The National Archives, UK’s cover photo
The National Archives, UK

The National Archives, UK

Museums, Historical Sites, and Zoos

Richmond, Surrey 32,802 followers

About us

The National Archives is the official archive of the UK government for England and Wales and the sector leader for archives in England. We are the government's knowledge and information champions, pioneers in the field of managing information. Our role is to make sure that key government information is sustainable - that it remains accessible and useable for as long as it is needed. We are well known for our unique collection of over 11 million historical government and public records - one of the largest in the world. From Domesday Book to modern government papers and digital files, our collection includes paper and parchment, electronic records and websites, photographs, posters, maps, drawings and paintings. Our repositories are filled with priceless treasures: our nation's story can be read through the documents and artefacts we hold. For news and updates follow @UkNatArchives on Twitter or sign up to our newsletter at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/enewsletter

Industry
Museums, Historical Sites, and Zoos
Company size
501-1,000 employees
Headquarters
Richmond, Surrey
Type
Government Agency
Founded
1838

Locations

  • Primary

    The National Archives,

    Kew,

    Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU, GB

    Get directions

Employees at The National Archives, UK

Updates

  • Registration now open - Discovering Collections, Discovering Communities (DCDC) 2025 Conference When: 29 - 31 July 2025  Where: Durham University and Online DCDC25 theme: Choose Your Own Future: Resilient Communities and Sustainable Solutions   Register here: https://lnkd.in/etcKGqfr Early bird rate ends on: Monday 19 May 2025, 09:00 BST.  A collective call to action DCDC25 invites you to come together, no matter where you are in the world or career stage.  Choose your own future: celebrate what is already being achieved and debate what more could be done, explore the challenges we face across the GLAMA (galleries, libraries, archives, museums, and academic) sector and work together as a community to find sustainable solutions. The hybrid DCDC25 programme includes:     ➡️ Papers from colleagues across the GLAMA sector  ➡️ Interactive sessions  ➡️ History Day North  ➡️ Touring escape room from Northumberland Archives  ➡️ Conference posters  ➡️ Engagement with Durham cultural heritage organisations    Support to attend: We want to welcome the widest range of voices, experiences and backgrounds in our discussions.  Apply by 21 May for:  ➡️ Expenses bursaries  ➡️ Registration bursaries You can find out more about our bursary scheme and check out the programme on our website: https://lnkd.in/eFJ4Amj8 If you have any questions at all, please contact: dcdc@nationalarchives.gov.uk 

  • Don't miss out on upcoming sessions available as part of our In-Person Practical Archival Skills Training (PAST) programme 👀 Our PAST workshops can help you gain the skills needed to navigate records useful for your specific area of research. These on-site training sessions are designed for people wanting to do practical research into records held at The National Archives, or advise others wanting to undertake research using our collections. Upcoming sessions: ▶️ Modern Britain: Tue 18 and Wed 19 Feb | 09:30-17:00 ▶️ Medieval: Tue 25 and Wed 26 Feb | 09:30-17:00 ▶️ Visual Collections (Registered Designs focus): Wed 5 Mar | 09:30-17:00 ▶️ Early Modern: Tue 11 Mar | 09:30-17:00 Book now: https://lnkd.in/efcx38b7

    • Close up view of a medieval archival document, weighted down with a snake weight
  • To celebrate National Apprenticeship Week, our Level 7 Archivist and Records Manager apprentice has written about her first few months here. Over the next three years, Liv will spend several months at a time in a variety of departments across The National Archives, working on everything from cataloguing and digital preservation to exhibitions and education. Liv’s first placement was in Document Services, working at the reader registration desk, in the reading rooms and behind the scenes in the repositories. Read Liv’s blog to find out why she wanted to start a career in archives and what she’s learnt so far: https://lnkd.in/gBSTEgvt

    • An employee of The National Archives going through documents in front of a laptop in the repository.
  • As well as being a repository and collection, cutting-edge research is at the heart of everything we do. Our new Research Vision is our plan of action and celebrates our role as a researching archive and an Independent Research Organisation. Combined with our Research Roadmap, it asks some of the key questions that will form the basis for research at The National Archives over the next few years. Curious to know more? Or to get involved? Browse below to read the highlights from our Research Vision. Access our full Research Vision via our website 👉 https://lnkd.in/eZ2czHTh

