2. Ordnance Survey maps held elsewhere and published online

For published Ordnance Survey maps you should head elsewhere before searching at The National Archives as our collection is not comprehensive and you are less likely to find a published map here than online or at libraries and other archives, including local archives. You can find contact details for archives elsewhere using Find an archive.

Major libraries, including Legal Deposit Libraries, where published maps are held include:

• British Library
• Bodleian Library, Oxford
• Cambridge University Library
• National Library of Wales
• National Library of Scotland

Digitised copies of many Ordnance Survey maps are available on several websites including:

• National Library of Scotland (currently the most comprehensive source of publicly available free digitised maps and index maps)
• A Vision of Britain through Time
• British History Online
• British Geological Survey

You can view Ordnance surveyors’ drawings online at the British Library website.

3. Ordnance Survey maps at The National Archives

The National Archives, though not the routine place of deposit for published Ordnance Survey maps (see the Legal Deposit Libraries in section 2 for this) does, however, hold many Ordnance Survey maps used during the working life of various government departments. These include maps used by the Ordnance Survey itself, a government agency since the late 18th century. Some maps are ordinary editions but others are special editions or special printings. Many include additions made by hand.

Although the first Ordnance Survey map was published in 1801, it was many years before it produced detailed maps of the whole country. For many places, the oldest large-scale Ordnance Survey map dates from the 1860s, 1870s or 1880s. Many different editions of Ordnance Survey maps have been produced since then.

4. How to find Ordnance Survey maps at The National Archives

There is no single, comprehensive index of Ordnance Survey maps held here so to find a map you will need to try one of the following search methods:

4.1 Using index maps to find sheet numbers and grid references

4.2 Searching our online catalogue

Use the advanced search to search for maps, either using the sheet number (for example, “Devon VIII”) or using a combination of place names with “OS”.

4.3 Browsing or searching in specific record series

You can browse our catalogue for published Ordnance Survey maps in the following series, all of which contain significant numbers of Ordnance Survey maps:

• 124 series from IR 121/1 to IR 135/9 (Valuation Office survey)
• IR 90, IR 93 and IR 105 (the Tithe Redemption Office)
• WO 78 (War Office Map Library)
• F 17, F 23 and F 30 (the Forestry Commission)
• COAL 40 (National Coal Board)
• ZOS (former library collections)

5. Place names and topographical features

If you want to know how a place name was or is ‘officially’ or historically spelled or whether a place or feature of the landscape existed at a particular date, the records and maps of the Ordnance Survey may provide you with the answers.  Various kinds of ‘name books’ were created and used by the staff of the Ordnance Survey to establish the names of places and features on maps, whether buildings or villages, hills or rivers, roads, railways or canals and numerous other ‘objects’ shown on maps, both natural and man-made. To decide on the spelling of names the surveyor would ask a local authority, such as a vicar or landowner, for their version and this would be recorded in the name books.

5.1 Object Name Books

The following series all contain variations of the Object Name Books described above – click on the references to learn more about each series and to search for name books within them:

• Parish Name Books 1850-1945 in OS 23 (search by county and parish)
• Original Name Books 1853-1866 for Cumberland, Durham, Hampshire, Northumberland and Westmorland in OS 34 (search by county and parish)
• One-Inch Scale Name Books in OS 50 for 1951-1970 and OS 52 for 1948-1975 (search by county)

6. Parish, county and other public boundaries

As well as producing maps, the Ordnance Survey, from 1841, was responsible for the Public Boundary Archive for Great Britain. Its files show each change to a public boundary (county, parish, parliamentary and local government boundaries). There are large numbers of Ordnance Survey reports and other files describing and defining boundaries. They include:

• Local government area boundaries 1852-1936 in OS 12
• Poor Law Union boundaries 1820-1940 (and less than half a dozen files from 1940-1971) in OS 24 (search by name of Poor Law Union and/or county)
• Local government boundaries as depicted and described in sketch maps, reports and remarks books in OS 26 to OS 29 and OS 30 to OS 33 (search by place name)
• County boundaries and other local government boundaries in OS 37 to OS 42 and OS 76 to OS 79

7. Other administrative and technical records

7.1 Pre-1841 records

Ordnance Survey was not a separate government department until 1841. For information about earlier records in WO 44, WO 47, WO 55, read our guide on Board of Ordnance.

Other records before 1841 are in:

• OS 3, particularly the military and scientific papers of Major General William Roy, 1756-1791 in OS 3/1-5
• T 1. Read How to find records of Treasury letters and papers for information

7.2 Post-1841 records

After 1841, many records are arranged and listed by:

• county or parish name
• sheet number or National Grid square

Search or browse the following series in our catalogue for:

• Policy and general administration records in OS 1, OS 9, OS 11
• Triangulation (used to measure distances and plot positions) and levelling (to establish elevations) records in OS 2, OS 6, OS 13, OS 16, OS 17, OS 54, OS 69

Read our guide on Public rights of way for information on records of public rights of way maintained by Ordnance Survey.

You can browse the full list of Ordnance Survey records series in our catalogue.

8. Staff records

We hold a relatively small number of records for Ordnance Survey staff.

Up to 1946, some Ordnance Survey staff were military personnel and some were civilians.

