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Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre
Plan
your visit to Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre. It's
the place for anyone interested in researching the history,
geography and people of Medway. The centre houses special
collections on Charles Dickens, Chatham Dockyard and Medway’s naval
history.
Local and family historians, researchers, students and business
users are encouraged to use the public searchroom in the Clock
Tower Building in Strood, where an extensive range of
resources is available.
"Our aim is to collect, collate, conserve and promote our
extraordinary collections, and to ensure our rich heritage is
preserved, appreciated and accessible." Source: MALSC's service
plan 2010/11.
New for 2012
To celebrate the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens the
catalogue of the Fitzgerald Collection is now
available online.
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information on local and family history, archives and all things
historical.
Planning your visit
Plan your visit to the Studies Centre and find
out about opening hours and directions to MALSC. Please note
that booking is required to access original archive material listed
in the online catalogue and also to
use specialised equipment such as microfilm readers.
Search CityArk
CityArk
is the online catalogue of MALSC's archive collections. It
also includes an imagebase of selected digitised documents and a
document gallery of some of the most significant
documents.
Access parish registers online
Medway Ancestors for the Archdeaconry of Rochester
covers the Medway parishes and extend into areas of north-west
Kent, such as Dartford and Gravesend.
Check holding of local studies books
The main reference collection of
local studies material is held at MALSC, while smaller lending
and reference collections are kept at branches of Medway Libraries.
The online catalogue gives information on all these holdings.
View historical images
1,500
images of Medway from the 19th century to the present day are
searchable by place names, names of streets, specific buildings,
landmarks and additional keywords on Medway Images. The
Couchman collection of digitised scrapbooks also includes
many historical images of Medway. Select the link and scroll down
to link five. These images are only a selection from
MALSC's collections, however. Visit the centre to find
more photographs.
MALSC events
MALSC has an extensive programme of
exhibitions, talks and events throughout the year. Exhibitions are
free to visit during normal opening hours. Talks and events
should be booked in advance. Search for MALSC events
at What's On in
Medway.
Resources
MALSC's extensive collections include historical maps of the local
area, electoral registers and poll books, a school loan collection
and much more.
Family history
Researching your family history? Find out about the wide
range of resources and services that MALSC offers to
family historians, including free access to www.AncestryLibrary.com and a
regular family history help-desk, staffed twice weekly by
volunteers from the local branch of the Kent Family History
Society.
Medway Index to Local Newspapers
Medway Index
to Local Newspapers (MILN) is an index of selected
references to articles in local newspapers from 1830 to date. All
local newspapers can be viewed at the Studies Centre. They are
largely available on microfilm and it is advisable to book a
microfilm reader to view them.
Medway Libraries
Medway Libraries' online resources pages
give access to reference works, encyclopedias, local
information and much more.
If you wish to write to us please use the contact details
below.
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