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Archive Collections at HHC: Local Authority

Guide to material held at Hull History Centre arranged by research theme, record creator and document type, with copies of published source guides.

“At last the people in a body, To the town hall came flocking: ‘Tis clear,’ cried they, ‘our Mayor’s a noddy; And as for our Corporation - shocking”

Robert Browning, The Pied Piper of Hamelin 

Local Authority

Research Themes Supported

Hull History Centre holds the archival collections of the Local Authority in Hull. Such collections can aid research into many areas including:

  • Justices of the Peace
  • Borough and Corporation
  • Town and City Council
  • Committees and Departments
  • Offices and Office Holders
  • Apprentices and Freemen
  • Licensing
  • Guilds
  • Customs and Excise
  • Charities and Almshouses
  • Orphanages and Homes
  • Hospitals and Asylums
  • Poor Law and the Board of Guardians
  • Education and Schools
  • Crime and Sentencing
  • Building and Town Planning
  • Parks, Swimming Baths and Public Spaces

Typical Record Formats

Local Authority records commonly include minutes, reports, correspondence, plans, subject files, photographs, court papers, and registers for authority-run institutions.


Key collections

The following collections have significant research potential in the area of local authority records:

  • Hull Town and City Council Minutes (C TCM)
  • Town & Corporation of Hull Bench Books (C BRB)
  • Town & Corporation of Hull Apprentice & Freemen Registers (C BRG)

Further collections

The following PDF contains a list of HHC collections that may be useful to researchers interested in local authority.

Additional supporting material

The following material may also be useful when researching this area:

  • Local newspapers, which often contain notices and reports of authority-initiated schemes, local elections, events in civic buildings and public spaces, and interviews with office holders.
  • Landed family and estate collections, which often contain papers created by local magistrates in the course of their local authority duties.