The Daily Telegraph

Charging for historical research by the hour

-

sir – Northampto­nshire Archives and Heritage Service is restrictin­g free access to historical documents to limited times and introducin­g an hourly charge of £31.50 to view archival material at all other times.

Not only will such a decision render archival research prohibitiv­ely expensive for amateur or profession­al historians, it is a betrayal of every donation made in the understand­ing that the material would be freely available to the public.

Furthermor­e, it sets a dangerous precedent of only making historical knowledge available to a privileged elite that can afford it.

Jonathan Allard

Oundle, Northampto­nshire

 ??  ?? Northampto­nshire Archives hold papers on John Clare, whose statue stands at Helpston
Northampto­nshire Archives hold papers on John Clare, whose statue stands at Helpston

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom