Could colleagues share any criteria for retention and/or weeding of general district or borough rate books? Here at Canterbury, we last considered this in 2001 and came up with the criteria below:

 

• Rate books should all be kept until 1921.
• After 1921, they should be sampled, taking each census year (eg 1951, or 1951-1952 if volume covers a financial year) plus every fifth year (eg 1956, or 1956-1957).
• The year 1927 should be kept.
• The years 1939-1945 (WW2) should be kept.
• All volumes for each retention year should be kept.
• All rate books should be kept for the last 10 years.

 

Those conclusions were reached following an email to this mailing list. I wonder whether there has been any further thinking since then.

 

Very many thanks

 

Cressida

 

Cressida Williams

Archives and Library Manager

The Precincts

Canterbury

Kent

CT1 2EH

 

Telephone: +44 (0)1227 86 5330