Fantastic news for the continuation of heritage and tradition, and for William Cowley, the last vellum makers in the country, that British acts of parliament will continue to be printed on vellum after the Cabinet Office agreed to pick up the cost. The House of Lords had argued that using archival quality paper would save £80,000 – surely that’s a drop in the ocean compared to their and MPs expenses! And from a preservation point of view, conservators will tell you that parchment and vellum have a much greater chance of survival than paper, even archival quality paper. Abandoning the use of vellum was raised in parliament back in 1999 but thrown out. Let’s hope the battle has been won for once and all and won’t be resurrected in another 15 or so years time…..
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