Record Office

The New, an office building in London for the custody of state papers. It is a fireproof structure in the Tudor style. It is situated in Fetter Lane near Chancery Lane, in the very thick of London, three miles from the Houses of Parliament. There are 228 rooms arranged like the cells of a penitentiary. Each compartment is 24 feet long and eleven feet wide. The rows of rooms are separated by passages paved with brick. The entire building is fireproof; the floors, frames, and ceilings are of iron. The doors are of slate. Public records of value were gathered here from the Tower and from the Chapter House of Westminster Abbey and elsewhere in 1866. Among the priceless documents are William the Conqueror's Doomsday Book, in two parchment volumes, the resignation of the Scottish throne by David Bruce, a treaty of peace between Henry VIII and Francis I, numerous deeds of monasteries in England and Wales exacted by Henry VIII, as well as charters, first copies of laws, and many other state papers. Although the building is open to the public from ten to four o'clock, it is visited rarely except by those who have business or who are interested in historical documents. Scholars may inspect the papers without fee. Authorized clerks will furnish fair copies at eighteen cents per page of seventy-two words.