How to see the HIPS Collection.
Most of the museum’s documents are now held at Essex Records Office in Chelmsford. Here’s a guide on how to view these documents.
Anyone is welcome to visit to look at the HIPS records that are held at ERO.
Information about the opening hours, location, nearby car parks and signing up for an Archives Card (which is like a library card, you need this to go into the ERO) can be found on the ERO website www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk. You need to check what you need to take with you to ERO before your visit and follow their strict protocols, for example, no pens, coat, food or drinks are permitted in the search room, there are lockers available.
Using the ERO online search, decide which item(s) you wish to view
https://www.essexarchivesonline.co.uk
Proceed as follows:
- On the main screen, you can either search for Herongate Preservation or type the reference A14065 into the Document Reference field at the top right. Having found the accession description, you will then be able to see which box (listed by numbers) contains the item wanted. For example, item number 340 can be found with the reference A14065 Box 6. There are a total of 73 boxes.
- Once you have an Archives Card, then you can visit ERO and order the relevant box or boxes, up to a maximum of five, following the on-screen instructions. Staff on duty in the search room will be able to assist with this. Document production takes on average 15-20 minutes and continues throughout each day until 45 minutes before we close.
If you make more than one visit, once you have an Archives Card, you can order up to five items in advance by logging on using your card number and your postcode and again following the on-screen instructions.
To find a detailed description of documents deposited, the best way to proceed is to make a note of the item numbers from the spreadsheet and then order any parts required. As you will see, items (some are unnumbered) have a brief description which should allow you to decide if it is something of interest or not, items can then be ordered in the normal way.