The Essex Sound and Video Archive is part of the Essex Record Office. It is a collection of sound recordings and videos covering all aspects of life and culture in Essex. The recordings are collected and preserved at the Essex Record Office in order that they can be used for research and general interest by as many people as possible.

The Essex Sound and Video Archive holds a range of recordings including significant collections of oral history, radio broadcasts, hospital TV and talking newspapers.

There are opportunities to hear Essex dialect and accents, as well as music, song and dance. We keep recordings of music created and performed by local musicians and hold a nationally significant collection of folk music and folk dance drawn from Essex sources, which includes hundreds of live recordings made at folk clubs and festivals.

You can listen to these sound recordings and watch the videos in a dedicated playback room at the Essex Record Office in Chelmsford. You can also listen to sound recordings, by arrangement, at the archive access points at Saffron Walden and Harlow.