Royal Berkshire Archives

@berksarchives

The Royal Berkshire Archives holds the archives of the Royal County of Berkshire. We look after nearly nine hundred years of the County's history. Website: royalberkshirearchives.org.uk

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Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· 23d

Chess has had a resurgence in recent years, drawing a whole new generation of players. To celebrate World Chess Day, we wanted to share these Berkshire Chess Association newspaper cuttings, 1954–1956. They provide a glimpse into the local history of chess & the faces who shaped the game in Berkshire

Newspaper clippings about the Berkshire Chess Association, centered on a black-and-white photo of two men in suits, one handing a trophy to the other as a chess championship award.

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· 26d

Our brains every day in the archive ✨ #FridayFun

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· 27d

Our 10.30am behind the scenes tour for Heritage Open Days on Saturday 12 September is now FULLY BOOKED! We have been able to add an additional tour at 12pm so book now to avoid disappointment. To book, contact us as archives@reading.gov.uk.

Poster advertising Behind the Scenes Tour of the Royal Berkshire Archives on 12 September 2026 12-1pm

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· 28d

Today is St. Swithin’s Day, which tradition says determines the weather for the next 40 days. On 15 July 1951, the maximum temperature was a comfortable 67°F. Here’s hoping 2026 follows suit and brings us a much cooler month ahead! 🥵

Handwritten daily weather log table for July listing dates, barometer readings, daily max/min temperatures, wind directions, rainfall amounts and brief remarks, with summary notes and totals written along the bottom.

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· 29d

Happy Shark Awareness Day! 🦈 We recently discovered we hold this shark tooth in our collections! We know little about it other than it was reportedly found in Berkshire 🫢 Sharks are vital to our oceans, why not spend some of today learning more about our marine friends 🤗

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jul 10

Have you been watching Wimbledon and been feeling inspired? 🎾 Well why not go and play a game of tennis yourself? Just like these children at Wexham Court Junior School, Slough, c.1960s! 📸 D/EX1585/1/7

Black and white photograph of children playing tennis on a tennis court

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jul 8

We will have a piling work onsite next week (13-17 July) as part of our extension building works. This work will be noisy so please make note if you were planning on visiting us. Apologies for any inconvenience this causes.

Crochet stag wearing ear defenders in front of construction sign saying 'Safety Equipment must be worn on this site'.

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jul 7

We've got lots of new books available to buy here at the RBA, including a Berkshire Record Society volume edited by one of our own archivists on the first Clewer House of Mercy Penitents' Roll Book. Pick these up in our reception! 📖

Photograph of three books on a desk. These include a volume title "The first Clewer House of Mercy Penitents' Roll Book, 1848-1882.", a booklet titled "Caversham Bridge 1926-2026: A centenary and nine centuries of history", and another booklet titled "Reading Bridge 1923-2023: 100 years of crossing the Thames in Caversham."

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jul 6

With the Tour de France starting last Saturday, we thought we'd have a look and see what cycling records we hold. We came across this photograph of cyclists racing! We don't have details about where or when the photograph was taken, but it's nonetheless an impressive action shot. 📷️D/EX1569/1/5/152/1

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jul 2

Bookings are now OPEN for our 2026 Heritage Open Days event. We are offering a free behind the scenes tour of the archive on Saturday 12 Sept at 10:30. Spaces are limited so get in touch today to secure your place! Email us on archives@reading.gov.uk or call us on 01189375132.

Advert for Heritage Open Day event:
Behind the Scenes Tour of the Royal Berkshire Archives
A free behind the scenes tour of the archives, including our strongrooms and conservation studio.
Email us on archives@reading.gov.uk or call us on 0118 9375132 to reserve a space.
12 September 2026 10.30am-11.30am

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jul 1

Image of the front cover of the London Yellow Pages. Text reads "September, 9. The Yellow Pages. I mean... Do we even have to say anything? An icon and a diva. Has all the facts, will let you know."

Image of the Guide to the Berkshire Record Office by Felix Hull. Text reads "October, 10. Guide to the Berkshire Record Office by Felix Hull (our name before the Royal upgrade). Written by the OG (first County Archivist). Just trying to be helpful. Knows So Much. All about us so we love it."

Image of microfiche laid out in a circle. Text reads "November, 11. Microfiche. Accessible, lets you see NTBP documents. Fairly stable, occasionally goes off the rails. So much of it. Everyone's best friend."

Image of a chest covered in animal fur. Text reads "December, 12. The Hairy Chest. Mysterious, kind of threatening. What is this thing? Is it alive? Was it once alive? We don't know. This slide kept glitching when making this, was it the aura of the chest?"

