London Archives and Libraries

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London

Archives and Libraries

London Metropolitan Archives

Archives

London Metropolitan Archives
40 Northampton Road
City of London EC1R 0HB UK

Telephone: 020 7332 3820
E-mail: ask.lma@cityoflondon.gov.uk
Website
Family History at London Metropolitan Archives
Parish Registers at London Metropolitan Archives (Information on history, content, etc.)
Index to church parishes in London

• The London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) is the principal local government archive repository for the Greater London area, including the City of London: it is the largest county record office in the United Kingdom.
• The size and shape of what we call London has changed greatly over the years. London has grown from the original ancient City of London to the current area of Greater London which is made up of the 32 London boroughs. Understanding this expansion and the various boundary changes that took place will give you an idea where you will find the archives that you want to see.
• Of course, the part of London and home counties that our documents cover varies depending on the type of collection. For example, our Anglican parish records cover the ancient City of London and the old Counties of London and Middlesex. These are areas that were considered a part of London prior to 1965 and in terms of modern local London Boroughs include the following, Barnet, Brent, Camden, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, parts of Richmond Upon Thames (north of the River Thames), Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth and Westminster.
• We do not hold parish records for the boroughs that were considered parts of Essex, Kent and Surrey until 1965 when they became a part of the Greater London Council. This includes Bexley and Bromley (both previously Kent) Barking & Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest (all previously Essex) and Croydon, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, parts of Richmond upon Thames (South of the River Thames) and Sutton (all previously Surrey). For these areas it's likely that the parish records will be held at the relevant county record office, with copies potentially held by the local borough archive.
• Furthermore, it is important to remember that not every parish may have chosen to deposit their records. Some may still retain them; others may have deposited material at the local borough archive. This is the case for the ancient parishes of the City of Westminster, whose records are held at Westminster City Archives.
• To find out which part of London and the home counties other collections such as wills and electoral registers cover, we suggest that you consult our Research Guides.

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Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre
Holborn Library
32-38 Theobalds Road
London WC1X 8PA UK

Telephone: 020 7974 6342
Email:localstudies@camden.gov.uk
Website

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City of Westminster Archives Centre
10 St Ann's Street
London SW1P 2DE UK

Telephone: 020 76415180
Email: archives@westminster.gov.uk
Website

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• Archives for London
  

AfL Ltd
40 Northampton Road
London EC1R 0HB, UK

E-mail:enquiries@archivesforlondon.org
Website

• London’s archive collections cover a vast spectrum of interests and take in the records of national government and worldwide organisations as well as town hall records and the papers of local cycling clubs and the Townswomen’s Guild. Archives relating to almost every aspect of our ancestors’ lives can be found in London. Material reaches from the Domesday Book to primary school logs.
• London’s archive repositories range from the magnificent National Archives facility at Kew, to one room of local and family archives in North Kensington. Manuscripts of war and peace, of sport and travel, of education and entertainment, of religious worship and political activity are located throughout the Capital.
• By virtue of being the national capital and for many years the administrative centre for the British Empire, London’s archive collections and historical interest groups touch on interests local, national and right across the globe.

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Libraries

The British Library
96 Euston Road
London NW1 2DB UK
Telephone: 0843 208 1144
Email: 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: 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: 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: 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: events@camden.gov.uk
Website: Swiss Cottage Central Library

This library is the largest in the borough and has varied facilities including a café and art gallery as well as extensive seating and study areas. The stock is the largest in the borough.

Wellcome Library

Wellcome Library
Part of Wellcome Collection
183 Euston Road
London NW1 2BE UK
Telephone: 020 7611 8722
Email: 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: 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.

Museums

British Museum

British Museum
Great Russell St
Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3DG UK
Telephone: 20 7323 8299
Email: 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.

The Foundling Museum

The Foundling Museum
40 Brunswick Square
Bloomsbury, London WC1N 1AZ UK
Telephone: 20 7841 3600
Email: development@foundlingmuseum.org.uk
Website: The Foundling Museum

The Foundling Museum is a history and art museum, which through a dynamic programme of exhibitions and events, celebrates the ways in which artists of all disciplines have helped improve children’s lives for over 275 years. The Museum is also home to the Gerald Coke Handel Collection, an internationally-important collection of material relating to Handel and his contemporaries. If you’re looking for unique things to do around King's Cross, or places to take children, this hidden London gem offers a wealth of activities.

Geffrye Museum

Geffrye Museum
136 Kingsland Rd
London E2 8EA UK
Telephone: 20 7739 9893
Email: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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.