents, family trees, letters, greetings cards and property details. The majority of this collection relates to Haslemere and the surrounding towns and villages.

We hold many old and rare documents. We have local indentures and wills on parchment dating back to the 15th and 16th century. Our 17th & 18th century Reverend Cooper collection holds documents relating to local land and property/conveyance. Furthermore, we have Haslemere Parish Poor Rate Books dating from 1837-1921 and Shottermill Parish Poor Rate Books from 1915-1921. These provide us with a useful record of local residents over those time periods. We also have family trees for important local families such as the Stedmans, Frogleys, Mooreys and Whympers.

Another helpful local history resource is our collection of property ledgers belonging to Cubitt and West, a local Estate Agency. These Housing Registers date from the 1890s to the 1970s. They cover areas stretching from Guildford to Petersfield and are useful for those investigating the history of loca properties.

We hold Haslemere Heralds dating from 1948-1970s, in addition to local newspaper cuttings from 1896 up to the present day. The newspapers are supplemented by other documents recording local events and activities, such as the Sillick collection. This includes documents relating to the Haslemere Urban District Council and local entertainment, such as Haslemere Pantomime and Carnival programmes. This collection of local memorabilia has been added to from numerous sources over the years.

We also hold documents relating to important local luminaries such as Sir Archibald Geikie, Sir Jonathan Hutchinson, Graham Robertson and the Dolmetsch family.