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jul 1

Images of two sides of a gold key and a painting of Mayor Kersley. Text reads "May, 5. Ceremonial key to the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Presented to the Mayor of Reading. All access, takes you anywhere. Leadership vibe. Always up for an adventure."

Photograph of men in swimming costumes with buckets on their heads sitting at the edge of a dock. Text reads "June, 6. Blindfolded (bucket on head) swimming race. Absolute mad lads. Can do anything they set their mind to. Will always keep you guessing. Cannot be tied down."

Two pictures of a love letter. Text reads "July, 7. Love letters from John M Image to Florence Spencer. Stop this is so cute (with a teary eye emoji and heart emoji). Hopeless romantic. Ride or die. May this love find us all." The letter reads "3rd August 1919. To my own little little. May God grant to our Household Treasure a day of clean joy tomorrow, and on each succeeding Fourth of August, year by year. So prays her Besotted Husband, to whom she has been the first and best of women for now all but one half of her own little life."

Two images of figurines. One is a man sitting cross legged, the other is a lion sitting on his hind legs. Text reads "August, 8. Porridge Figurines. Shows that are can be made from any material. Made by a Quaker (shout out to the Quakers). Strong but don't get them wet."

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jul 1

Image of a deed. Text reads "January, 1. Aldermaston Estate Title Deed, circa 1153-1159. Oldest record in our collections. Steady and stable, a survivor. She speaks Latin (with a painting nails emoji)"

Image of Agatha Christie's Missing Poster. Text reads "February, 2. Agatha Christie's Missing Poster. What is she up to? Literary icon. Not content to just write mysteries, becomes the mystery."

Image of a kitten. Text reads "March, 3. Picture of a cat. Awww (with tearful eyes emoji). Tiny, precious. Little paws used for mischief."

Image of the Bray Tithe Map. Text reads "April, 4. Bray Tithe Map. Larger than life. Everything custom made for you (we had to custom-make our map table for her and she still does not fit). Not flashy. Very impressive."

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jul 1

Your month, your item from the archive 🙂‍↕️ Let us know what you got 👀

Image with text that reads "Your month, your item from the archive (and what that says about you)". There are various images of items from the archive that are decorative, such as a gold key, Agatha Christie's Missing Poster, and a chest.

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jun 30

To celebrate the start of the Henley Royal Regatta today, it's our very close neighbour Henley's turn on the postcards! 🚣 Recognise any of these locations? 👀

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jun 29

Anyone else been enjoying watching the World Cup? ⚽︎ Here at the RBA, we're just glad England aren't up against Roger the dog who seems to have some paws-itively unbeatable skills. Here he is making a cracking save, c. 1948-1955. 🥅

Roger, a Boston Terrier, saving a goal dressed in football kit.

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jun 26

A huge thank you to Joan Dils for another generous donation to our reference library. These local and social history books have helped fill gaps in our collection, particularly in areas such as women’s history. Joan’s two donations total nearly 50 books, for which we are incredibly grateful!

Five history books about women's lives arranged in a fan shape on a light grey surface.

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jun 25

Happy Global Beatles Day to all those celebrating! 🎸 One person who certainly wouldn't be marking the occasion today is Muriel Longhurst , who seemed far from impressed by the band in this letter to her friend Sheila in Singapore, written in December 1963! 📸 D/EX2840/2/15/121

Typed letter containing a description about The Beatles. Highlighted section begins "The Beatles. Have you heard of them? They are four Liverpool boys with hair down over their eyes - and a fan club consisting of at least 90% of all English adolescent girls", going on to say "So far as I, ignorant soul, can make out, their best effort so far is a song called ''Yeah, Yeah, Yeah''. No comment, I feel, is needed."

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jun 24

We wish we had a time machine to go back to Newbury on 24 June 1926, temperatures with a high of around 17°C sounds great right now! 📷 N/D44/1

Table with entries noting the barom.; max temperature; min temperature; wind; and rainfall for the month of June in 1926.

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jun 23

Our new blog series looks at one of our earliest accessions, the diaries of Winifred Hoyle of Sonning. During the 1920s and 30s she was living in London and her diaries provide a glimpse into middle class life at the time. Intrigued by Katherine's video, read more here: bit.ly/4oi6t9m

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jun 22

It's the final week to view Fallen: the House of Mercy exhibition! Please note, the exhibition will be closed this Thursday (25 June) for a private talk from 2pm. Please do pop in at any other time to see it! 📸 Sister Harriet D/EX1675/1/19/48

Painting of Sister Harriet. She is sitting on a chair and wearing a black dress with a white head covering. A gold cross is around her neck.

