Search site
Royal Court header image 1 Royal Court header image 2 Royal Court header image 3 Royal Court header image 4

Acquisitions and Archives

Acquisitions and Archives
The Greffe maintains all judicial and legislative records.  The current official and deposited holdings include some 2,700 manuscript volumes, more than 100,000 single documents and 16,900 maps.  The records occupy some 800 metres of shelf space.

The archives in the Strongroom include the following:

  • The Royal Charters of Guernsey granted to the Bailiwick between the 1300s and 1600s
  • Judicial records of the Royal Court of Guernsey from 1526 onwards
  • Legislative records from 1553 onwards
  • Royal Court letter books from 1737 onwards
  • Records of land conveyances from 1567 onwards
  • Records of the Assembly of the States of Guernsey from 1605 onwards
  • Registers of births, marriages and deaths from 1840 onwards
  • Wills of realty from 1840 onwards
  • Will of personalty

The Strongroom also houses a number of major collections, including:

  • Documents issued by the Royal Court from circa 1350
  • Feudal Court registers, including the Cour St Michel from 1537
  • Private collections deposited by local families, including the de Saumarez papers
  • Transcripts of documents from elsewhere, such as the Mont St Michel collection
  • Transcripts of minute books and other documents of the Calvinist regime in Guernsey
  • Wills of personalty deposited by the Ecclesiastical Court

Research Aids
Staff in the Strongroom will be happy to assist with your research.  Transcript calendars of most single documents and of maps and plans are available, as are detailed indices to all major registries.

Facilities
Digital copies of the following groups of records are available at computer terminals in the Strongroom:

  • Conveyances
  • Litigation

Major classes of records, such as registers of conveyances, births, deaths and marriages are also available for inspection.

Photocopies of records may be taken provided this can be done without damaging the document concerned.  Permission is required from the Strongroom staff to take photocopies.  Please note that a charge is levied for all photocopies.

Access and Enquiries
The Strongroom is open to members of the public for historical and genealogical research, property enquiries etc, between 2pm and 4pm on Mondays to Fridays, by appointment only.  Staff in the Strongroom will be happy to assist with such research and introduce you to the registers that you might wish to consult. please contact strongroomroyalcourt@gov.gg

Other assistance for researchers can be arranged by the Registry team at the Office of HM Greffier at registrar@guernseyroyalcourt.gg, or by telephone on 01481 225277.