Memory of the World

The UNESCO Memory of the World Programme is a global initiative to safeguard the world’s documentary heritage against collective amnesia, the ravages of war, decay and deterioration.

In 1993 a United Nations committee met to plan how to preserve significant documentary heritage from across the globe by cataloguing and protecting historical archives for future generations to learn from and enjoy.

The result is the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme, the documentary heritage equivalent of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Its mission is to focus world attention on the need to safeguard endangered and unique library and archive collections and make them accessible to everyone.

Registers

National: The UK Memory of the World Register honours documentary heritage of national and regional significance and includes documents such as the Death Warrant of King Charles I. This invaluable archive is a remarkable and rich insight into a small island’s past and mark on the world. This is Britain’s collective memory.
International: The International Memory of the World Register recognises documentary heritage of global significance and includes documents such as the Magna Carta. It inspires both nations and regions to identify, list and preserve their respective documentary heritage for the collective memory of humankind.

Memory of the World Chapters

The development of people’s political, social and cultural rights in the UK has taken generations of conflict, campaigning and protest. Recognised on the UK UNESCO Memory of the World Register are some of the milestone documents relating to the development of these rights. This includes the Magna Carta issued in 1215 which limited the divine right of kings, through to the Bill of Rights in 1689 which effectively made the UK’s political system what it is today. These rights have been brutally hard-won as inscriptions including the Peterloo Massacre Relief Books and the papers relating to the Women’s Suffrage Movement show.

UNESCO Memory of the World Inscriptions in the UK

George Orwell Archive

The Orwell Papers’ collection contains the personal archive of George Orwell (born Eric Blair, 1903-1950), political thinker, essayist, novelist, journalist and broadcaster.

GPO (General Post Office) Film Unit Collection

The pioneering GPO Film Unit represents the start of what is now widely regarded as the beginnings of the British Documentary Movement and the first self-conscious attempt to create a British…

Haig Papers

The First World War shaped the world throughout the 20th century, and profoundly affected the combatant nations in an unprecedented way.

Hepworth Cinema Interviews

In 1916 Cecil Hepworth, a pioneer of cinematography filmed well known persons “talking” to the camera and in this instance making personal statements about the War such as Lloyd George…

Hereford Mappa Mundi

The Hereford Mappa Mundi is the only complete example of a large medieval world map intended for public display.

Historic Ethnographic Recordings, 1898 – 1951

The Historic Ethnographic Recordings collection contains field recordings of orally transmitted cultures made throughout the world by linguists and musicologists.

Hitchcock’s Silent Films

While Alfred Hitchcock is one of the most famous film directors of all time, his first ten silent films – nine of which survive – are little known compared to his later work.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Screw Propeller Report

The SS Great Britain was launched in Bristol in 1843, construction having begun in 1839. Described as ‘the greatest experiment since creation’ she was the largest ship in the world…

James Watt Papers and the Separate Condenser

The James Watt Papers and specifically his work on the separate condenser contain a unique insight into the inspiration and development one of the most important scientific and technological…

Jersey Occupation Archive

The Channel Islands were the only part of Britain to be occupied by Hitler’s German forces during the Second World War.

John Murray Archive

This collection contains the business, literary and personal papers of the John Murray Publishing house, the eighteenth-century Edinburgh publisher. Find out more

Ledgers of Edward Backwell

The ledgers of the goldsmith-banker Edward Backwell are uniquely significant in documenting the finances of Restoration England and the birth of modern banking.