Guide to archives

In the belief that archives are the bedrock of historical studies, HAT promotes, encourages, helps to finance and generally supports the preservation, conservation and organisation of materials of all kinds – documents, photographs, recordings, film and video and digital files.

HAT is committed to supporting the preservation and celebration of valuable local archives through our grants system, events and other related activities. In 2024 HAT undertook a survey of all community archives holdings that could be located in Hampshire. Those responding were invited to a webinar which outlined to key results of the survey and has much useful advice to those undertaking archival projects.

Key findings

The survey highlighted the need to provide a single source of advice to groups to help them in the search for the best approach to their cataloguing, digitisation and access challenges. We hope that the following information will provide guidance. A further benefit of the survey was that it provided details of no less than 250 archive sources in Hampshire. To enable researchers to identify appropriate sources access details are provided in Discover local archives. We thank all those who contributed to the survey.

Archiving resources

In addition to the three Regional archives offices Hampshire Record Office , Southampton Archives and Portsmouth History Centre, you can explore the over two hundred Hampshire based community archives listed on this site. If you can’t see a particular archive listed, please add it to the directory. We have also produced a number of tools to help you with curating your own archive, as as well as a number of case studies so you can see how others have approached it.

Archives toolkit

comparison

Hampshire Archives Trust survey toolkit – software comparison table

Hampshire Archives Trust survey toolkit - software comparison table...
review

Review of cataloguing software

This document provides an overview of a selection of free or relatively low-cost cataloguing software that would be suitable for organisations with heritage collections in Hampshire....
Moule papers

Moule papers kept in Hampshire with a grant from HAT

The sale of the papers of the Revd Henry Moule former vicar of Damerham were sold at auction on 14 November 2024 and with the emergency grant of £320 from...

Archiving case studies

Screenshot 2025-07-18 at 15.08.19

The Royal Logistic Corps Museum

The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) Museum has existed since 1993 when it was created alongside the formation of the Royal Logistic Corps on the 5th April 1993. This was the...
Moule papers

Moule papers kept in Hampshire with a grant from HAT

The sale of the papers of the Revd Henry Moule former vicar of Damerham were sold at auction on 14 November 2024 and with the emergency grant of £320 from...

titchfield abbey

Records of Titchfield Abbey

The Titchfield Abbey Records Project continues to transcribe the earliest records for Titchfield – those for Titchfield Abbey which was established in 1232 and disbanded with the Dissolution in 1537....