Wednesday 6 February 2013

Flat out to completion: the Great Parchment Book

The Great Parchment Book may be taking rather longer to digitise for online release than originally hoped (first uploads were expected by the end of December), but the project has certainly not stalled.

I've been following progress on the dedicated project website and found this week's update absolutely fascinating, so I pass it on for your interest:  Exploring and flattening parchments!  

The Great Parchment Book, aka the Great Derry Parchment, was a survey of all the lands seized by the Crown and includes names, placenames and details of rentals and contracts. It will provide an outstanding resource for researchers of the Plantation of Ulster. All 165 parchment pages were badly damaged in a fire at the London Guildhall back in 1786 but they have now been carefully conserved.