London Archives and Libraries

England London  Archives and Libraries



Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre
Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre Holborn Library 32-38 Theobalds Road London WC1X 8PA UK Telephone: 020 7974 6342 Email: [mailto:localstudies@camden.gov.uk localstudies@camden.gov.uk] Website: Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre


 * Whether you are tracing the history of a building, undertaking a GCSE project, discovering the history of your family or just interested in the local history of the area where you live, the Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre is the place to start. The Centre contains over 200,000 items on the history of the borough and we aim to keep anything that helps reflect life in Camden past and present.

City of Westminster Archives Centre
City of Westminster Archives Centre 10 St Ann's Street London SW1P 2DE UK Telephone: 020 76415180 Email: [mailto:archives@westminster.gov.uk archives@westminster.gov.uk] Website: City of Westminster Archives Centre


 * At our Archives, view books, directories, maps, newspapers, images, local government records, electoral and parish registers, census returns and more relating to family, local and business history.

London Metropolitan Archives
London Metropolitan Archives 40 Northampton Road City of London EC1R 0HB UK Telephone: 020 7332 3820 E-mail: [mailto:ask.lma@cityoflondon.gov.uk ask.lma@cityoflondon.gov.uk] Website: London Metropolitan Archives


 * We are home to an amazing range of documents, images, maps, films and books about London. London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) is free to use and open to everyone.  Whether you're tracing your family history or researching the history of your neighbourhood, if you're interested in London or Londoners, LMA is the place to visit!


 * The London Metropolitan Archives has prepared a helpful guide for family historians: Family History at London Metropolitan Archives

Parliamentary Archives
Parliamentary Archives Houses of Parliament London SW1A 0PW UK Telephone: 020 7219 3074 Email: [mailto:archives@parliament.uk archives@parliament.uk] Website: Parliamentary Archives


 * The Parliamentary Archives provides access to the archives of the House of Lords, the House of Commons and to other records relating to Parliament. We also provide a records management service for both Houses of Parliament.

The National Archives (TNA)
The National Archives (TNA) Bessant Dr Kew Richmond Surrey TW9 4DU UK Telephone: 020 8876 3444 Email: [mailto:enquiry@nationalarchives.gov.uk enquiry@nationalarchives.gov.uk] Website: The National Archives (TNA) Catalogue: Discovery, The National Archives online catalogue


 * The National Archives (acronym TNA) is the official government archive of the United Kingdom, containing more than nine hundred years of history with records ranging from parchment and paper scrolls through to digital files and archived websites.


 * The National Archives is home to records created by the United Kingdom central government and agencies, and the legal system of England and Wales. These archived documents span records of many kinds from Domesday Book of 1086 to the present-day UK Government Web Archive. Records relating to the United Kingdom as a whole may contain information on Scotland and Ireland - all of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom until 1922. These include military and naval records, coastguards, customs and excise, passenger lists and more.

Did You Know?

 * Archives for London is passionate about archives in or about London. It is the independent voice for archives in the UK's capital city and brings together everyone interested in London's documentary history - users, practitioners and enthusiasts. Through free seminars, exclusive behind-the-scenes archive tours, an annual conference and other events everyone can find out more about the documents, photographs and films that tell the many stories of London and Londoners. Visit Archives for London for more details.

The British Library
The British Library 96 Euston Road London NW1 2DB UK Telephone: 0843 208 1144 Email: [mailto:Customer-Services@bl.uk Customer-Services@bl.uk] Website: The British Library


 * The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and the second largest library in the world by number of items catalogued. It holds well over 150 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British Library receives copies of all books produced in the United Kingdom and Ireland, including a significant proportion of overseas titles distributed in the UK.


 * The British Library is a major research library, with items in many languages and in many formats, both print and digital: books, manuscripts, journals, newspapers, magazines, sound and music recordings, videos, play-scripts, patents, databases, maps, stamps, prints, drawings. The Library's collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial holdings of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 2000 BC. In addition to receiving a copy of every publication produced in the UK and Ireland (approximately 8,000 per day), the Library has a programme for content acquisitions. The Library adds some three million items every year occupying 9.6 kilometres (6.0 mi) of new shelf space.

The Library and Museum of Freemasonry
The Library and Museum of Freemasonry Freemasons’ Hall 60 Great Queen Street London WC2B 5AZ UK Telephone: 020 7395 9257 Email: [mailto:libmus@freemasonry.london.museum libmus@freemasonry.london.museum] Website: The Library and Museum of Freemasonry


 * Freemasons’ Hall has been the centre of English freemasonry for 230 years. It is the headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England, the oldest Grand Lodge in the world, and also the meeting place for over 1000 Masonic lodges.

Guildhall Library
Guildhall Library Aldermanbury London EC2V 7HH UK Telephone: 20 7332 1868/1870 Email: [mailto:guildhall.library@cityoflondon.gov.uk guildhall.library@cityoflondon.gov.uk] Website: Guildhall Library


 * Guildhall Library is a public reference library specialising in the history of London. Our printed books collection comprises over 200,000 titles dating from the 15th to the 21st centuries and includes books, pamphlets, periodicals, trade directories and poll books. This collection covers all aspects of life in London, past and present, its trade, people and buildings.

