Archives

Extract from the will of Richard Chayne, 1537 (reproduced by permission of the Berkshire Record Office, cat ref: D/A1/51/189)
Will of Richard Chayne, 1537 (reproduced by permission of the Berkshire Record Office, cat ref: D/A1/51/189)

The Radley History Club archives contain over 5,000 items held in various sub-archives of different types of material – documents, maps, photographs, books, journals, audiovisual and wills. Click on the link to a particular sub-archive for the extent of its coverage, highlights and extent of digitisation.

The online archive catalogue has three main elements:

  • Topic pages: details of the various maps, books, documents, maps, photographs and audiovisual items listed according to the most appropriate of 17 topics (e.g. Buildings, Church, Farms and Land, People, Places, Primary School, Railway). Click here for details of the topics and their coverage.
  • Will transcriptions: The Club is fortunate in having an extensive collection of transcriptions into understandable English of the wills of various Radley people who lived between the mid 16th century and the second half of the 19th century. The archive catalogue lists the transcriptions by surname and by date.
  • Journals collection: this consists of selected issues of a variety of local and national series, the longest being copies of the current parish magazine, Radley News, and its predecessors. The archive catalogue contains lists of the issues held of each title.

Consulting the RHC archives

Please contact the archivist to discuss whether we can help you or with details of which item(s) you are interested in.

At the archivist’s discretion, you may be invited to make a donation to the Club in acknowledgment of the help given and any materials provided.

  • Books may be borrowed by Club members for their own research at the discretion of the archivist.
  • Other items can be consulted by Club members for their own research on application to the archivist.
  • Where the Club holds material electronically and there are no copyright or data protection issues, it may be possible to provide a copy of the file or, for audiovisual items, a web link. This is at the discretion of the archivist and should be discussed with him.

Visit the archive catalogue

Read the Club’s privacy policy

See below for just a few examples from the Club’s archive collection.

B&W photograph of St James the Great Church, Radley, taken in the 1880s
Radley Church in the 1880s
B&W photograph of former thatched cottage at the junction of Church Road and Whites Lane, opposite the Church of St James the Great
Former thatched cottage at the junction of Church Road and Whites Lane, Radley, opposite the Church
B&W photograph of the pupils at Radley Primary School in 1901
Radley Primary School pupils, 1901
B&W photograph of Charles Ambridge (stationmaster, on the right) and his staff pictured in the 1890s on the platform at Radley Station with a steam train behind them
Charles Ambridge (stationmaster) and staff pictured at Radley Station in the 1890s
B&W photograph of a Lower Radley scence in 1937 featuring a horse and cart on a track, with a man standing on the cart and a young lady standing next to the cart; a barn and thatched cottage can be seen in the background (a lady is standing on front of the barn looking at the group on the track ahead of her)
Lower Radley scene, 1937
B&W photograph of Peter and Mary Minns of Lower Radley in their best clothes pictured sitting in a field in about 1902 (Mrs Minns is holding a bouquet of flowers, so perhaps a special occasion such as a wedding anniversary)
Peter and Mary Minns of Lower Radley, c.1902
Map of the fields in north Radley marked in colour to show their ownership by various members of the Dockar Drysdsle family in 1944
Map showing land in north Radley owned by members of the Dockar Drysdale family in 1968