Tyne & Wear Shipyards Collection Awarded UNESCO Status

The Tyne & Wear Shipyards Collection at Tyne & Wear Archives has been included on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, a global online catalogue created to help promote the UK’s documentary heritage across the UK and the world. The Tyne & Wear Archives Shipyards Collection is a testimony to the remarkable achievements in shipbuilding and engineering produced on Tyneside and Wearside over the past two hundred years.

Only 11 items have been selected from the UK’s libraries, archives and museums to represent the outstanding heritage of the UK, among them the the Domesday Book, the Churchill Archives and the Hitchcock’s Silent Movies archive

Cllr Ged Bell, former shipyard worker and Chair of the Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums Joint Committee said: “The rivers Tyne and Wear contributed massively to the history of the UK, world shipbuilding and marine engineering, with many innovations being developed here as well as countless fine ships being built. The records held by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums are of exceptional significance, and are fascinating both for the specialist researcher and a much wider audience, as they not only contain detailed company information but amazing plans, photographs and even books signed by visiting dignitaries attending ship launches. As someone who started his working life in Swan Hunter’s shipyard I have a strong personal connection with the industry and am particularly pleased at the national recognition being given to this important collection that documents the achievement of the shipyards and the shipyard workers of the Tyne and the Wear.”

This is the third group of inscriptions to the UNESCO UK Memory of the World Register; the register is part of a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) programme to support and raise awareness of archives.

The 11 priceless items span nearly 900 years, come from across the country and embody pivotal moments in the history of their communities and the UK as a whole.

David Dawson, Chair of the UK Memory of the World Committee said: “This year’s inscriptions reflect the richness of UK culture and history, from medieval manuscripts to ground breaking cinema. We hope that today’s announcement will encourage people to discover these items and collections, as well as some of the other great documentary heritage near them.”

Tim Williams, Deputy Chair of the UK National Commission said: “We’re pleased to welcome these UK museums, libraries and archives into the UNESCO family through the Memory of the World programme. These range from some of the UK’s largest, national-level institutions, to local records offices. Regardless of their size, this designation is an important recognition of some of the outstanding heritage they hold.”

This year’s inscriptions join the 30 items and collections currently on the UK Register. The winners were chosen by the expert committee of the UK Memory of the World programme following a nomination and review process.

Country-level Memory of the World Registers exist around the globe, helping to promote documentary heritage of local significance, but the international-level register, which features items of global significance, includes items from the UK such as 1215 Magna Carta, the Mappa Mundi and the film The Battle of the Somme.

The UK Memory of the World programme is part of UNESCO’s work to promote preservation of and access to the world’s archive holdings and library collections.

The whole UK Register is available at unesco.

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Press Release, July 9, 2013