The London Archives
Explore London's Story
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Explore London's Story
Plan Your Visit
Explore London's Story
Help With Your Research1000 Years of London's History
The London Archives is a free public archive focussing on the history of London from 1067 to the present day. Visit us to explore millions of historical manuscripts, maps, photographs, books and films or enjoy our exhibitions, events and workshops. Entrance is free and everyone is welcome.
Explore your story. Uncover London's history. Discover The London Archives.
Our latest events
Our events programme has something for everyone, from history workshops to behind the scenes tours.
Exhibition
Curator's Exhibition Tour - Lost Victorian City
Book your place
27 September - Every month our curators will guide you through the exhibition uncovering a lost Victorian London.
What's On
Archives on Show: London's Brewery Archives
Document viewing
13 September - Our new series showcasing material the archives holds on specific themes!
Performance
Magic Lantern Show
Book your tickets
24 October - Join us for an evening of entertainment by the renowned magic lantern performers Jeremy and Carolyn Brooker with live piano music accompaniment.
Talk
London Talks : Architecture
Evening talk
12 September - From settlements to skyscrapers, a short history of London's buildings.
What's On
London Talks: Women's Football
Evening Talk
14 November - A talk with Professor Jean Williams, author of The History of Women's Football and Professor of Sport.
What's On
Victorian London in Photographs
Free - outdoor exhibition
Until 29 September - Free outdoor exhibition exploring Victorian Photographs of London
What's On
Nick Hornby – About a Boy
Book Group
16 October - Book Group meets monthly to explore a range of London writing, with a remit covering fiction and non-fiction for all periods.
Learning
Archives on Show: The City of London’s Bridges
Document viewing
11 October - Our Archives on Show events are a chance for us to show you the sheer range of material we hold at The London Archives. This month, bridges!Current exhibitions
The London Archives has a changing programme of exhibitions throughout the year both in Clerkenwell and the Heritage Gallery at the Guildhall Art Gallery. Look out for our outdoor exhibitions too.
The London Archives Blog
Explore stories and articles about the archives and London's history in our blog.
News
Hello from The London Archives
...and a fond farewell to the metropolitan
Find out why we've changed our name to The London Archives.
Exhibition
Philip Henry Delamotte and the Crystal Palace
Exhibition highlights
Highlighting some of the features of our Lost Victorian City Exhibition - we explore the rarely seen Crystal Palace in photographs from 1852.
Exhibition
Seed Cake recipe
Tastes from the Lost Victorian City
Experimenting with Victorian recipes - this time we're trying out a seed cake.
Book Group
'Fingersmith' by Sarah Waters
Find out more
Find out about The London Archives' book group in June 2024 where we discussed 'Fingersmith' by Sarah Waters.
Exhibition
Victorian Fashion Prints
Exhibition highlights
Highlighting some of the features of our Lost Victorian City Exhibition, here we take a look at Victorian fashion prints.In Focus
Discover our work and services, and find out more about us.
Our Projects
Read about our projects and partnerships
What our visitors say
I have made many visits in the past 20 years to this valuable and wonderful archive centre. The staff are always so helpful, knowledgeable, and approachable. If you have London ancestry, be sure to pay a visit.
Really interesting location with well presented current exhibition and an excellent series of talks and lectures.
I came to search for information on smallpox, Dr Ricketts and the hospitals in Darenth. The staff were excellent - very helpful and I found exactly what I was looking for.
Great exhibitions and reading rooms if you're into that.. staff are knowledgeable and friendly. Great times.
I visited today and found the staff extremely knowledgeable helpful and friendly
Very interesting had a tour and viewed some posters and books ... so much held here amazing