If you are looking for records of military staff, start by reading the relevant guides:

• British Army soldiers up to 1913
• British Army officers up to 1913
• British Army soldiers after 1913
• British Army officers after 1913

You can also consult the records in:

• WO 54/208 for men who served in the Royal Corps of Military Surveyors and Draughtsman which lists dates of appointment and promotions
• OS 1/1/1 for a list of Royal Engineer Officers who served in the Survey between 1791 and 1927
• OS 3/300 for a register of deceased soldiers serving in 13 Survey Company between 1829 and 1892, which gives information on cause of death and disposal of the man’s effects
• OS 1/1/4 for a list of all Royal Engineers officers serving with the Survey on 1 July 1890
• OS 3/341 for a register of marriages, births and baptisms for  men serving in 16 Survey Company Royal Engineers between 1885 and 1939; you can search for these by name using the OS 3 series search
• OS 3/275-277 for seniority lists of the Survey Battalion (1935-1942)

Very few records exist for civilian staff:

• OS 3/285 for a register of civil assistants (many of whom were former Royal Engineers who had previously been with military survey companies) which provide dates of entry into the Survey and of retirement
• OS 1/1/4 for a list of all civil assistants as well as Royal Engineers in post on 1 July 1890
• OS 10 for selected personal files on senior staff

Search Proquest UK Parliamentary Papers for a complete list of civilian staff in post in the Survey on 31 March 1863 (reference 1862 (xxxiii) 505). This is a subscription website you can access on The National Archives’ computers by visiting us at Kew. You may also be able to access it via a large reference library such as a university library.

9. Further reading

For general information, browse:

• the Ordnance Survey website
• the Charles Close Society for the Study of Ordnance Survey Maps website

Read A brief history of Ordnance Survey on the Charles Close Society website.

There are many books and articles about Ordnance Survey maps and the history of Ordnance Survey. Some of the most useful include:

• Chris Higley, Old Series to Explorer: A Field Guide to the Ordnance Map (London, 2011)
• Richard Oliver, Ordnance Survey Maps: A Concise Guide for Historians, 3rd edition (London, 2013)
• Richard Oliver, The Ordnance Survey in the nineteenth century: maps, money and the growth of government (London, 2014)

You can also access PDF copies of the following publications from the history pages of the Ordnance Survey website:

• Tim Owen and Elaine Pilbeam, Ordnance Survey: Map Makers to Britain Since 1791 (Southampton, 1992)
• W A Seymour, ed, A History of the Ordnance Survey (Folkestone, 1980)

2. Using our catalogue to find records

For tips on searching the catalogue, use the help page.

Use the advanced search function of our catalogue, with relevant keywords and dates, to identify the records that will help you with your research.

The catalogue contains descriptions of the documents we have rather than their content. Only a few documents are available to view online. To see most documents you will need to either visit The National Archives at Kew or pay for copies to be sent to you. Alternatively, you can pay for research.

3. The principal medieval customs

The right to collect customs on imported or exported goods was one of the most ancient prerogatives enjoyed by English kings.

The earliest evidence that such dues were regularly collected comes from the Pipe Rolls during the twelfth century. However, during the thirteenth and fourteenth century the customs were expanded to meet the cost of expensive foreign wars.

A national custom, agreed by parliament, on wool (England’s principal medieval export) was established by the end of the thirteenth century.

Further customs – on cloth, wax and wine – were agreed during the course of the fourteenth century.

3.1 The ancient custom and butlerage

The ancient custom was imposed on all staple goods – principally wool, skins and leather, but also lead, tin, butter, cheese, lard and grease, from 1275.

It was a duty of

• 6s 8d on every sack of wool and every 300 (later 240) fells or skins
• 13s 4d on each last (200 hides) of leather

Butlerage was a duty on wine imports that formed part of the ancient custom, but from the beginning of Edward III’s reign it was collected by the King’s Chief Butler. As this office was usually granted to a figure of national political importance, a deputy in each of the ports actually collected the butlerage.

3.2 The new (or petty) custom

In 1303 the new (or petty) custom was applied to foreign merchants who had to pay an extra 50% on top of the ancient custom. In 1347 it was extended to include imported cloth and was payable by aliens and denizens.

Originally it included specific dues, paid by merchants to collectors in each port, on wool, leather and wax (later collected at the same time as the ancient custom) and an ad valorem duty of 3d in the pound on all other goods.

3.3 The subsidy

‘The subsidy’ was introduced in 1353 through the Statute of the Staple. Initially, it was a fluctuating subsidy on top of the ancient or new customs, but it became a fixed charge in 1471.

The accounts of these duties were amalgamated to form the Custom and Subsidy on Wool. They provide information about local officials who assessed and accounted for the duties and are a key source for the history of medieval trade.

3.4 Tunnage and poundage

Tunnage was a temporary levy on wine imports which was granted to the King for life in 1415.

Poundage was an extra ad valorem duty imposed on all non-staple goods exported or imported by aliens or denizens (except the German Hanse merchants).

4. Local taxes

As well as national customs there was a wide range of local dues imposed by ports and communities. These were either

• collected and disbursed locally
• collected for the King and accounted for at the Exchequer
• farmed out for a fixed annual amount

Some of these records can be found at The National Archives. Miscellaneous accounts sometimes survive in the pipe rolls E 372, or on foreign account or subsidy rolls in E364 and E359 but they are very scattered. Other records are in county record offices.

