Archival Fun

I spent close to 6 hours in the Bristol Records Office today going through the archives for my course on Standing Buildings. I've chosen my building to write about and so I was trying to make a dent on the primary resource material. Continue reading at your own peril I'm going to lapse into archaeological/historical nerd mode. [smile] I'm researching "a Mansion on Great George Street" in Bristol and that is literally the best address I have found so far for my site. Why research "a Mansion on Great George Street"? Well, it has what I think is an interesting contemporary history. In 1861 it became home to the Clergy Daughters School (later called St. Brandon's, but can't you guess why I like this place). More importantly in 1939, the School was conscripted into government use during wartime, specifically it became the site of an American Red Cross Service Club for African Americans. So it fits in with my MA dissertation too - exploring the recreational life of American GIs in Bristol during WWII. I've thought all this out! [smile] A day at the archives was fun, but really tiring so tonight's downtime at the Archaeology and Anthropology Department's weekly evening seminar was much needed and dinner out for a change with a few of my fellow North American colleagues was just what I needed.

I'm back to archives in the morning to finish up looking into their files and hopefully putting a better picture together of what happened there. I've taken lots of photos and will try to post one of the building tomorrow night maybe (just so you can have an idea of what I'm working with, although I don't promise that it will seem very exciting as the building is fairly plain). Perhaps life as a historical archaeologist isn't looking quite as fascinating as it once seemed. The thing to keep in mind is that you never know what a day in the archives will turn up. Among the little treasures I found today was a letter written the morning after the School was evacuated (due to the increasing danger of being in Bristol in wartime and the order of conscription) asking that care be taken to boarding up the School's organ. I just thought that it was so poignant that the head mistress would have taken the time to leave such instruction in light of the danger from which she was fleeing. Something to think about at least.

Just, Margaret