British Records Association

2026 Conference tickets now available

Stephanie — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 21:34:42 +0000

All Mapped Out: Maps, Plans and Charts in the Archives

Tuesday 24 November Tickets £45 BRA Members, students and unwaged, £65 non-members.

Join the British Records Association at our Annual Conference focusing on a variety of map resources and challenges of their preservation.

Maps are created for a variety of reasons sometimes explicit, sometimes unknown. They document physical places, but also the people who own and occupy them, and range in scope from ambitious attempts to present a view of the world to detailed records of a particular settlement.

Maps are interrogated for the information they hold, but can also serve to inspire reflection and creative practice. Digitisation can help to mitigate the preservation and access challenges inevitably associated with large format documents, while providing opportunities for new approaches to mapping drawing on complementary archival sources.

Programme and tickets are available on Eventbrite.

Richard Olney

Stephanie — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 21:15:00 +0000

Members of the Archives and Records community will be saddened to learn that Richard Olney, formerly of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts (HMC), died on 9th August after a long illness. Richard began his career at Lincolnshire Archives and was subsequently an Assistant Keeper at the HMC. Whilst there, he edited and researched a number of publications including guides to politicians’ papers and family and estate collections. The latter drew on his extensive knowledge of the records produced by prominent landed families. In retirement he published a history of the Dixon family of Lincolnshire and the book ‘English Archives: An Historical Survey’, published by Liverpool University Press with support from the British Records Association (BRA). He was an active supporter of the BRA and a member of its Council for many years, and was awarded honorary membership of the Association in recognition of his work and service. There will be no funeral as he expressed a wish to donate his body to the London Anatomy Office, but a celebration of his life is planned for later this year.

Matti Watton – Chair of Trustees

Call for papers for our 2026 conference

Stephanie — Wed, 27 May 2026 09:17:08 +0000

Title: ‘All Mapped Out: Maps, Plans and Charts in the Archives’

Date: Tuesday 24th November 2026

Location: The Gallery, 77 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EJ

Call for papers: abstracts submission deadline 5pm on Wednesday 1st July 2026

This year the British Records Association (BRA) annual conference will be held on the topic of records and archives which take the form of maps or geographical plans and charts.

Submissions are invited which link this theme to the aims of the BRA, namely the preservation, understanding, accessibility and study of our recorded heritage for public benefit. Areas to be explored could include:

challenges of preserving maps owing to their scale or format
survival or absence of significant maps, or collections thereof
little known material, whether significant for design or purpose, for example
misleading maps
different reasons why maps have been produced
interesting discoveries or interpretations based on the study of maps
maps as a tool for public engagement
broadening access through digitisation, grant funded projects, or other means
relevant collaborations, such as between historians and collections managers
changes in how maps have been created, and insights these provide, such as the rise of digital cartography
whether existing map collections are under threat from technological advances

Abstracts of papers (twenty minutes) or lightning talks as part of a panel (five minutes) should be a maximum of 200 words and should be accompanied by a biography of all participants of up to 150 words. These should be submitted to the BRA Chair.

The British Records Association is a charity which aims to promote the preservation, understanding, accessibility and study of our recorded heritage for public benefit. It is open to anyone interested in records and archives whether local historians, academics, professional archivists, or custodians and owners of collections, or simply those who are curious about the record of our past.

Matti Watton, BRA Chair, on behalf of the conference organising committee.

Image of London Poverty Map, 1898-9. Sheet 5: east central district thanks to LSE Library on Unsplash