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jun 18

We're entering the final stretch to see our current exhibition! If you've been meaning to go and haven't yet, now's your chance! Fallen: The House of Mercy, Clewer, ends Friday 26 June 2026.

Photograph of a corner of the Fallen exhibition. There are two cases with documents inside, but none are seen clearly. There is also a board on the wall with text that cannot be read clearly.

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jun 17

It's the 30th anniversary of the Thames National Path and walkers are currently doing a relay along the whole length to celebrate! But did you know that one of the first proposals for the Thames as a Linear National Park appeared in 'The Architectural Review' in 1950? 📷 D/EX73/4/7/29

Sign saying 'The Thames as a Linear National Park' with illustrations of people above and below.

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jun 16

Anyone heading to Ascot this week? We're getting into the spirit here at the RBA with this reproduction of F C Turner's 'Ascot Heath Races: the last meeting attended by HM William IV' 🏇 📷 D/EX1244/1 #RoyalAscot

A painting depicting a horse race at Ascot, where crowds line the edges of the track watching closely as a group of horses and jockeys race through the center.

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jun 12

Anyone else heading to watch the Reading Amateur Regatta this weekend? 🚣 Did you know that we've recently catalogued some new material relating to the Regatta, including flyers on the Regatta's 180th anniversary back in 2022? Check out the collection on our online catalogue, reference D/EX1192 ☀️

A flyer showing the route of the Reading Amateur Regatta on the River Thames. The route passes landmarks including 'Pepper Pot' House, Commentary House, Reading Canoe Club and Caversham Court Gardens. Before finishing just before Reading Rowing club and Caversham Bridge.

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jun 11

Ever wondered how an exhibition gets made? Jump behind the scenes in our latest blog to find out some of the things we needed to do to ensure we put on the best exhibition we could! Fallen runs until 26 June 2026.

Before and after of the colourisation of an old photograph. The photograph shows 6 girls in India wearing colourful saris and playing the sitar while sat on a blanket outside.

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jun 9

Do you want the house [archives] tour? Come behind the scenes with us this #InternationalArchivesDay 🏠 Interested in visiting us? We are open from 09:00-17:00 Tuesday to Thursday, and 09:00-16:30 on Fridays. We are also open late one Thursday evening a month, where we open from 9am-9pm.

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jun 8

Happy Best Friends Day to our very best friend Godric 🥰 ✨ *it's technically 48 pictures but it's close

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jun 5

It's giving main character energy 💅 #millennialvsgenz #FridayFun

A blue background with a black line down the middle of the image. The left side says "Millennial social team" with a photo of the RBA building, the text above the image reads "Opened in 1948, the Royal Berkshire Archives looks after nearly nine hundred years of the County’s history. Our job is to locate and preserve archives and records relating to the County of Berkshire and its people and make them available for all to research." On the right side the text says "Gen Z social team" above the same image. Text above the image reads "archivesmaxxing" with the nail polish emoji.

A blue background with a black line down the middle of the image. The left side says "Millennial social team" above a photo of an enclosure map, the text reads "Here at the RBA, we hold a large collection of enclosure maps . These mostly date from around 1750 to 1850, and were produced when shared lands were reorganised (enclosed) into individuals’ private landholdings."
On the right side the text says "Gen Z social team" above the same image. Text above the image reads "Enclosure? I hardly know her!!" with two laughing emojis.

A blue background with a black line down the middle of the image. The left side says "Millennial social team" above a photo of the RBA mascot Godric, a crotched stag. The text reads "Everyone say hello to our mascot Godric! He’s always working hard helping out the social media team."
On the right side the text says "Gen Z social team" above the same image. Text above the image reads "Who is this diva?" with two nail polish emoji.

A blue background with a black line down the middle of the image. The left side says "Millennial social team" above a photo of a charter with a drawing of Charles II in the top left corner, The text reads "Take a look at this charter issued by Charles II on 11 July 1664. Written in Latin, it records provisions for the appointment of officials and still bears a surviving fragment of the Great Seal."
On the right side the text says "Gen Z social team" above the same image. Text above the image reads "pov: you’re the king that brought back partying " followed by a fire emoji and a party popper emoji.

Royal Berkshire Archives@berksarchives· Jun 4

Happy National Cheese Day to all who celebrate! 🧀 We're marking the occasion with these brie-lliant cheese labels created by the Berkshire Printing Company, we think they're grate. 😆