Pupils from Oakhill School in Whalley enjoy trip to National Archives in London

The pupils, who won the National Archives 20s Streets competition, travelled by train from Preston and across London on the underground to be greeted by Hannah and Sarah who work at the National Archives.

They met experts Paul and Jessamy, who work with some of the oldest documents, before Hannah told them the story of the founding of the original Public Records Office in 1838 and how it all started with a rat who ate some important government papers.

A law was passed for the safe storage of documents of national importance and the site has expanded to its present-day home at Kew Gardens and in Winsford, Cheshire.

Hannah then led pupils in the investigation of original documents specially selected for them. They started with a police file on a First World War spy before looking at everything from Elizabeth I’s wax seal to the police files on the Suffragettes.

A spokesman for Oakhill School said: “It was amazing to see and touch these original items and see the range of items in store. They also got to view the original copy of the 1921 census of the school and of the street which they investigated: Factory Row in Billington.

“The children were then able to view three special items: the Declaration of Independence from 1776, one of 26 surviving copies. The letter written by Elizabeth I from the Tower of London to Mary I to plead for her safety and the original rat which ate the documents.

“Pupils then enjoyed a behind the scenes tour looking at how the Archives worked and different areas where the documents are stored. They then viewed even more special documents including a record of Shakespeare’s plays performed at court and the Mary Queen of Scots ciphers.

“They ended the special afternoon receiving goody bags as a reminder of their day. Our thanks to Sarah, Hannah, Paul, Jessamy and all the staff who looked after us and were so welcoming and interesting – their knowledge was vast.”