HAMPSHIRE Ambassadors, the group formed to stimulate investment and encourage business development in the county, marked the start of a new year and new millennium with a visit to see how the heritage of the county's past has been recorded at the Hampshire Record Office, Winchester.

Michael Woodhall, of Hampshire County Council, welcomed the ambassadors to one of the most important record offices in the country.

It provides access to documents and writings dating back over 800 years. Forty-five business delegates were invited to explore the past preserved in such detail at the record office.

It is a service established in 1947. About 20,000 visitors a year are attracted.

The delegates were taken on a tour of the purpose-built premises, which opened in 1993. It houses the documents of Hampshire's history in strongrooms which are monitored for temperature humidity and pressure. There are a staggering eight miles of shelving.

An exhibition of some of the most important and interesting holdings enabled the ambassadors to view records first-hand. Examples were also on display of the vital conservation work that is underway at the record office, which preserve documents damaged by damp, fire and rodents.

The collection brings together maps which date back to the eighteenth century, records of education, the church and local government, private letters, photographs, diaries and watercolours. The Wessex Film and Sound Archive, founded in 1988, also provides a wealth of visual and oral material charting events throughout the whole Wessex region.

Rosemary Dunhill, the chief county archivist, outlined the role the office has to play. "It's not only for private individuals researching details of family, town or county, but it's also a business and government resource."

"We hold a wealth of information about past lives here. Our job is to preserve this evidence for those who want to study it. It's here not only to provide greater access for learning, but to protect democratic liberties," she said.

"Although I have visited the record office once before, I was amazed at the diversity of information that is available here," said Michael Pawley, local chairman of the Institute of Directors.

"This opens up Hampshire's rich history as a valuable resource. The dedication of such a relatively small team of staff is highly impressive," he added.

Gillian Leach, partner of Blake Lapthorn solicitors, commented: "It was a fascinating tour. "We have all become accustomed to viewing reproduced images of documents and memorabilia, but this cannot replace the experience of seeing an actual letter written by Florence Nightingale or marvel at surviving manuscripts from the medieval period."

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.