5. Collection of the customs

The collection of the customs required an elaborate system of revenue collectors in local areas working in conjunction with the Exchequer. The following record series contain useful material:

• C 66 – patent rolls. Royal grants for customs posts – collectors, surveyors and occasionally the auditors were sometimes enrolled on these
• C 60 – fine rolls. Some references to newly appointed customs officials can be found on these. This is because they had to tell the Exchequer about the customs they collected. Fine rolls for the period 1216–1272 (C 60/8-C60/69), are available and searchable online at Henry III fine rolls
• E 122 – Exchequer records. Some customs officials are named in the descriptions of these records

6. Customs’ accounts: the particulars

6.1 The Exchequer sent out books for the customs’ officers of each port to record the dues they collected. Three sets – the customer’s, controller’s and surveyor’s – were usually compiled. These recorded:

• the number and names of ships using the port
• the name of the master
• date of arrival or departure
• the name of the merchant in whose name the goods were shipped (with an annotation denoting denizen, alien or Hanse)
• each item of cargo that was subject to customs charges, often with its value and, in the case of the collectors’ accounts, the amount payable

Only a small sample of books relating to the customs and subsidy on wool, the petty custom and tunnage and poundage have survived. They are in the Particulars of Customs’ Accounts in E 122, and a small number have been printed.

This series also contains Exchequer type rolls which were drawn up after the audit of the accunts and before their enrolment. They give less information than the books of particulars. The files in E 122 are arranged by port, and then by date of account. The catalogue description explains the arrangement more fully.

Search using the name of the port and the date by entering them into the search box within E 122. Sometimes customer names are listed in the catalogue description so a search of E122 using the name might be worth trying.

6.2 The Exchequer Various Accounts in E 101 include:

• accounts for the collection of Butlerage from 8 Edw I
• wine accounts for Bordeaux
• other customs’ accounts relating to English possessions in France
• accounts for the collection of Ulnage (a subsidy on the sale of cloth first granted in 1353)
• collection of the subsidy on wool
• particulars of those local customs which were accounted for at the Exchequer – these are also in the Ministers’ and Receivers’ Accounts in SC 6

7. Customs’ accounts: the enrolled accounts

The catalogue description of E356 gives useful background information to customs enrolled accounts.

Customs officials would account to the Exchequer for the customs under their charge by:

• presenting their books or rolls of particulars for auditing
• drawing up a compotus, usually in the form of a roll, that would represent the final statement of their accounts for that period
• having the comptus enrolled – a process marked by a single vertical line drawn through it

The enrolled accounts record the total quantities imported or exported and the value of the customs. Individual merchants are only named if they were exempt from payment in a particular instance.

Until 1323 customs’ accounts were enrolled on the Pipe Rolls in E 372 and a duplicate on the Chancellor’s Rolls in E 352. From 1323 they were enrolled on special ‘foreign’ rolls and form the Enrolled Customs’ Accounts in E 356.

Some of the key sources for enrolled accounts are:

• foreign account rolls in E 364 – these include the collection of the customs and subsidy on wool by the merchants of the Staple from 1466 until 1531
• Duchy of Cornwall accounts in E 306 – these include some accounts for duties on wine collected in ports in the Duchy
• declared accounts 1500–1817 in E 351
• declared accounts of taxes from 1640–1822 in E 360
• declared excise accounts 1829–1849 in E 139
• stray enrolments in the Pipe Office in E 389
• miscellaneous enrolled accounts in E 358
• enrolments of the state of the customs’ accounts from the reign of Henry VII in E 102
• cases of merchants or customs officials attempting to defraud the customs revenue on the Exchequer memoranda rolls in E 159 and E 368

8. Further reading

Some of the publications below may be available to buy from The National Archives’ shop. Alternatively, search The National Archives’ library catalogue to see what is available to consult at Kew.

N S B Gras, The Early English Customs Systems (Cambridge, Mass, 1918)

E E Power and M M Postan (eds), Studies in English Trade in the Fifteenth Century (1933)

H S Cobb, ‘Local Port Customs’ accounts prior to 1550′, Journal of the Society of Archivists (1955–1959)

E M Carus-Wilson and O Coleman (eds), England’s Export Trade 1275–1547 (Oxford, 1963)

Printed customs’ accounts can be found in:

E M Carus-Wilson (ed), The Overseas Trade of Bristol in the Later Middle Ages, British Record Society, VII (1937)

D M Owen (ed), The Making of King’s Lynn: A Documentary Survey, British Academy, Records of Social and Economic History, IX (1984)

W Childs (ed), The Customs’ accounts of Hull 1453–1490, Yorkshire Archaeological Society 144 (1986)

H S Cobb (ed), The Overseas Trade of London 1480–1, London Record Society (1990)

S H Rigby (ed), The Overseas Trade of Boston in the reign of Richard III, Lincoln Record Society (2005)

2. How to search

A search for documents at The National Archives usually begins in our online catalogue. The catalogue contains short descriptions of the records and a document reference for each – you will need the document reference before you can see the record itself. You can search the catalogue using keywords and dates. Use the advanced search option to restrict your search results to records of a specific government department (and its predecessors) – departments are identified by a letter code. The department in which to focus searches for British Army records is the War Office –  department code WO.

For a general description of the records, read The Second World War: A Guide to Documents in the Public Record Office by John Cantwell (PRO, 1998).

