Corporate Social Responsibility

Business involvement  

The archives have a lot to offer businesses. A day away from the office can provide your team with a lot of opportunities to learn new skills, support their wellbeing, develop and share knowledge about the area, and, most importantly, give back to the community.

By coming to Westminster Archives, businesses can enhance the preservation of historical materials through collaborative efforts in our search room and conservation studio. This would further preserve the important historical material held in the borough, and your company would be part of safeguarding important and relevant local history. 

We want to maintain and develop our Archives Collections 

Our Archives provide access to extensive collections of: 

• local government records from 1460 onwards 
• the records of local businesses, community groups, schools and other organisations 
• personal papers of people who have had an impact on Westminster's history 
• prints, drawings and rare photographs of Westminster, Marylebone and Paddington. 
• maps and plans 
• theatre programmes and playbills 
• census returns 
• rare book collections 
• parish registers and nonconformist records 
• records of landed estates 

We also have specific collections. These include:

• The business archives of Liberty and Co, Jaeger, Lobb's and Watney’s brewery  
• sketchbooks of the furniture makers Gillow 
• an extensive collection of drainage plans and deeds which help document the history of properties across Westminster 
• papers relating to the social reformer, philanthropist and founder of the National Trust, Octavia Hill  

Your participation in maintaining and developing our Archives – a corporate social responsibility 

Corporate Social Responsibility is about companies integrating social and environmental concerns into their business. Many focus on supporting communities and the things that are important to them. Westminster Archives is important for the community, as it is the official home of the stories, people, and places that have shaped Westminster’s identity. Because of its location, many of our records are important nationally and internationally, too. 

What you would do to support Westminster Archives 

We can create a fun and informative day for your staff, immersing them in the working environment of Westminster Archives Centre, dispelling the notion that archives are dusty papers stored in depressing looking buildings. We would:  

• help people to understand the significant role of archives in local history and the value of using them for education activities with communities' groups 
• increase awareness of the importance of  conservation and cataloguing of our collections 
• see how the archives are heavily used as a business tool by, for example, surveyors, property developers, designers and creatives, lawyers and historians

We can provide hands-on sessions with our Conservator to develop conservation skills. Under professional guidance, you can assist with conservation tasks to improve the condition of the collection. That time would enable you to connect with local history and help support the archives in preserving it for researchers and future generations. 

We can also tailor your day to a specific theme or interest if we have relevant collections at the archives. If you think there is a collection of particular interest to your organisation, let us know, and we can review its potential use in the day. 

Cost 

Our charges cover the cost of facilitation for your group.  

The costs are: 

• £435 per organisation taking part in an exclusive, whole-day event 
• £220 per organisation for an exclusive half-day event 
• £50 per person for participation in a session of individuals from different organisations

Contact us 

Email: archives@westminster.gov.uk to express an interest in booking a day or session.  

For more information on the archives, please see our other web pages Westminster Archives. 

Our address is: 10 St Anne’s St, London SW1P 2DE