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Buckinghamshire Archives

@bucksarchives.bsky.social

5.8K followers 890 following 570 posts

Your favourite archive's favourite archive. We're the archives and local studies library for the historic county of Buckinghamshire, and the home of Buckinghamshire History Festival. Website: buckinghamshire.gov.uk/culture-and-tourism/archives/

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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 58m

We're not sure if it'd be allowed today! We hope it is as it adds so much character to these documents.

Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 1h

Here's an illustration from the Drayton Parslow Parish Register in 1780 - a skull and bones with a floral motif. A morbid doodle or a helpful way to mark a section of burials?

A black skull and crossed bones next to a floral motif, drawn in the Drayton Parslow Parish Register, 1780. Handwritten entries are above and below it showing burials, including several infants.

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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 5h

We're excited to have award winning novelist Carolyn Kirby for the History Festival! Join her at Wycombe Library for this talk on how she researched her book 'When We Fall', an inspirational novel exploring the lives of female pilots during WWII

For more info, head to histfestbucks.co.uk

The cover of 'When We Fall' next to the History Festival branding. The following text is underneath:

'Women With Wings - The Journey of Writing 'When We Fall'

High Wycombe Library

8/11/25, 13:00 - 14:00'.

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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 1d

It's thankfully got a very good safety barrier or it would be particularly vicious!

Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 1d

(Royalists do not interact)

Check out the size of this guillotine

An absolutely massive paper guillotine on a table in the archive.

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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 1d

Here's the first of three fantastic tours from @cwgc.bsky.social ! This tour takes place in Buckingham Cemetery, and explores some of the inspiring stories of the service personnel interred there from the First and Second World Wars.

To book your free space head to histfestbucks.co.uk

An image of a gravestone at Buckingham Cemetery, next to the Buckinghamshire History Festival branding.

The following text is beside it.

'Buckingham Cemetery Tour

commonwealth War Graves Commission

7/11/25, 10:30 - 11:30'.

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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 1d

We've got lots! Employee record cards, plans, and plenty of photographs. If you drop us an email at [email protected] we can run you through the full extent of it.

Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 2d

We'll hopefully have a few bits about local rail history! The space is very limited so sadly we can't bring everything we'd like.

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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 2d

We'll be in The Space in Friars Square, Aylesbury for two Archive Drop-In sessions as part of the History Festival! These are great chances to have a chat with the team about what we do, and to handle some of our very special documents!

For more info, head to histfestbucks.co.uk

Documents on shelves in the archives, next to the Buckinghamshire History Festival branding. The following text is underneath:

Archive Drop-In at The Space

Friars Square Shopping Centre

3/11/25, 13:30 -15:30
28/11/25, 13:30 - 15:30

Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 2d

For #MKMonday, here’s the Simpson Youth Club beside Bowler’s Bridge in the 1970s!

A black and white photo of a group of boys standing beside a bridge. Most of them have the exact same floppy haircut and are wearing jumpers.

Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 3d

For next month's History Festival there's a great guided tour from Amersham Museum! It will explore the town's early history and the stories of the people who shaped it.

To book your tickets, go amershammuseum.org/event/walk-early-development-of-amersham-old-town-18/

histfestbucks.co.uk

An image of Amersham old town, with a man herding sheep along the street. Next to it is the History Festival branding and the following text:

Guided Walk - The Early Development of Amersham Old Town

Amersham Museum

2/11/25, 14:30 - 16:00

Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 3d

Our friends over at Quainton Windmill will be returning for this year's Buckinghamshire History Festival! This November you'll have five opportunities to see this historic restored mill in action - weather permitting!

For more details, head to histfestbucks.co.uk

An image of Quainton Windmill next to the Buckinghamshire History Festival branding. The following text is display beneath:

Historic Corn Milling Day
Quainton Windmill

2/11/25, 10:00 - 12:30
9/11/25, 10:00 - 12:30
16/11/25, 10:00 - 12:30
23/11/25, 10:00 - 12:30
30/11/25, 10:00 - 12:30

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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 5d

We're very excited to have @waddesdonmanor.bsky.social as part of Buckinghamshire History Festival!

Last year during a cataloguing project they uncovered a wealth of letters from famous historic figures, and these are now on display!

For more info, head to histfestbucks.co.uk

A portrait of Queen Elizabeth I next to the Buckinghamshire History Festival branding. The following text is on the image:

Buckinghamshire History Festival, 2025

Significant Signatures: Autograph Letters from the Waddesdon Archive

Waddesdon Manor

1/11/25, 11:00-16:00
2/11/25, 11:00-16:00

Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 6d

These tours are almost always fully booked, so make sure you secure your spot before it's gone!

Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 6d

Here's the first of our events for this year's History Festival!

Stories from the Archives is a guided tour through some of the highlights of our collection, allowing you to take a look behind the scenes at the work that we do.

For more info and to book your free space, head to histfestbucks.co.uk

Archive boxes in a strongroom next to the black and red History Festival branding. There is a list of dates and times the tours are running.

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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 7d

For all our wonderful international followers, we've got a few (free!) online events this year!

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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 7d

Next month is Buckinghamshire History Festival! Buckinghamshire Archives and our wonderful partners will be hosting a series of events around the county, celebrating Buckinghamshire’s brilliant heritage.

For more details, head to histfestbucks.co.uk

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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 7d

Here's a curiosity on a first edition Ordnance Survey map of Hartwell: a rifle range going out 800 yards through fields!

A section of an OS map showing Hartwell House with the surrounding fields and waterways. A line marked ‘rifle range’ runs diagonally across the image with the length of different sections given in yards.

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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 8d

He's got a real Brendan Fraser look about him!

Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 8d

A lot of people ask us how we got into archive work but basically we just started watching Horrible Histories and ended up here

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Reposted by Buckinghamshire Archives

Paralympic Heritage @paraheritage.bsky.social · 8d

Want to help us on our mission to protect and preserve our incredible Paralympic heritage?

Follow us, share our posts, and donate if you can at: www.paralympicheritage.org.uk/donate

🏛️🎓♿

@sportingheritage.bsky.social #NSHD #CollectionsAtRisk

A black and white image of one of our trainees listing the contents of one of our archive boxes.
Gold text over the top reads:
'Help us to preserve and protect Paralympic history.
Donate today at www.paralympicheritage.org.uk/donate

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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 8d

Last week we welcomed the High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire to our archive! We were very honoured to have them visit to discuss our volunteering work and to see some of our oldest documents, linking her role with the High Sheriffs of the past.

A photograph of the High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire with the County Archivist, standing by a table in one of the archive strongrooms.

Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 9d

As this is a remote project, you are more than welcome to wear a lab coat at home as a little treat

Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 9d

We're increasing the capacity of our current geotagging project to take on new volunteers!

Help us to refine our collection by adding geographic data to historic photos, completed entirely remotely at your own pace.

Interested? Get in touch with us at [email protected]

A black and white photo of a computer lab with the following text added:

'Remote Volunteering

New opportunities now available in our geotagging project'.

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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 9d

Here's a very rural photo for #MKMonday of some men thatching a roof! We think this was taken at Stacey Hill farm but we're not completely certain. Wherever it was taken, we appreciate the commitment to doing manual labour in flares.

A black and white photo of several people thatching a roof. One of them is wearing flares and looks like he's having a miserable time.

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