Try searching the catalogue by:

• name of battle (for example, ‘Gazala’)
• name of operation (for example, ‘Overlord’)
• name of country or region where an operation took place (for example, Sicily or Belgium)
• name of army unit – many army units have been catalogued using abbreviations (for example, ‘Fd. Regt.’ instead of ‘Field Regiment’), and the formatting is not consistent (sometimes, for example, you should search for ‘8th army’, other times for ‘8 army’); you may have to format your search in multiple different ways to ensure greater success

Keep in mind that not all records have been catalogued in detail and that speculative searching in documents is often necessary. There is more search advice in the following sections of this guide should help you to focus searches

3. Unit war diaries

All units, from battalions and brigades to divisions and whole armies, maintained a daily record of events, often with appendices of signals and orders.

There are three ways that you can use our catalogue to search for a unit war diary but whichever way you search, keep in mind the advice in section 2 on searching for army units.

Search method 1

Using the advanced search, search with the name and number of the unit, restricting your search results to records of the War Office (department reference WO – see section 2) and to a specific date, year or range of years.

Search method 2

If you know the theatre of war where the unit was fighting (see section 9 for help with this) you can target your search to a specific series.  For example, if you know a regiment was fighting in Mesopotamia, you can target your search to the diaries of the Middle East forces by searching in record series WO 169.

Click on the appropriate record series in the table below to target your search to a theatre of operations. Search with the unit name and number.

*These series include associated papers

4. Headquarters papers

The records of the military headquarters of each theatre of operation, and of the forces under their command, are the most important sources of information on the planning and conduct of military operations. Search or browse the following record series:

5. War Office directorates

While the directorates were primarily concerned with administration, their records frequently include reports on actions and campaigns. Use our catalogue to search the following series, or browse them by clicking on the links:

6. Records of Cabinet and high command

6.1 Cabinet

To find records of the Cabinet Office, search our catalogue restricted to the department CAB and the relevant year range. Our research guide Cabinet and its committees gives more guidance.

The records include:

• defence committees, for example in CAB 69
• Chiefs of Staff committees, for example in CAB 79
• War Cabinet daily situation reports in CAB 100
• War Cabinet telegrams in CAB 105
• Secretariat files in CAB 120 – these document the personal intervention of the Prime Minister

The archived Cabinet Papers site has themed pages on war, the empire and diplomacy, which you can browse, some with links to downloadable documents.

6.2 Prime Minister’s Office

Browse Prime Minister’s Office operational papers in PREM 3. The confidential (policy) papers in PREM 4 may also contain operational information.

6.3 War Office councils and committees

Browse the following series:

• minutes of War Office council, Army council and their committees in WO 163
• Inter-Services security board minutes in WO 283 (contain information on the co-ordination of operational security and the control of code names)
• secret papers concerning defence issues in CAB 121

7. Other operational records

Search within WO 32 for reports of operations, using the following search terms in our catalogue:

• ‘Code 0’ (for overseas operations)
• ‘Code 46′(for narratives of operations)
• ‘Code 95’ (for reports of invasions)

Browse WO 33 for reports on actions with the enemy.

Browse the combined operations headquarters records in DEFE 2 or search by special service brigade, commando unit or the code name of the operation. This record series covers all amphibious and some airborne operations.

Search by operation codename or browse WO 233 and AIR 39 for airborne operations.

8. Official histories and narratives

Search or browse the following record series:

• narratives and reports written by the official historians of the Second World War in CAB 106 and CAB 101
• official historical studies of the war, mostly published in the 1950s, in WO 277
• notes and papers of a 1947 course on the D-Day landings and ensuing campaigns in WO 223
• medical historians’ papers that include narratives of medical units in action in WO 222

9. Orders of battle

The Orders of Battle and related records give the overseas locations of units during a particular battle or campaign. They show the distribution of divisions and regiments in numerical order and provide the station of each battalion or company. This information can help you trace a unit war diary.

Browse, search or consult the following for the locations of British and Dominions forces:

• WO 212
• WO 73
• Orders of Battle in the Second World War (2 volumes, HMSO, 1960) by HF Joslen

Browse or search the following for the locations of Allied and enemy forces:

• WO 33
• WO 106
• WO 208

10. Private papers

Private and private office papers contain some information about operations. Consult the papers of:

• Field-Marshal Earl Alexander of Tunis in WO 214
• the Chief of the (Imperial) General Staff in WO 216
• the Permanent Under Secretary in WO 258
• the Secretary of State in WO 259

11. Parliamentary records

Discussions in Parliament on army operations can be found in Hansard, which is available online on the Parliament website. Please note there are some volumes missing from the online data.

Other relevant records may be found in published Parliamentary papers. You can access these online via Proquest UK Parliamentary Papers. This is a subscription website you can access on The National Archives computers by visiting us at Kew. You may also be able to access it via a large reference library such as a university library.

The personal political papers of Lord Beaverbrook, who was a minister during the Second World War, contain a large amount of material relating to Second World War operations. See our separate research guide on Beaverbrook papers.

2. The origins of the records

The direct involvement of the State with mines and quarries began in 1842 with the Mines Act, under which inspectors were appointed to regulate employment conditions in mines. The records of the mining industry held at The National Archives are primarily the records of the government departments that have had responsibility for the industry since the 1842 Mines Act. These are:

• Home Office: Mines Inspectorate 1843-1920
• Board of Trade: Mines Department, 1920-1942
• Ministry of Fuel and Power 1942-1957
• Ministry of Power 1957-1969
• Ministry of Technology 1969-1970
• Department of Trade and Industry, 1970-1974
• Department of Energy 1974-1992
• Department of Trade and Industry 1992 to date

Other departments have exercised a variety of specific powers and have also produced records:

• Board of Inland Revenue – collected mineral rights duties
• Board of Trade and the Ministry of Works – retained responsibility for the quarrying of certain materials
• Ministry of Labour – handled questions relating to industrial relations and to health, safety and welfare
• Ministry of National Insurance – assessed and allocated compensation for industrial diseases

Bodies within the industry have been responsible for day-to-day executive functions and some of their records are held here too:

• Coal Mines Reorganisation Commission 1930-1936
• Coal Commission 1938-1947
• National Coal Board (NCB) 1946-1986
• British Coal Corporation (commonly called simply ‘British Coal’) 1987-1997
• Coal Authority 1994 to date

The inspectors’ responsibilities were extended by a succession of statutes:

• Ironstone mines (Mines Act 1860)
• Metalliferous mines (Metalliferous Mines Regulation Act 1872)
• Stratified ironstone mines (Stratified Ironstone Mines (Gunpowder) Act 1881)
• Slate mines (Slate Mines (Gunpowder) Act 1882)
• Quarries (Quarries Act 1894)

Following the Quarries Act 1894, mines inspectors were given responsibility for all quarries, whereas previously factory inspectors had been responsible for quarries using steam power.

3. How to use this guide and search for records

A search for documents at The National Archives usually begins in our online catalogue. The following sections of this guide provide links to key record series that you can search within our catalogue, helping you to target your searches more precisely. By clicking on the series links (for example, POWE 4) you will arrive on the respective ‘series description’ pages from where you can search the series, using keywords (such as ‘mine’ or ‘mining’ combined with ‘research’, ‘compensation’, ‘accident’ or ‘plans’, depending on your research interests) and/or dates/years. Series description pages also provide information on the arrangement of the records and sometimes some of the historical context in which they were created, as well as suggesting related series you could explore.

Use the advanced catalogue search to restrict your search results to the records of a specific government department, including its predecessors (for example, the Ministry of Power).  Use the department reference, which is always a letter code, to do this (the code for the Ministry of Power is POWE).

Catalogue search results provide short descriptions of our records and a document reference for each one – you will need the document reference to see the record itself. The records covered in this guide are not available to view online so to see them you will have to either visit us in Kew or order copies. Bear in mind that a search in our catalogue will also search for records in other archives around the country – keep your eye on the ‘Held by’ field to establish whether the records are here or elsewhere.

6. Labour relations and disputes

The National Archives holds a considerable amount of material on industrial relations in the coal industry.

Search our catalogue using keywords and dates. You can narrow your results by searching specifically within records from the departments listed below.

6.1 Ministry of Labour (LAB)

• LAB 2 general correspondence files
• LAB 3/35 trade disputes record books
• LAB 8 Employment Department files
• LAB 10 industrial relations files
• LAB 27 coal-mining industry dispute and general strike
• LAB 34 record books of trade disputes

6.2 Cabinet Office (CAB)

• CAB 27/79 and PRO 30/26 daily bulletins on the 1920-1921 coal strike

6.3 Ministry of Fuel and Power (POWE)

• POWE 8 labour and trade unions (search within POWE 8 using keyword ‘9’)
• POWE 16 labour relations (search within POWE 16 using keyword ‘9’)
• POWE 20 Coal Division correspondence and papers
• POWE 22 production and labour relations (search within POWE 22 using keyword ‘5’)
• POWE 26 records of the Coal Division, ‘A’ series files,
• POWE 37 records of the Coal Division, ‘B’ series files

6.4 National Coal Board (COAL)

• COAL 26 records of the National Coal Board Industrial Relations Department
• COAL 11 records of the Mining Association of Great Britain
• COAL 31 and COAL 95 numerous files about the coal-miners’ strike of 1984

7. Health and safety, industrial diseases and accidents

7.1 Health and Safety

Search our catalogue using keywords such as ‘mine’ or ‘mining’ with ‘accident’ or ‘industrial disease’. Narrow your search by entering a date range or specific government department codes such as those listed below.

• Home Office (HO) – particularly HO 34 letters to government departments, HO 45 explosions and accidents, HO 81 and HO 95 inspections
• Ministry of Power (POWE) – particularly POWE 4 and POWE 6 mines and quarries, POWE 25 Safety in Mines Research Board (search POWE 25 using keyword ‘4’), POWE 75 Safety and Health Division
• Mines inspectorate – particularly HO 87 out-letters from inspectors, HO 87/53 and POWE 7 inspectors reports, POWE 8 (search POWE 8 using keyword ’11’), POWE 10 (search POWE 10 using keyword ‘7’ and ’12’), Parliamentary Papers include many reports of inspections (free access at The National Archives)
• Health and Safety Commission and Executive – particularly EF 2 and EF 4 Explosives Inspectorate
• Ministry of Labour (LAB) – particularly LAB 104 Occupational Safety and Health, LAB 96 Committee on Safety and Health at Work (Robens Committee), LAB 15/22-25 mines inspectors and the Mines Department

7.2 Compensation

Compensation for industrial diseases was administered by the Home Office until 1947 and then by the Ministry of National Insurance (PIN) and its successors. Relevant files series are shown below.

