The Friends of Historic Essex is a charity which has been supporting the Essex Record Office (ERO) and research into Essex history since 1954. The ERO looks after unique documents, maps, images and sound and video recordings which together tell the story of nearly 1,000 years of our county’s past.

The Friends of Historic Essex raise funds to:

• Purchase documents for permanent preservation at the Essex Record Office, so they can be made available to researchers both now and in the future
• Conserve documents at the Essex Record Office, to give them the best chance of long term survival
• Support projects at the Essex Record Office that provide opportunities for people to discover, use and enjoy their collections
• Publish books and copies of historic maps
• Purchase materials for education activities
• Support researchers working on Essex history

Find out how you can support us here.

Read our Constitution

Registered Charity No.235270

A document purchased by the Friends for ERO (FHE Chairman Dr Chris Thornton with ERO Archivist Chris Lambert)

Diary belonging to Arthur Travers Saulez, with the pencil still marking the spot where he made his last diary entry before being killed in April 1917. The diary was among family papers purchased by the Friends for ERO in 1915.

FHE outing to Paycocke’s House at Coggeshall