Thanks to Gary Collins who directed me to the press release from the Lord
Chancellor's Department, which for those of you who are interested, I've
copied below.

36/02

4 February 2002

'WHERE THERE'S A WILL THERE'S A WAY'

Modernising Government - launch of new high-tech storage facility for
documents - Birmingham

Documents, including wills of some of the most famous people in the
UK are to be held, centrally, in a new purpose built storage facility
and document retrieval service in Birmingham. The Probate Records
Centre will be opened today (4 February) by Michael Wills, Minister
for the Courts at the Lord Chancellor's Department and Dame Elizabeth
Butler-Sloss, President of the Family Division.

The contract, signed with Hays Information Management in July 1999,
is worth #16.7million over 25 years, compared with an estimated
#33million for a completely publicly funded centre.

The new centre replaces previous arrangements where Probate documents
were stored in District Registries throughout England and Wales. The
total number of records stored is 276,042 boxes and books, amounting
to 35 kilometres worth of shelving space equivalent to the length of
nearly 1,500 tennis courts.

Members of the public can go to any Registry in England and Wales and
request to read a copy of a will for #5. Previously, a copy would
have been sent in the post, taking several days, but the Probate
Records Centre will scan the will and send it back to the Registry
within one hour of the initial request. Plans are already in place
to investigate the possibility of making the service accessible via
the Internet.

Members of the public, courts and financial institutions often need
to obtain copies of wills for a variety of reasons. Courts and
institutions need to obtain copies for use in civil proceedings and
to release assets to executors administering an estate, whilst
relatives may want to get hold of certain wills to trace distant
relatives and research family trees.

Records held at the centre date back to 1858 and the centre will
ensure the preservation of these documents which include wills of
historical significance, for example, Charles Darwin, Winston
Churchill, Princess Diana, Florence Nightingale, Richard Burton and
John Lennon.

Michael Wills said: "I am delighted that Birmingham is now home to
this centre which includes a scan on demand service that provides
copy documents to the public within one hour of their request.
Customer service is important as the centre deals with documents
which often have a very personal and historical significance to those
concerned and to the general public."

Dame Elizabeth Butler Sloss, President of the Family Division of the
High Court, said: "The storage of Probate Records is a crucial part
of the administration of Probate. There is a statutory requirement
to store records in perpetuity. This splendid new Centre in
Birmingham will make an excellent home for the records and will
provide an accessible and efficient service to the public."

Craig Routledge, Hays Business Sector Director said: "The Probate
Records Centre is an excellent example of a successful
private/Government partnership. Staff from both the Court Service
and Hays have worked together to ensure that the centre provides a
high quality service that the public rightly deserve."

Notes for editors:

1. The Probate Service

The Probate Service forms part of the Family Division of the High
Court. The role of the Service is to issue grants of representation.
These are either a grant of probate where there is a Will and the
executor applies or a grant of letters of administration where a
person has died intestate. The grant allows the estate of the
deceased to be administered. Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss DBE is
President of the Family Division

2. Michael Wills will open the Probate Record Centre, 65 Egerton
Road, Erdington, Birmingham on Monday 4th February 2002. There will
be a photo opportunity at 12.35pm when Michael Wills and Dame
Elizabeth Butler- Sloss DBE will unveil a plaque. Michael Wills will
also look at the will of Charles Darwin. If you would like to send a
reporter to the event, please contact Martha Williams, Lord
Chancellor's Department Press Office on 020 7210 8805

3. Attendees include Gerald Angel, Senior District Judge, PRFD, Ian
Hyams, Director of Supreme Court, Alan Sloan, Director of Finance &
Professional Services, Craig Routledge, Business Sector Director
(Hays BPO) and Stephen Booth, Managing Director (Hays IMS)










Richard Childs <[log in to unmask]>@JISCMAIL.AC.UK> on
08/02/2002 11:57:30

Please respond to Richard Childs <[log in to unmask]>

Sent by: "The UK mailing list for archivists, conservators
      and records managers." <[log in to unmask]>


To: [log in to unmask]
cc:
Subject: New Probate Record Centre, Birmingham


Has anyone tried to obtain information about the new Probate Record Centre
in Birmingham that opened on Monday?
There was a brief note in The Times on Tuesday and then a brief item on
Channel 4 News on Wednesday night, but trying to access any information
from the internet seems difficult. The Principal Registry of the Family
Division's website has what appears to be a press release on it at
http://www.courtservice.gov.uk/wills_probate/menu_prob.htm
However clicking on the item, it refuses to open up.
The item on Channel 4 News showed a new building with the Hays storage logo
on the side. Is this a public/private partnership
arrangement? I'd like to get some more information so that we can answer
any queries we might get from our readers.
Richard Childs
County Archivist
West Sussex Record Office