• Ministry of National Insurance (PIN) – particularly PIN 12, PIN 20 and PIN 900 compensation schemes and industrial diseases, PIN 21 industrial injuries, PIN 11 workmen’s compensation, PIN 39 Medical Department
• Ministry of Power (POWE) – particularly POWE 26 workmen’s compensation schemes and industrial diseases
• Home Office (HO) – particularly HO 157 workmen’s compensation entry books
• Ministry of Labour (LAB) – particularly LAB 56 registers of industrial diseases
• Coal Board (COAL) – particularly COAL 26
• Lord Chancellor’s Office (LCO) – particularly LCO 2/1934-1952 Workmen’s Compensation Regulations

7.3 Accidents

The National Archives has a number of files relating to the Aberfan disaster of 1966. Search our catalogue using the keyword ‘Aberfan’ and to narrow your results search within files from the Welsh Office (BD), the National Coal Board (NCB), the Treasury Solicitor (TS) or the Ministry of Power (POWE). The records below may be of particular use.

• The report of the Tribunal of Inquiry into the Aberfan disaster in BD 52/154
• PIN 21 contains a file concerning injury benefit claims made by rescue workers at the Aberfan disaster, 1966
• COAL 73 correspondence to the Chairman of the National Coal Board on the subject of the Aberfan disaster and subsequent events

Reports on many major mining disasters can be found in Proquest UK Parliamentary Papers. This is a subscription website you can access for free at The National Archives at Kew. You may also be able to access it from a large reference library such as a university library. Other useful record series are shown below.

• POWE 8 – accidents and accident prevention and papers on the Royal Commission on Safety in Coal-mines (search using keyword ‘8’)
• POWE 6 includes files on accidents from 1889 to 1919
• COAL 27 subseries ‘Litigation and Arbitration’ of the Legal Department files
• EF 2 and EF 4 Health and Safety Commission Explosives Inspectorate
• EF 7 Health and Safety Commission’s policy on various matters
• HO 45 records on explosions and accidents in the 19th century
• COAL 43 National Coal Board Headquarters’ Medical Department

7.4 Miners’ Welfare

The Miners’ Welfare Fund was extablished in 1920 and was administered successively by the Miners’ Welfare Commission, the Miners’ Welfare Committee and the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation.

Search our catalogue, particularly within files from the Ministry of Power (POWE) and the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation (BX), using keywords such as ‘miners’ and ‘welfare’ together. The record series listed below may particularly useful.

• POWE 1 Miners’ Welfare Committee and Commission
• POWE 8/278 Miners’ Welfare Commission Rheumatism Committee
• POWE 10 Minstry of Power correspondence and papers. Search using keyword ‘6’ to find Miners’ Welfare Commission
• T224 material on redundancies in the coal and steel industry in the 1970s

8. Policy, administration and finance

There are many policy, administration and finance files relating to mining at The National Archives. Search our catalogue using keywords and dates to find relevant files (some very recent records are already available). Narrow down your results by searching within records from specific departments such as those listed below.

• Ministry of Power (POWE) – browse the POWE record series to find relevant files
• Prime Minister’s Office (PREM) – browse the PREM record series to find relevant files
• Department of Industry (PV) – particularly PV 14 Regional Support and Inward Investment Division and PV 15 Iron and Steel Division and Minerals and Metals Division
• Department of Energy (EG) – particularly EG 16 Energy Technology Division, EG 2 Sizewell B Inquiry and EG 4 Hinkley Point C Inquiry
• Home Office (HO) – particularly HO 42, HO 44 and HO 45 domestic correspondence including general registers, registered papers, warrant and entry books and HO 87 factory and mines entry books
• Cabinet Office (CAB) – particularly CAB 27 policy files, CAB 27/597-598 Committee on the Reorganisation of the Coal Industry 1935-1938, CAB 134/62 and CAB 134/523-524 files relating to the post-nationalised coal industry
• Coal Board (COAL) – browse the COAL record series to find relevant files
• Coal Authority (KD) – browse the KD record series to find relevant files
• Treasury (T) – particularly T 228 Trade and Industry Division, T 230 Economic Advisory Section, T 233 Home Finance Division, T 319 Public Enterprises Division, T 370 Public Enterprises Group
• Lands Tribunal (LT) – particularly LT 8, specimen case files including Wombwell Foundry and Engineering and National Coal Board
• Treasury Solicitor (TS) – particularly TS 49, Treasury Solicitor’s outstation at the Department of Energy

9. The First World War

During the First World War the government increased its control over mines and mineral resources.

Search our catalogue using keywords such as ‘mine’ and/or ‘mining’. To focus your search enter relevant dates and/or search specifically within the departments shown below.

• Ministry of Munitions (MUN)
• Ministry of Power (POWE) – particularly POWE 10, POWE 22 and POWE 26. Papers from the Coal Division in POWE 16 are arranged into numbered subdivisions with records from the First World War numbered 13. To search within POWE 16 for these files use the key word ’13’.
• Board of Trade (BT) – particularly BT 189 Coal Controller’s Advisory Council, BT 62 Controller of Trading Accounts and BT 55/46 Non-Ferrous Metals Committee
• Ministry of Reconstruction (RECO) – particularly records of the Central Materials Supply Committee in RECO 1/357 to RECO 1/409 and records from the Mining Sub-Committee of the Acquisition and Valuation of Land Committee in LCO 3/34-39.

10. Between the wars

10.1 The Mines Department

The Mines Department was created in 1920. Search our catalogue within department code POWE. In particular try searching for records from the Production Division and Labour Division in POWE 16, POWE 20, POWE 22 and POWE 26.