Lambeth Palace Library
Lambeth Palace Library Lambeth Palace Rd Lambeth London SE1 7JU UK Telephone: 20 7898 1400 Email: [mailto:archives@churchofengland.org archives@churchofengland.org] Website: Lambeth Palace Library


 * Lambeth Palace Library contains an unrivalled collection of precious books and manuscripts, documenting nearly 1000 years of ecclesiastical and cultural life of the Church and Great Britain.

Swiss Cottage Central Library
Swiss Cottage Central Library 88 Avenue Road London NW3 3HA UK Telephone: 20 7974 4001 Email: [mailto:events@camden.gov.uk events@camden.gov.uk] Website: Swiss Cottage Central Library

Wellcome Library
Wellcome Library Part of Wellcome Collection 183 Euston Road London NW1 2BE UK Telephone: 020 7611 8722 Email: [mailto:library@wellcome.ac.uk library@wellcome.ac.uk] Website: Wellcome Library


 * The Wellcome Library of the history of medicine holds not only high-level material on medical history but also a huge amount of information on named individuals. They have a guide to Biographical and Family History Resources in the library. They also offer a growing collection of material relating to contemporary medicine and biomedical science in society.

Westminster Victoria Library
Westminster Victoria Library 160 Buckingham Palace Road London SW1W 9UD UK Telephone: 020 7641 6200 Email: [mailto:victorialibrary@westminster.gov.uk victorialibrary@westminster.gov.uk] Website: Westminster Victoria Library


 * This is a large library containing a wide range of stock and the famous Westminster Music Library.

British Museum
British Museum Great Russell St Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3DG UK Telephone: 20 7323 8299 Email: [mailto:info@britishmuseum.org info@britishmuseum.org] Website: British Museum


 * The British Museum is dedicated to human history, art and culture, and is located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection, numbering some 8 million works, is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence and originates from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present.

Geffrye Museum
Geffrye Museum 136 Kingsland Rd London E2 8EA UK Telephone: 20 7739 9893 Email: [mailto:info@geffrye-museum.org.uk info@geffrye-museum.org.uk] Website: Geffrye Museum


 * The Geffrye explores the home and the way people live. Our collections show how homes have been used and furnished over the past 400 years, reflecting changes in society and behaviour as well as style, fashion and taste. A series of period rooms lead visitors on a walk through time from 17th century oak furniture and panelling, past muted Georgian elegance and eclectic Victorian style, to 20th century modernity and contemporary living.

Museum of London
Museum of London 150 London Wall London EC2Y 5HN UK Telephone: 020 7001 9844 Email: [mailto:access@museumoflondon.org.uk access@museumoflondon.org.uk] Website: Museum of London


 * The Museum of London documents the history of London from prehistoric to modern times. The museum is located on London Wall, close to the Barbican Centre as part of the striking Barbican complex of buildings created in the 1960s and 1970s as an innovative approach to re-development within a bomb-damaged area of the City of London.

Museum of London Docklands
Museum of London Docklands No.1 Warehouse West India Quay London E14 4AL UK Telephone: 020 7001 9844 Email: [mailto:access@museumoflondon.org.uk access@museumoflondon.org.uk] Website: Museum of London Docklands


 * Museum of London Docklands is a museum on the Isle of Dogs, East London that tells the history of London's River Thames and the growth of Docklands.

National Army Museum
National Army Museum Royal Hospital Rd Chelsea, London SW3 4HT UK Telephone: 20 7730 0717 Email: [mailto:info@nam.ac.uk info@nam.ac.uk] Website: National Army Museum


 * The National Army Museum is a leading authority on the British Army and its impact on society past and present.   We examine the army's role as protector, aggressor and peacekeeper from the British Civil Wars to the modern day. Through our collections we preserve and share stories of ordinary people with extraordinary responsibilities. We explore the role of the army and its relevance today.

Royal Museums Greenwich
Royal Museums Greenwich Romney Rd Greenwich, London SE10 9NF UK Telephone: 20 8858 4422 Email: [mailto:RMGenquiries@rmg.co.uk RMGenquiries@rmg.co.uk] Website: Royal Museums Greenwich


 * A top-10 UK visitor attraction, Royal Museums Greenwich is home to the Royal Observatory Greenwich, the iconic historic sailing ship Cutty Sark, the National Maritime Museum and the Queen’s House art gallery. All our attractions are located within easy walking distance of each other within a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum Cromwell Rd Knightsbridge London SW7 2RL UK Telephone: 20 7942 2000 Email: [mailto:contact@vam.ac.uk contact@vam.ac.uk] Website: Victoria and Albert Museum


 * The V&A is the world’s leading museum of art and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects that span over 5,000 years of human creativity. The Museum holds many of the UK's national collections and houses some of the greatest resources for the study of architecture, furniture, fashion, textiles, photography, sculpture, painting, jewellery, glass, ceramics, book arts, Asian art and design, theatre and performance.

For a long list of London museums, go to List of museums in London in Wikipedia.