ABOUT

About

Maxine Willett at Willett
Hello! I'm Maxine; here I am visiting my family namesake village, Willett in Somerset - perfect for a place-name study.

I first got hooked with historical research whilst tracing my own family tree.  I discovered I am descended from a niece of JMW Turner, the renowned artist, which was most exciting!

During my undergraduate degree course, I worked voluntarily - transcribing census returns, answering genealogical enquiries, arranging hospital records and the glass-plate photographic slides of Edward Muybridge. I was also most fortunate to work with Jill Craigie, the wife of Michael Foot, MP and help arrange and list her extensive collection of suffragist memorabilia.

I left Kingston University in July 1999 with a BA (Hons) History 2.1 and then studied for a Masters in Archives and Records Management at University College London. On graduating in 2000, and becoming a Registered member of the Archives and Records Association, my experience has developed thus :
  • Jun 2000 to May 2001, Project Archivist at The British Library cataloguing the family papers of the Earls Spencer of Althorp.
  • May 2001 to Sep 2004, Assistant Archivist at The Women’s Library, now housed at LSE. I worked on collections relating to women’s history, such as the suffrage movement, professions (medicine, law, education) and child care provision.
  • Sep 2004 to Jul 2015, Collections Manager with the Mountain Heritage Trust. Whilst here I was responsible for a collection of mountaineering and climbing related archives and artefacts, as well as recording the location of other relevant items around the UK and had the privilege to work on significant collections, such as the Papers of Sir Chris Bonington.
  • Apr 2009 to Mar 2015, Archive Angel freelance work; projects included registering mineral rights on behalf of Lord Lonsdale and the Lowther Estate and the arrangement of Edinburgh Playhouse Society theatre records and their safe deposit at the National Library of Scotland.
  • Aug 2015 – May 2017, Project Archivist at North Yorkshire County Record Office working on the estate papers of the Graham family of Norton Conyers, Ripon, which date to the C15th. Charlotte Brontë stayed here and used the house as a model for Thornfield Hall in Jane Eyre.
  • Jul 2017 – Mar 2018, Project Manager for Ripon Re-Viewed, a digitisation project to preserve and make accessible some 8000 historic photographs on behalf of the Ripon Civic Society. 
  • Sep - Oct 2017, freelance archivist working on the Squire family papers of Holtby Hall dating back to the C16th comprising deeds, letters, wills and journals documenting the life of this intriguing family.
  • Jan 2018 - Dec 2019, undertaking projects for a variety of clients researching specific topics, genealogy, house histories and family history, as well as archiving the papers of an architectural historian and providing talks.
  • Nov 2018 - accepted as an Associate Member of the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives
  • Mar 2019 - celebrated 10 years as a freelancer
  • Jan-Dec 2020 - continued undertaking archival consultancy, genealogy, family/house history, heir tracing and other fascinating research projects
  • Jan 2021 - accepted as a full Member of the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives
  • Mar 2024 - celebrated 15 years as a freelancer and enjoy a wide variety of commissions and research projects.


What my clients say


Testimonials received from past, and recurring clients can be found here.


Get in touch


Contact me at info@archiveangel.co.uk  or 07855 827145 for a free, no obligation, 20 minute consultation to see how I can help you with your research.

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