Historial Manuscripts Commission
The Historical Manuscripts Commission (HMC), established in 1869, is the principal source of information on archives and archive repositories in the UK. Much of this information is now available on the HMC website, and can be searched via the Internet.
National Register of Archives
The HMC maintains the National Register of Archives (NRA), which holds over 43,000 unpublished lists of historical papers, together with published catalogues, guides, etc. The NRA indexes, which can be searched on the HMC website, contain many references to quarries, the relevant sections of the Business Index being Mineral Extraction: Quarries and Stone Mining, and Mineral Extraction: Chalk, Clay, Sand and Gravel Extraction. These provide many references to company records in record offices in all parts of the UK. It should be borne in mind that these are mainly references to company records as such; many documents in estate collections, for example, will not appear. There may also be uncatalogued records in record offices, which will not be included.
ARCHON
ARCHON is an electronic directory of archive repositories in the UK and overseas. It can be searched on the HMC website by name, place or county, and gives details of each record office, including addresses, telephone numbers, opening hours, whether reader's tickets are needed, etc.
Links
Historical Manuscripts Commission
Quality House
Quality Court
Chancery Lane
London WC2A 1HP
Tel: +44 (0)20 7242 1198
Fax: +44 (0)20 7831 3550
E-mail: nra@hmc.gov.uk
Web: www.hmc.gov.uk
This site includes the National Register of Archives indexes, and ARCHON, the electronic directory of archive repositories