The HourglassThe Newsletter of Flintshire Record Office

Autumn 2015

Flintshire RecordOffice has recentlybeen awardedAccredited ArchiveService Status byThe NationalArchives. FlintshireRecord Office staffworked very hardto put togethertheir Accreditationapplication and

were thrilled to have been awarded the status. Staffwere very proud to receive the Accreditation award fromKen Skates, AM, the Deputy Minister for Culture, Sportand Tourism, who later congratulated us on Twitter! Archive Service Accreditation is the new UK-widestandard for archives services. The standard definesgood practice and agreed standards, therebyencouraging and supporting development. It is aimed atorganisations that hold archive collections, whatevertheir constitution, and covers both private and publicsector archives.Accredited archive services provide a high level ofservice to their users, preserve their collections in linewith national standards and are robust, sustainableservices which plan and deliver ongoing improvement. Record Office is amongst the first offices in Wales to beawarded this status.

Flintshire Record Office, The Old Rectory, Hawarden, CH5 3NRTel: 01244 532364; Fax: 01244 538344; e-mail: archives@flintshire.gov.ukwebsite: www.flintshire.gov.uk/archives

Flintshire Record Officegains Accredited Status

Flintshire Record Office took part inthe national ‘Open Doors’ schemeorganised by Cadw, the WelshGovernment’s historic environmentservice, in September. Open Doorsoffers both local people and visitorsalike the chance to explore the

hidden treasures of Wales’s culture and history. Weallowed visitors ‘behind the scenes’ of the Old Rectory,to view the strongrooms where the archives of thehistoric County of Flintshire are kept. Those who werelucky enough to snap up a place were also treated to atour of historic Hawarden village with a very well-informed and knowledgable tour guide – our very ownSue Copp, Archive Assistant! We hope to repeat theexperience next year, as it was very popular andenjoyed by all.

Historic Village Trail a great success

Ken Skates, AM (3rd from left) with staffof Flintshire Record Office

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AN 4902 –Letters and photographs of John Jones ofPenyffordd (Ffynnongroew), First WorldWar soldier, 1916-c.2014.

AN 4912 –Photographs of Shotton Steelworks, byJack Bellis, Steelworks’ photographer inthe 1980s

AN 4922 –Mold Railway Branch Line plans, 1846-1901.

AN 4929 –History of the Williams family of Llannefydd& Holywell, by Mr A. Williams, 1990s.

Recent Accessions

‘Erddig on Tour’ atFlintshire Record Office

If you would like a copyof this publication in yourown language or in analternative format suchas large print, braille oron tape, please contactthe Editor.

If you have anycomments or suggestions for The Hourglass,please contactThe Editor, tel. 01244 532364or e-mail: archives@flintshire.gov.uk

…that there are over 200 periodical titles in theRecord Office library? From monthly Parishmagazines to yearly academic journals, theycover an impressive time span; our earliest copyof The Gentleman’s Magazine is dated 1809

and the latest issue of The Local Historian arrivedlast month. See the full, comprehensive listing onour website and if there is anything that interestsyou, look for it next time you visit the Record Office.Six titles are housed in the public Searchroom andstaff will produce others on request.

Did you know…

New books in theRecord Office LibraryWe also have some interesting recentadditions to our searchroom library:Come on the Fighting Fifth!Remembering 10th August 1915 by Charles W.Evans-Gunther - the story of the part played byFlintshire men during the Gallipoli Campaign whenthe 5th Battalion (Flintshire) Royal Welsh Fusilierswas led into battle by Lieutenant-Colonel BasilEdwin Philips of Rhual Hall.A History of Broughton, Bretton and the Warren byRhona Phoenix - change and development in thetwo villages from pre-Roman times to the presentday.

Flintshire Record Office holds an extensive collectionof estate records relating to Erddig, Wrexham (Ref:D/E). A team from Erddig will be visiting the RecordOffice on Saturday 14th November 2015, to give aFREE fascinating talk based on original records from thecollection. Ellen Penketh was a cook at Erddig, who waslater suspected of being a thief. Rachael Wellings, fromErddig, says: ‘The story of Ellen Penketh is an interestingone to say the least! After coming to work at Erddig atthe age of 32, the Lancastrian girl seemed perfect for thejob; hardworking, keen, pleasant.’ So what went wrong?This talk gives you the chance to make up your ownmind on Ellen Penketh; was she really a thief, desperatefor cash? Or was she wrongly blamed for a crime shedidn’t commit?’

How did this housekeeper/cook fall from being trustedstaff to assumed thief? As the Erddig team delve into themysteries of this story, you can see how she went fromsettling into life below stairs, to settling into life behindbars, and how it became one of the biggest scandals ofEdwardian Wrexham!

This is a FREE event, thanks to a grant from the WelshGovernment as part of the ‘Explore Your Archive’ nationalcampaign which runs across the UK on 14th-22ndNovember 2015.

BOOKINGS REQUIRED – Tel. 01244 532364, e-mail:archives@flintshire.gov.uk

Ellen Penketh, cook at Erddig, image courtesy of National Trust.