Zachary Allnutt’s book of lock plans was compiled for Thames Navigation Commission. It is effectively a digest of the oldest locks in the upper Thames – the part of the river that is not tidal.

Zachary came from Henley and had the title of Surveyor General to the Commission. His original drawings were made in ink and watercolour and updated with pencil notes and alterations.

‘I loved working on this document. I have a background in the decorative arts and this is very easy on the eye. I also like the ink stains on several of the pages - it looks like Zachary knocked over the colour he was using. That must have been a bad day at the office.’

- Nick Martin, Archives Assistant (Strongroom)

Yell, the company behind the publication of the Yellow Pages, had its headquarters in Reading from the 1980s. The company also had a second office in Reading and one in Slough, and the Royal Berkshire Archives is proud to hold the national collection of Yellow Pages directories.

The earliest separate directories were published in 1969. Those covered only a few major cities, such as this one for Central London. These early volumes have beautifully illustrated front covers showing impressions of the area they covered.

'My dad was employed at Yell for many years, and I’ve always felt proud that he was part of such a recognisable British firm. Whenever I handle the Yellow Pages in the archive I feel a strong sense of my own family history and a tangible connection to my past.'

- Hannah Pomeroy, Archivist

This newspaper cutting is about a Bracknell Development Corporation party in December 1961.

The party was held in Sperry Gyroscope’s canteen. Six members of the Corporation Architect’s Department performed songs and a midnight cabaret.

The Corporation was responsible for building Bracknell New Town. It cared about its employees’ happiness and had a social club in Farley Hall, its headquarters.

‘I noticed this record while cataloguing the Corporation’s collection. The Corporation’s collection largely contains work items, so it’s fascinating to see such informal photographs of the people who helped develop, manage, and design Bracknell New Town from 1949-1982.’

- Evangeline Mills, Project Archivist

This pamphlet is part of the Lynette Edwell Greenham Common Peace Camp collection. Lynette provided crucial support to the Peace Camp women from her nearby home.

The pamphlet was produced for a weekend-long event, but it also includes drawings, poetry, legal advice for women who were evicted from or arrested at the Camp, and a brief “herstory” of the anti-nuclear protest at Greenham airbase.

‘I love the spider’s web illustration and the idea of “widening the web” to connect with more people, uniting against violence against women, racism, imperialism, food insecurity, etc.—forty years on, these are still really pressing issues, and I think we can take a lot from this idea of uniting across divides to create a safer and more equitable world for everyone’.

- Lara Garrett, Archives Assistant

Take a deeper look on YouTube at Lara's favourite item, a pamphlet from Greenham Common titled 'Widening the Web', c.1984, ref. D/EX2519acc9722.22.

This inventory comes from the probate records of the Archdeaconry of Berkshire. It lists the contents of John’s Thatcham house room by room, and then goes on to list the contents of his other houses in Newbury and Farnborough.

The Thatcham house was large: it had thirteen rooms including a hall, a parlour, a best chamber, a hall chamber, a kitchen chamber, a maid chamber, a chamber within the maid chamber, a folk gallery, a gallery, a middle chamber of the gallery, an inner gallery chamber and a study; it also had a buttery and cellar, a larder, a milkhouse, a storehouse, a cheeseloft, an 'old kitchen', a brewhouse and a malthouse as well as stables.

‘This inventory is both a typical document and exceptional, both for its great length and its wealth of detail. It reminds me of a major collaborative project we undertook whilst I had the privilege of leading the service – the preparation of a new index to the Berkshire probate records which advanced our objective of making records available and encouraging research in and an understanding of the rich history of our county.’ 

- Peter Durrant, Volunteer, and former County Archivist