Trust Archives

Trust Archives in Oxford

The Historic Towns Trust has deposited its archive with the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

The Historic Towns Trust archive goes back to its foundation in 1963. It is a wide-ranging and eclectic set of documents which chart the history of the charity and the way that it has developed, as well as of the British Historic Towns Atlas itself.

The archive also includes a substantial amount of material relating specifically to the volume on London to c.1520 (Volume III). Amongst the material are items which will be of interest to historians of cartography in future years, including many of the atlas films, peelcoats and scribecoats used by Col. Henry Johns and his team to create the maps for the London atlas.

Now that all our mapping is produced digitally, the archive will provide a valuable source of materials to future generations who may be amused or impressed by the superseded methods of production that were once the norm.

The material has been deposited in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. It has been thoroughly catalogued and put into good order by a professional archivist and the catalogue is available here.

The Historic Towns Trust has made almost all the material available for readers at the Bodleian Library, and encourages anyone interested to approach the library for access.