Catalogue description Chancery: Keepers of Records in the Tower and the Rolls Chapel: Account Books and Registers

The registers in this series document the use of the records kept at the Tower of London and the Rolls Chapel for research and official and legal enquiries.

Record searches were subject to fees, which supplemented the salaries of the custodians of the records. The registers contain a note of the subject of searches, often of documents looked at or copied, and fees paid.

In addition to the retrospective searches and copies, the books record the delivery of records into the office for permanent safekeeping; the delivery and return of records required for official purposes; and the enrolment of specifications of patents and decrees of the court of Chancery.

Accounts for fees show that the clerks also made translations, and advised on the contents and interpretation of the records. The registers may also reflect the personal or incidental interests of the clerk: Henry Rooke, for example, tends to make occasional notes on public events, such as the opening of Parliament.

For discussion, see E M Hallam, 'The Tower of London as a Record Office', Archives, xiv (1979).