10.2 Mineral commodities

After the First World War, authority over the exploitation and supply of certain mineral commodities was divided among a number of government departments. Search our catalogue using the names of specific commodities as keywords to identify relevant documents. In particular, search within BT 11 using keyword ‘3f’ to find files on commodities.

10.3 Records from other departments

Search our catalogue using keywords and specifying a date range to find relevant records. In particular try searching the record series below:

• BT 64 Board of Trade Industries and Manufactures Division
• SUPP 14 Ministry of Supply
• T 161 Treasury supply files
• T 228 Treasury Trade and Industry Division files
• CAB 27/453 Mines Department Organisation Committee (1931)
• POWE 26 and POWE 22 Metalliferous Mining Industry Advisory Committee, 1921-32. Search our catalogue using keywords ‘7’ or ‘metalliferous mining’

10.4 Regulation and legislation

In 1925, the Royal Commission on the Coal Industry (or the Samuel Commission) recommended the amalgamation of small mines. The Coal Mines Act of 1930 created the Coal Mines Reorganisation Commission to try and achieve this, but colliery owners blocked the scheme and the Commission was dissolved in 1936.

The Coal Act of 1938 nationalised coal deposits and created the Coal Commission to take over the role of the Coal Mines Reorganisation Commission, but the outbreak of war in 1939 prevented any progress being made.

Search our catalogue using keywords such as ‘royal commission’ or ‘coal mines reorganisation’ within the department code COAL. The record series listed below are particularly relevant:

• COAL 4 Central Coal Mines Scheme and District Coal Mines Sceme 1930-1949
• COAL 12 Coal Mines Reorganisation Commission1926-1939
• COAL 17 Coal Commission: Administrative files 1931-1949
• COAL 29 Production Department, later the Mining Dept, 1935-1995

11. The Second World War

11.1 Key sources

The following sources are particularly useful for research covering the Second World War:

• Board of Trade Official History (available in The National Archives library)
• Eric Lyde Hargreaves and Margaret Mary Gowing, Civil industry and trade (London, 1952)
• J Hurstfield, The Control of Raw Materials (London, 1953)
• Copies of documents extracted from registered files by the official historians in the course of their work in BT 131

11.2 Ministry of Fuel and Power (POWE)

Prior to the Second World War, responsibilities for sources of power and energy had been split between several government departments. In June 1942 these were brought together under the new Ministry of Fuel and Power to manage the demand for energy supplies. Search our catalogue within department codes COAL and/or POWE using keywords and dates to identify relevant records. The following record series may be particularly useful:

• COAL 4 minute books of the War Emergency Committee on Coal Mines 1939 -1946
• POWE 6 solid fuel control and rationing 1939-1959
• POWE 7 and POWE 10 records of the Mines Inspectorate
• POWE 8, POWE 10 and POWE 25 health and safety in mines
• POWE 16 wartime emergency measures and production policy files. Search our catalogue within POWE 16 using the keyword ’13’ to find records from the war years and keyword ‘2’ for files on Coal Bunkering
• POWE 17 emergency services 1941-1946
• POWE 20 regulated labour relations
• POWE 21 control of supplies of coal and coal products

11.3 Cabinet Office (CAB)

Try searching our catalogue within department code ‘CAB’ using keywords and dates to identify relevant records. The following record series may be particularly useful:

• CAB 87/92 and CAB 87/93 War Cabinet Committees on Reconstruction
• CAB 117/243 War Cabinet Reconstruction Secretariat
• CAB 123/33 Office of the Lord President of the Council
• CAB 124/704-45 Offices of the Minister of Reconstruction, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Science

11.4 Other departments

Other departments worth searching in our catalogue include:

• Treasury Solicitor (TS) – particularly TS 49 with files relating to the regulation of coal and other fuels during and after the Second World War
• Ministry of Transport (MT) – particularly MT 39 with information on stone, slag and lime quarries.
• Board of Trade (BT) – particularly BT 96 Industrial Supplies Department and BT 161 Ministry of Materials

12. After the Second World War

Search the catalogue using keywords and specifying a post-war date range. To narrow your results search within specific departments or topics such as those mentioned below.

• Mineral Development Committee – set up in 1946 to investigate mineral resources in the United Kingdom and to recommend how they might be exploited
• Town and Country Planning Act 1947 – introduced new controls over the extraction of minerals. Existing workings were subject to review and planning and permission was made compulsory for new workings
• Housing and Local Government (HLG) – in particular HLG 71 correspondence and papers, HLG 79 files documenting dealings with local authorities, HLG 89 Minerals Divisions, HLG 98 Central Land Board, HLG 104 planning and redevelopment, HLG 107 regional office files, HLG 132 records relating to applications for payments from the Ironstone Restoration Fund
• Cabinet Office (CAB) – in particular CAB 129/36, CAB 128/16 and CAB 134/498
• Ministry of Power (POWE) – records of the Coal Division in POWE 16 may be particularly useful
• Board of Trade – in particular record series BT 177 which contains records on mineral workings in development areas

13. Records before 1850

From the middle ages the Crown was entitled not only to gold and silver mines, but also to any other mines where gold and silver were found – such as those producing copper, tin, iron or lead. Many mines and quarries were on land owned by the Crown, the Duchy of Lancaster or the Duchy of Cornwall. The Royal Mines Act 1688 revoked royal rights to these other mines, but duties on the ores produced there continued to be levied.

