Position at London Metropolitan Archives

Conservator
Great Parchment Book Project
City of London
London Metropolitan Archives

(Fixed Term - 6 Months)

Funded by the National Manuscript Conservation Trust (Grade D)

Ref: CHL04
Salary: Starting at UKP30,450 pa. including Inner London Weighting

London Metropolitan Archives (LMA)
<URL:http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk> is the largest local government
archive repository in the United Kingdom. It is based in Clerkenwell
and administered by the City of London, and its holdings run to
around 83km of documents dating from 1067 - present. LMA holds local
government and other records for the Greater London area and the
City of London. These collections have been awarded designated
status by the Museums Libraries and Archives Council.

LMA is currently engaged in a major conservation, digital
reconstruction and online publication project on the Great Parchment
Book, an iconic item in the archive of The Honourable The Irish
Society lodged at LMA (CLA/049/EM/02/018). If successful, the
project will allow for the display of the Book (and its digital
recreation) in Derry in 2013, the 400th anniversary of the charter
of Londonderry and of the building of the city walls.

This important book records the results of a survey of the estates
of the Irish Society and City livery companies in Northern Ireland
begun in 1639 and has been referred to as "The Domesday Book of
Derry". A fire at Guildhall in 1786 caused extensive damage to the
historical collections of the Irish Society and resulted in dramatic
'shrivelling' and fire damage to the vellum pages of the Great
Parchment Book. This hugely important document has therefore been
unavailable to historians since this date.

Following a successful bid to the National Manuscripts Conservation
Trust, LMA is seeking an experienced, self-motivated conservator to
devise a work programme and carry out minimal treatment to the 165
burnt folios of the Great Parchment Book to enable digital image
capture. The post holder will also be required to thoroughly
research the physical nature of the document and the issues involved
in its treatment, and to communicate the knowledge gained during the
project to a wider audience.

Applicants will have a recognised qualification in the fields of
paper, archive or book conservation with PACR accreditation from the
Institute of Conservation. They will have at least 3 years'
experience of working in the conservation of parchment and paper
manuscripts and proven, practical, relevant and timely experience of
parchment conservation. Experience of research, especially of
conservation issues and treatments, is essential together with
excellent communication, presentation and report writing skills.

The post holder will work under the direction of the Studio Manager.

Closing date: Noon, 19 December 2011
Interviews: 9 January 2012

Contact details: To request an application pack please contact the
Corporate Recruitment Unit on +44 20 7332 3978 (24hr answerphone) or
email cru<-a t->cityoflondon< . >gov< . >uk quoting the reference number (CHL04).

A minicom service for the hearing impaired is available on +44 20
7332 3179 The City of London Corporation is committed to Equal
Opportunities and welcomes applications from all sections of the
community.


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 25:27
                Distributed: Saturday, December 3, 2011
                       Message Id: cdl-25-27-022
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