Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-03-29
DECAY|NG RECORDS
Historic English Papers Buried
in Old Vaults.
MANUSCRIPT TREASURES
Documents Dating From and Telling
of the Great Fire and the
Plague Of London.
From the London Chronicle.

From the London Chronicle.
The possibility of Shakespeare record.
being among the large quantity of unex.
amined documents in the vaults of the
Guildhall. as stated by DR. Sharpe be-
fore the royal commission on public rec
ords, has aroused keen and widespread
interest. DIR. Sharpe, as records clerk tC
the city corporation, has been engaged
Tor many Years deciphering ancient rec
ors of the city, and has already publish
ed under the direction Of the authorities
number of volumes bearing on the re-
search already made and the importan mt
discoveries found lin the archives of the
Gulldhall. The documents which lie I'M
touched in the city records office are very
valuable, but unless some attempt is
made to rescue them it is probable that
some viii be lost entirely. Prof Wallac ICE
is anxious that systematic search be
made, and the corporation will. it is ex-
'pected. be approached in the near future
IN the hope that some more light will be
thrown on the life of Shakespeare.
A responsible official told one of our
representatives Saturday that it was only
last year that new charter closet had
been finished for the holding of the an
clnt charters. many Of which bore the
signatures of historical personages but
were in an extremely dilapidated condi-
ton. Even after the new chambers
were built he said. lit was found that
the temperature of the strong room in the
town clerks department was often too
high. and damage was caused to the
bindings of the volumes. We have also
BEEN collecting parish records from all
the churches and old public buildings
where such existed. They were brought
here in carloads. and were in such a state
that disinfectants had to be used before
they could be handled. Many of these
records related to the great plague of
London, and were written about that
time in beautiful handwriting. These
nave not been indexed Or catalogued yet
and 1T will take many years before the
work is accomplished
1t is not surprising to learn that many
documents have been irretrievably lost.
for it is only now that the record Office
at the Guildhall is beginning to see a
way out of the unutterable chaos which
threatened to overWhelm it half a CEN
turE ago. So late the year 1869 the Ii
brary committee sent resolution to the
court of common council pointing out the
danger which overshadowed the valuable
papers buried in the vaults The appeal
emphasized the fact that there are
among the records of the corporation in
the custody of the town clerk manu-
scripts of great historical interest and
Importance which it is desirable should
be rescued from the Oblivion to which
they are at present consigned"
An Inventory of Treasures.
An inventory of the treasures was de-
teTmined on, and the result showed that
even where charters had been trans
lated the interpretations were in many
instances wrong, and in other cases no
trace of the original documents was to
DC found. The record room was a vaulted
chamber beneath the council APARTMENT,
and when an examination was made the
results somewhat appalled, the investi-
gators. Vast quantities of original pa
pers and documents relating TO the may
ors court. proceedings under WritS of
dover, ETC.. were lying rotting in damp
corners. Papers bearing royal signatures
We're full of yermin. and lay huddled
among others, mildewed and decaying.
There were several hundred rolls of in
ventories of orphans effects, Old Bailey
sessions, London sessions, Southwark
of Southwark. documents relating to the
poll tax, papers dealing with ward as
sessments of 1850, a large quantity of
original documents submitted to the
courts of aldermen. and a great number
Of corporation books. including nine draft
minute books OF committees and courts
of the corporation. In a large iron chest
We're found, in a state of disorder, bum
dies of deeds, copies OF Wills and maria &c
settlements, many of the former being
the title deeds OF properly
purchased by the corporation These
We're not listed in any of the preserved
records and the report of the inyesti-
gators stated emphatically that the fore
going evfnces SO much laxity i'm the
preservation of these valuable documents
that we feel il our duty to call atten-
ton to the state of affairs "
Papers Still Neglected.
Ever since that time comparatively lit
tie has been done to preserve and deci-
pher the papers. In the chamberlain de-
pa rtment the condition of affairs was
even worse. A room beneath the loggia
leading from the Guildhall TO the read
ing room was full of other papers. some
i'm sacks a few in boxes and many lying
loosely on the floor. The walls were
damp and Il large number of the docu-
ments were damaged by water: others
were mildcwed and yerminous Many
important documents were entirely de-
could not be handled. The writing on
number was entirely obliterated. The
room was dirty and overcrowded. In
twenty five sacks We're found niscella-
neous papers said to have been saved
from n fire which destroyed a chamber
In 1885: numbers We're found stuck to-
gether. so that it was impossible to sep
arate them. Among them were printed