Look at the silver plaque above this stop. Click here to if you want to read a transcript of the plaque.
Who was a very special visitor in 1978?
In 1836 a lawyer called Henry Cole, who worked for the government, made a gruesome discovery whilst looking for a document he needed. He found this animal inside a chest of documents…
Henry Cole took it down to Parliament to show that the documents needed to be kept safe from pests! Two years later, the first Public Record Office was built in Chancery Lane in London.
Can you guess which animal it is?
Answer: It is a rat, which has dried out over time. We keep it in the collection to remind us of why documents need to be carefully looked after.