Opening Times
When to visit us
Visit The London Archives to view original archive documents, attend events, see our exhibitions or use our computers and other resources.
Opening times
- Monday: 10am to 4.30pm
- Tuesday: 10am to 6pm (We close at 4.30pm on 17 and 23 December 2025)
- Wednesday: 10am to 7pm
- Thursday: 10am to 4.30pm
Please note that our closing times on 17 and 23 December 2025 are earlier than usual.
Saturday opening days
We are open one Saturday a month from 10am to 4.30pm.
Forthcoming open Saturdays:
- 22 November 2025
- 13 December 2025
- 10 January 2026
- 14 February 2026
- 14 March 2026
The London Archives is free to visit. If you want to view original archive documents, you will need a History Card. You do not need a History Card to attend events or visit our exhibition, or to use our computers, the mediatheque or the open shelves of the library.
Closures
We always close on bank holidays.
2025 closures:
- Christmas closure: We will close our doors at 4.30pm on Tuesday 23rd December, and we reopen on Monday 5 January 2026
Ordering archive documents
- Please order documents in advance online whenever possible. If you order in advance, your documents will be waiting for you when you arrive
- Although we would encourage researchers to order their documents in advance of their visit on Saturdays, so they are ready for when we open, there are also three document ordering times on the day (11am, 12 noon and 2pm)
- If you have obtained permission to see closed records, please contact the enquiry team to order these records in advance of your visit
- Please note that some of our collections are stored off site and require notice before we can make them available, which is indicated on our catalogue
Document ordering times
Documents can be ordered on the hour between the following times:
- Monday: 11am to 3pm
- Tuesday: 11 am to 4pm
- Wednesday: 11am to 5pm
- Thursday: 11am to 3pm
- Open Saturdays: 11am to 2pm
A maximum of 10 items can be ordered per collection.
Frequently Asked Questions