The Exchequer, and subsequently the Auditors of Land Revenues and the Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues, administered the revenues from royal mines and quarries.

The National Archives holds records of these mines as well as some privately owned mines and quarries. It is often not obvious from the record description in the catalogue that these records contain material on mines

13.1 Exchequer records

The following record series may have useful material within them.

• E 101 accounts various (particularly on the stannaries of Devon and Cornwall). Search within E101 using keywords such as ‘mine’
• E 317 parliamentary surveys
• E 372 pipe rolls
• E 364 foreign accounts
• E 363/4 – Devon stannaries
• E 36/53 – crown tenants and tinners in stannaries of Foweymoor
• List and Index XI has a section on documents relating to mines in E 372, E 352 (Chancellor’s Roll) and E364
• C 197/18 Draft letters patent of the Steward of the duchy of Cornwall, warden and vice warden of the stannaries

13.2 Land Revenue Record Office (LRRO)

In 1554, the Auditors of the Land Revenues took over from the Court of Augmentations the responsibility for managing the Crown lands. From 1625 they worked in conjunction with the Surveyor General of Land Revenues, whose task it was to survey and value royal estates.

Between 1810 and 1924 these functions were carried out by the Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues, and subsequently by the Commissioners of Crown Lands (1925-1956) and the Crown Estate Commissioners.

The record series listed below may be useful.

• LR 6 and LR 12 receivers’ accounts (indexes in IND 1/7655 and IND 1/7656)
• LR 1 enrolment books of grants and leases (indexes in IND 1/7629- 7649)
• LR 5 accounts, vouchers
• MPE 1 maps and plans originally in LRRO 1
• LRRO 3 accounts various
• LRRO 5 deeds and evidences
• LRRO 12 rentals
• LRRO 37 miscellanea

It is worth noting that rentals relating to mines (including iron, tin and fireclay mines, and stone quarries) are accounted separately. LRRO 3/84, for example, is a set of accounts relating to Yorkshire lead mines 1697-1831.

13.3 Crown Estate Commissioners (CRES)

Browse the record series from the Crown Estate (CRES) in our catalogue. Specifically, records in CRES 55 (royal gold and silver mines) may be relevant.

13.4 State Papers (SP), Home Office (HO) and Treasury (T)

Browse our catalogue for relevant files within State Papers Domestic (SP), early Home Office (HO) and Treasury Board (T 1).

For all these series of records you can identify relevant papers by using the indexes to the printed Calendars in The National Archives in Kew. The calendars of documents for State Papers can be searched using State Papers Online and British History Online, available on the public computers at The National Archives.

You may find the research guide Treasury Board letters and papers useful, as well as the guides on State Papers domestic for the periods 1547-1649, 1642-1660, 1660-1714 and 1714-1782.

13.5 Forestry Commission (F)

F 17 contains material on ironstone mining and stone quarrying in the Forest of Dean.

Other relevant files previously held in F 3, F 16 and F 26 were transferred to Gloucestershire record office in 2002.

13.6 Palatinates of Durham (DURH)

References to mining may be found in:

• DURH 3 Cursitor’s Records
• PL 2 Close rolls
• PL 3 Chancery warrants
• PL 4 Inquisitions post mortem
• PL 5 Commissions and inquisitions of lunacy

13.7 Duchy of Lancaster (DL)

References to mining may be found in:

• DL 14 Drafts and particulars for leases
• DL 25 Deeds
• DL 37 Enrolments
• DL 39 Justice of the Forest South of the Trent: Forest Records
• DL 41 Miscellanea
• DL 34 Letters and diplomatic documents
• DL 44 Special commissions and returns

14. Overseas

Search our catalogue using keywords to identify records relating to overseas mining. Alternatively, browse the specific record series shown below.

• POWE 41 import and export of coal and coal products in the post war period
• PJ 5 Export Projects and Export Policy Divisions 1979-1987
• BT 241 files from the Commercial Relations and Export Division 1934-1987
• COAL 95 correspondence, minutes and reports relating to all aspects of the International Department’s work 1949-1995
• FO, CO and FCO records are rich in material relating to the exploitation of minerals overseas such as bauxite in South America, gold in West Africa and diamonds in South Africa. For more guidance on using the records of the Foreign Office and the Colonial Office, see Foreign and Commonwealth correspondence and records research guide
• PRO 30/76, ED 26 and ED 121 records of the Imperial Institute relating to mineral resources in British possessions overseas

15. Records held elsewhere

The pre-nationalisation records of colliery companies operating in 1946 are deemed to be public records but are usually held in local authority record offices along with any surviving deeds and evidences of the companies. Some records of the National Coal Board and British Coal are also held in local authority record offices. Search our catalogue and click on the record creators tab within your search results for details.

The Coal Authority Mining Records Office holds records including all the coal-mine abandonment plans. These show areas of coal extraction, the extent of coaling operations and locations of mine entrances.

Reports from the National Coal Board can be found in Proquest UK Parliamentary Papers. This is a subscription website you can access for free at The National Archives at Kew. You may also be able to access it from a large reference library such as a university library.

16. Further reading and useful websites

• The History of the British Coal Industry Volumes 1 to 5 (available in the The National Archives’ library)
• Useful websites Durham Mining Museum, National Coal Mining Museum, Scottish Mining Museum