Just over a year ago, we began a journey ‘Around the World’ looking at the range of documents in the collections of the Norfolk Record Office. Inspired, of course, by the book and tv show ‘Around the World in 80 Days’, we wanted to showcase the documents held in the strongroom with links to more far-flung destinations.
We set off on a journey to explore the globe, and with the help of staff and members of the public, compiled a gallery of documents. Over five sessions we looked at 80 documents representing Australia and Antarctica, Asia and the Arctic, North America, Europe, and Africa. The 80 documents were a combination of suggestions received via social media and staff choices, and were divided into sections e.g. Through the Post, Drawings and Plans, Travel Diaries. During each online session, the documents were discussed, and each section voted on and the top suggestions selected for our online exhibition.
You can see the documents that were voted as favourites in each section, from each session, in our online exhibition. We have highlighted a couple here for you.
From the Australia and Antarctica session, this document provoked lots of discussion. Can you spot the difference?
This photograph is from about 1950 and shows one of the Boulton and Paul buildings in Antarctica.
Demonstrating some early ‘photoshop’ techniques, the image has been tidied up, particularly around the front of the hut, with some of the items having been removed, for advertising purposes.
You can find out more about the history of Boulton and Paul and Conserving Norwich’s Antarctic Heritage
From the Asia and Arctic session, this is a watercolour from a collection of papers and correspondence of the Arctic voyages of Samuel Gurney Cresswell.
The album covers 1834-1858 and contains 59 mounted drawing and one engraved print. Thirty of the drawings, plus the print, were published as monochrome illustrations in ‘War, Ice and Piracy. The remarkable Career of a Victorian Sailor. The Journals and Letters of Samuel Gurney Cresswell’, ed. Dominick Harrod (London, 2000).
From the Europe session, we looked at these letters patent of Elizabeth I: Grant of a Grammar school in Redgrave, Suffolk, to be called the Free Grammas School of Sir Nicholas Bacon, 28 Jul 1561.
Don’t forget to have a look at all the documents chosen during the session on the online exhibition found on our blog page.
Norfolk Record Office 
You’ve referred to some photos in the post linked. The photos aren’t on the blog, or aren’t visible to readers. Could you please tell me where to go to view this information in more detail? Thanks. Jill Marley in Australia
Australia – Convicts
NRO, NEV 9/18, 590×2
This photograph is from a collection of papers of Edward Henderson who as appointed Freemantle’s first Comptroller-General of Convicts. He travelled to Western Australia with the first convicts on board the Scindian, arriving on 1 June 1850. He found the colony completely unprepared for the convicts, lacking even a jail large enough to house them. Henderson secured lodging for the convicts at a warehouse He is described as “a kindly and just man, moderate and understanding, opposed to the harsher forms of discipline. He thought that flogging as a punishment did more harm than good, and might be abolished except in rare cases, and that putting men in chains was useless and aggravating.”
Australia – Emigration
NRO, PD 684/86
This document is from the Parish Records of Great Duham, kept by the Overseers of the Poor.
These papers concern the emigration of paupers to Canada and also includes a list of those that applied to emigrate.
Australian Life
NRO, ETN 4/2/38
This panorama of Sydney Harbour is from the papers created and collected by George Clayton Eaton from Frederick Cubitt.
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Hi Jill, thanks for your comment. I linked to the online exhibition twice in the post, did you try these links? I’ll copy the link here for you – https://norfolkrecordofficeblog.org/around-the-world-in-80-documents/ To see the other photos in the Australia and Antarctica section, hover over the image and you should see an arrow on the left and right, click this to view the other images. I hope this helps.
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Found the photos, thank you. Jill
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Thank you so much for this most interesting post.
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Thanks very much, Kevin, glad you enjoyed it.
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