FUTUREPROOFING THE PARLIAMENTARY ARCHIVES

The Victoria Tower was built in 1860 by Sir Charles Barry to house the historic records of the houses of parliament. Located at the south-west end of the Palace of Westminster and standing slightly taller than the Elizabeth Tower, more commonly known as ‘Big Ben’, the Victoria Tower has served its purpose as a records repository ever since, but has, over time, posed considerable issues and risks for the long-term storage and care of parliamentary records. As the collections have grown over the years, so too have substantial constraints on access to them and on staff working in the tower, as well as on members of the public using archives services. As the senior responsible owner of the Archives Relocation Programme, my aim through this essay is to provide an overview of the decision to relocate the Parliamentary Archives and some associated services to The National Archives at Kew, and highlight the progress made and milestones achieved. I will also share my reflections on the future safeguarding of the UK parliament’s history and heritage.