Collection · Research
Research and archive
The society’s archive covers Tarrow and the Merrin valley from the 1860s to now. Volunteers can search it for you, or you can book a seat in the reading room and search it yourself.
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The reading room
The reading room is in the Counting House, the ropewalk’s old office by the gate.
Thursday and Friday, 10 am to 1 pm, by appointment.
6. Please book so we can have your material ready.
Members can book up to 4 weeks ahead; everyone else up to 2 weeks ahead.
One 12 cm step at the door; we put a ramp out if you ask when you book.
A pencil (no pens near the documents) and a phone or camera. Photography for your own research is free.
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What’s in the archive
11,400, including 3,100 glass-plate negatives by Ada Venn (1898 to 1931)
97 volumes, 1871 to 1968. Who owned or rented each property, and its value
Bound volumes 1879 to 1974 (96 volumes). Name index for 1879 to 1920
Letters, diaries, certificates and accounts from 212 families
41 wage books and ledgers, 1868 to 1971
380, from the 1889 river chart to 1970s building plans
146 recorded interviews, most with written summaries
The Courier index, the ropewalk wage books and the oral-history summaries are searchable by volunteers. The rest is searched by hand, which is slower and sometimes more interesting.
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Family-history enquiries
Send us a question and a volunteer will search the archive for you.
Members get the first hour free.
After that it’s $30 an hour, charged in half-hour steps. We’ll tell you before we go over the free time, and give you an estimate.
Most enquiries take one to two hours. We aim to reply within 10 working days.
The more you tell us, the less time it takes. Names, rough dates and street names help most.
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Image reproduction
You can order a high-resolution scan of any photograph or object image in the collection.
$15 per image
$15 per image plus a use fee from $40
Ask us
Scans are sent by email as a download link, usually within 10 working days. Please credit “Tarrow & District Historical Society” whenever you publish one.
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Ask a research question or book the reading room
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