In 1912, he was put in charge of the search room, which he then reorganised in response to criticisms made in the first report of the Royal Commission on Public Records.

[1] Jenkinson's Manual of Archive Administration was first published in 1922, and republished in a second edition (revised and expanded, but not significantly altered in its principles) in 1937.

[10] However, Margaret Procter argues that despite Jenkinson's "iconic" status, his work also rested to a considerable degree on an existing British theoretical tradition.

[17] Jenkinson had a number of theoretical differences of opinion with T. R. Schellenberg, his American counterpart, particularly over the question of the archivist's role in appraisal and selection.

Having an undisturbed and impartial bulk in appraisal and accession does not, in his philosophy, serve the main purpose of the modern archives: making available useful material to patrons.

[21] Elizabeth Shepherd comments that "it was only after his retirement that the PRO could finally develop a professional archival approach to its work",[22] as Jenkinson did not like individual interpretations or differing viewpoints of his philosophy.

Writing in 1997, Terry Cook commented: "At its most extreme, Jenkinson's approach would allow the archival legacy to be perverted by administrative whim or state ideology, as in the former Soviet Union, where provenance was undermined by the establishment of one state fonds and archival records attained value solely by the degree to which they reflected the 'official' view of history.

[1] After his death, Oliver W. Holmes wrote in the American Archivist that Jenkinson's work had become a reference source for all inexperienced staff.

[15] Writing in 1980, Roger Ellis and Peter Walne commented that "[n]o one man had more influence on the establishment of the profession of archivist in Great Britain than Sir Hilary Jenkinson".

[25] Jenkinson influenced University College, London's decision to establish an archives diploma course, and would later present its first lecture.

[6] Since 2007, the Department of Information Studies at University College London has hosted an annual Jenkinson Lecture named in honour of Sir Hilary.