Company Records
The records of the company that operated it are the most obvious source for the history of a quarry. Unfortunately the records of most defunct companies have not survived, but record offices in quarrying areas should have records of some quarry companies. You can locate these by enquiring at the local record office or by searching for them on the National Register of Archives (see Historical Manuscripts Commission). Company records may include the minute books, registers of directors, share registers, accounts, brochures describing products, records relating to employees, correspondence files, maps and plans, and photographs. What has survived will vary greatly from company to company. Usually, major public companies, with managers, offices, and a large workforce will be better documented than family-run concerns employing only a small number of men.
Tarmac Archives
Tarmac is the only quarrying company that has set up an archive to care for its records. This was established in 1996 as part of the Archives and History Initiative of Tarmac Heavy Building Materials. (This initiative also resulted in the publication, in 1997, of the first volume of Tarmac Papers, a journal containing articles on the archaeology, history, and archives of Tarmac quarries and properties.) The archives consist of the minute books and other documents of Tarmac and its subsidiaries, from 1903, and also of concerns acquired by the company. Some of these documents date from the mid-nineteenth century, with deeds from 1637. The records, which come from all parts of the UK, have mostly been arranged according to the company to which they relate. The archives may be used by members of the public, by prior appointment.
Company Files
The files of dissolved companies registered under the Joint Stock Companies Act 1856 are a useful source for the history of companies. These files are in the Public Record Office (BT 31), and can be searched on the PRO Catalogue on the Internet. (There is a much smaller class of files for earlier companies registered under Acts of 1844 and 1856 (BT 41).) The records usually contain the company’s memorandum and articles of association, and details of directors, share capital, shareholders, etc. Records of companies registered in Scotland will be found in the National Archives for Scotland, and those registered in Ireland in the National Archives of Ireland, although many of the latter were destroyed in 1922. However, many Scottish and Irish companies were registered in London, with records in the Public Record Office. For further details, see the leaflet, ‘Registration of Companies and Businesses’, on the PRO website.
Links
Tarmac Archives
Tarmac Ltd
Millfields Road
Ettingshall
Wolverhampton WV4 6JP
Tel: +44 (0)1902 353522
Fax: +44 (0)1902 353920
E-mail: jstirk@tarmac.co.uk