CH has a rich archive of written material which documents the life and times of the school and its pupils from its earliest times. For example, the Treasurer’s Account books run from 1552 and two manuscript accounts of the beginnings of the Royal Hospitals (Christ’s, St Thomas’and Bridewell), written by a CH resident, John Howes, in 1582 and in 1587, survive in two small volumes. Formal minute books of the Governing Body run from 1556 to date, and the Children’s Register runs from 1563.