The Great Parchment Book

The Great Parchment Book of the Honourable The Irish Society is a major survey, compiled in 1639 by a Commission instituted under the Great Seal by Charles I, of all those estates in Derry managed by the City of London through the Irish Society and the City of London livery companies. It represents a hugely important source for the City of London’s role in the Protestant colonisation and administration of Ulster. Damaged as the result of a fire at Guildhall in 1786, it has been unavailable to researchers for over 200 years. However, the manuscript has remained part of the City of London’s collections held at London Metropolitan Archives (LMA reference CLA/049/EM/02/018.) As part of the 2013 commemorations in Derry of the 400th anniversary of the building of the city walls, it was decided to attempt to make the Great Parchment Book available as a central point of an exhibition in Derry’s Guildhall. Discover how this collaborative project came together and visit to see the amazing results. London Metropolitan Archives is a public research centre which specialises in the history of London. If you haven’t visited an archive before, it’s a little bit like a library but with one key difference; the majority of items in an archive are unique, handwritten documents which cannot be seen anywhere else. We care for and provide access to the historical archives of businesses, schools, hospitals, charities and all manner of other organisations from the London area. With 100 km of books, maps, photographs, films and documents dating back to 1067 in our strong rooms, we’re proud to provide access to one of the finest city archives in the world - you could call it the memory of London. This channel provides highlights from our film and video collections and films which we have created. Find out more at and explore our film clips, photographs, maps and prints of London at