Public Record Office
The Public Record Office (PRO) holds the records of central government for the UK. Admission to the PRO, most of whose records are held at Kew, near London, is by reader’s ticket. Details are available on the PRO website, which gives a great deal of information on its holdings, including copies of leaflets concerning various types of records. Also available on this website is the PRO Catalogue, which enables browsing and searching of the descriptions of records held.
The PRO holds many records relating to quarries. These include records of the Crown Estate and its mineral rights; records relating to the inspection of mines and quarries (quarries became liable to inspection under an Act of 1894); records relating to mineral right duties under the Finance Act 1909, and government involvement with mines and quarries, particularly during both world wars; and planning controls from 1947 onwards. The records of the Inspectors of Mines and Quarries are described under Health and Safety.
The PRO also holds the census records for England and Wales, 1841-91 (see Census), and the records of railway and canal companies that were nationalized in 1947. Leaflets on these are available on the PRO website. The railway and canal records are an important source for published works on transport history, which can supply information on quarries (see Printed Sources). Also in the PRO are the records of dissolved companies, which are a good source for company history (see Company Records).
Links
Public Record Office
Kew
Surrey TW9 4DU
Tel: +44 (0)20 8392 5200
Fax: +44 (0)20 8878 8905
E-mail: enquiry@pro.gov.uk
Web: www.pro.gov.uk
Public Record Office
Family Records Centre
1 Myddelton Street
London EC1R 1UW
Tel: +44 (0)20 8392 5300
Fax: +44 (0)20 8392 5286
E-mail: certificate.services@ons.gov.uk