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The Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts (widely known as the Historical Manuscripts Commission, and abbreviated as the HMC to distinguish it from the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England), was a United Kingdom Royal Commission established in 1869 to survey and report on privately owned and privately held archival records of general historical interest. Its brief was "to make inquiry as to the places in which such Manuscripts and Papers were deposited", and to report on their contents.〔Provisions of the 1869 Royal Warrant, as recited in that of 1959: Ellis 1969, p. viii.〕 It remained in existence until 2003, when it merged with the Public Record Office to form The National Archives. Although it technically survives as a legal entity, its work is now entirely subsumed into that of The National Archives. ==History== Following the passing of the Public Record Office Act 1838, which made statutory provision for the care of government archives, pressure began to grow for the state to pay attention to privately owned records.〔Ellis 1969, pp. 6–8.〕 Largely on the initiative of Lord Romilly, the Master of the Rolls, the first Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts was appointed by Royal Warrant dated 2 April 1869. The first Commissioners were Romilly himself (as chairman); the Marquess of Salisbury; the Earl of Airlie; Earl Stanhope; Lord Edmund Petty-Fitzmaurice; Sir William Stirling-Maxwell; Charles Russell, President of Maynooth College; George Webbe Dasent; and T.D. Hardy, Deputy Keeper of the Records. They were shortly afterwards joined by George Butler, Bishop of Limerick; and Lord Talbot de Malahide.〔Ellis 1962, pp. 233-4.〕 A new Royal Warrant of 1876 confirmed the appointment of what had effectively become a standing commission; and the Commission's work was extended by further warrants dated 18 December 1897 and 27 March 1919. Four inspectors (including H.T. Riley) were appointed in 1869 to survey records under the Commissioners' direction.〔Ellis 1962, pp. 233-4.〕 Later inspectors included Henry Maxwell Lyte, John Knox Laughton, Joseph Stevenson, Reginald Lane Poole, W.D. Macray, J.K. Laughton, Horatio Brown, W.J. Hardy and John Gwenogvryn Evans.〔James 2008.〕〔Ellis 1969, p. 19.〕 Throughout the 19th and early 20th century the Commission remained closely associated with the Public Record Office: indeed, in 1912 it was stated that "for all practical purposes the Commission itself may be regarded as a branch of the Record Office".〔Shepherd 2009, p. 72.〕 However, in the wake of the Public Records Act 1958 (which transferred responsibility for public records to the Lord Chancellor, while the Commission remained under the authority of the Master of the Rolls) the two bodies diverged to achieve a greater degree of independence from one another. A new Royal Warrant, dated 5 December 1959, gave the Commission revised and greatly extended terms of reference.〔Ellis 1962, pp. 235-6, 241-2.〕〔Ellis 1969, p. viii.〕 This period of independence ended in April 2003, when another Royal Warrant effectively merged the Commission with the PRO to form the new National Archives. The Chief Executive and Keeper of Public Records (currently Oliver Morley) is the sole Historical Manuscripts Commissioner, and Nicholas Kingsley combines the role of Secretary of the Commission with the post of Head of Archives Sector Development.〔(HMC Warrant )〕〔(Role and Functions of the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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