National Archives (Public Record Office)
The National Archives of England, Wales and the United Kingdom has one of the largest archival collections in the world, spanning 1000 years of British history, from Domesday Book of 1086 to government papers recently released to the public.
You can see this collection at The National Archives in Kew, West London, or view certain documents online. Records are open on transfer unless they contain information covered by an exemption. If you want to see a record that has not been released, you can submit a Freedom of Information request. We will review the record, in consultation with the government department, which transferred it to us. If it is no longer subject to a Freedom of Information exemption, the information will be released to you. Under the Freedom of Information Act, anyone in the world can request information held at The National Archives.
The National Archives also acts as a clearing-house for information about the location of non-public records and manuscripts relating to British history kept elsewhere in the UK and overseas.
key
Prices
Free entry
Opening details
| Season Dates | Opening Hours |
|---|---|
| Notes | 9:00am - 5:00pm Monday and Friday. 10:00am - 5:00pm Wednesday. 9:00am - 7:00pm Tuesday and Thursday. 9:30 - 5:00pm Saturday. Document ordering times 9:30am - 4:15pm Monday and Friday. 10:00am - 4:15pm Wednesday. 9:45am - 4:45 on Tuesday and Thursday. 9:30 - 3:15 on Saturday. Annual stocktaking: Friday 4 December to Monday 7 December Christmas 2009: Thursday 24 December to Monday 28 December New Years Day 2010: Friday 1 January Easter: Friday 21 March to Monday 24 March May bank holiday: Saturday 3 May to Monday 5 May Spring bank holiday: Saturday 24 May to Monday 26 May |
Contact
National Archives (Public Record Office)Tel: 020 8876 3444
enquiry@nationalarchives.gov.ukNearby
Local AccommodationVenue
National ArchivesRuskin Avenue, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
See location on Multimap
Car : The National Archives is half a mile south of Kew Bridge, on the South Circular Road, A 205. Junction 2 of the M4 motorway is about one and a half miles away. There are 116 spaces in our car park which are free (on a first-come, first-served basis) to researchers using The National Archives. The car park is open from 08:30 to 19:00.
Train : The nearest station to the Kew office is Kew Gardens (Underground - District line and Railway - Silverlink Metro / North London line). Kew Gardens is in both zone 3 and 4, and the journey from central London to Kew takes about 40 minutes. It is a short walk from the station via Ruskin Avenue to The National Archives.
Other convenient railway stations for The National Archives at Kew are Richmond (Travel one stop from there to Kew Gardens) and Kew Bridge (a 15-20 minute walk to us).
Bus: The R68 bus route ends by the entrance to The National Archives, and the 65 and 391 bus routes run along Kew Road.
For further information visit www.tfl.gov.uk
Parking : free