  • 🔎 Coming this spring… Step inside the hidden world of MI5 and explore the extraordinary stories behind the security of a nation. This April, for the first time, MI5’s history will go on display to the public in a major new exhibition, made possible through an unprecedented partnership between the Security Service and The National Archives. Explore the ever-changing world of espionage and security threats through original case files, photographs and papers, alongside the real equipment used by spies and spy-catchers over MI5’s 115-year history. From counter-espionage and daring double-agents during the world wars, to chilling Cold War confessions and the counter-terrorism of recent times, this historic exhibition will take you behind the scenes of one of Britain’s most iconic institutions. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/evE2eg-A

  • History and Archives in Practice 2025 – Registration now live! Working with Memory: History, Storytelling and Practices of Remembrance Where: Senate House, University of London When: Wednesday 5 March 2025 (9:00 – 17:30) You can now register to attend the 2025 History and Archives in Practice event: https://lnkd.in/epJD5a76 Those of us working with history and collections - archivists, historians, researchers, and practitioners - think with memory on a daily basis. However, memory itself is an elusive and plural concept; it is both material and immaterial, and working with memory is not without its challenges. With HAP25 we want to consider these challenges, share our learnings, celebrate our successes, and delve into the possibilities that occur at the intersections of history and archives. We seek to examine how we understand and work with memory, considering questions like: How are memory, storytelling and remembrance felt and practised? How do we decide what memories to collect, and whose stories to tell? And how can we imagine new, expansive and intersectional ways of working with memory within our practices? HAP25 will explore some of the following topics through parallel panel sessions, workshops, and poster presentations: ▶️ War, conflict and commemoration ▶️ Storytelling ▶️ Ways of capturing memory ▶️ Methodologies of remembrance ▶️ Sites of memory ▶️ Social memory and community narratives You can now view the programme here: https://lnkd.in/et_-hKh9 If you have any questions at all, please email: research@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

    • A poster with text promoting HAP25, with a background of papers and a blue border with the logos for Royal Historical Society, the Institute of Historical Research, and The National Archives.
  • Join us for the launch of 'Archives and Emotions: International Dialogues Across Past, Present, and Future', a groundbreaking Bloomsbury Publishing Plc text exploring intersections of archival practice, historical research, national & disciplinary borders. 🕰️ 23 Jan, 16:00 - 18:00 🗺️ The National Archives & online 🎟️ https://lnkd.in/edD5kDdJ The event will feature the volume's editors and contributors (including our very own Iqbal Singh), as well as major figures in the field of archives and the artist of the book cover. In-person and online attendees will have the opportunity to engage with contributors and ask them questions.

    • A poster for the book launch, with the text 'Archives and Emotions', with the book cover  on it: a painting with a desk with books and a candle, bookshelves in the background.
  • ‘History and Archives in Practice’ (HAP) is where historians and archivists come together to consider shared interests in archive collections, their interpretation and use. HAP is a collaboration. We're now looking for a fourth partner to join us for #HAP26 Following HAP24, which took place at Cardiff University in March 2024, we're taking HAP across the country once more and are keen to partner with UK archive centres - large and small - to continue our engagement with collections and learning about good practice in the archives! Could this be your organisation? If yes, we're inviting organisations and institutions to submit their interest in becoming our HAP26 partner. Please complete the following form by Monday 13 January 2025: https://lnkd.in/e5UB2Fr7 Please note that you must be able to host #HAP26 in March 2026. ‘History and Archives in Practice’ encourages a wide range of formats that best showcase a collection and the experience / lessons of collaborative working between archivists and historians on shared projects. We are particularly keen to highlight and support smaller organisations, underrepresented collections and marginalised voices as well as new and emerging research. If successful, you'll work with HAP organisers in shaping the theme for the 2026 event. Some things to consider when applying: ☑️ Why partner with HAP? ☑️ Details about the proposed venue (including accessibility provisions and proximity of spaces) ☑️ Technical provisions ☑️ Catering provisions ☑️ Access to and engagement with collections There is no cost associated with HAP partnership and we ask that the venue is offered in-kind. Should you be interested in acting as a fourth partner for HAP26 and have any issues or questions regarding the logistics, please reach out to us via research@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

    • Illustrated map of Great Britain from 1851
  • Don't forget to apply: Collaborative Doctoral Award opportunity for Geoffrey Chaucer-enthusiasts 📢 Applications are invited for a fully funded studentship: 'Chaucer's Thameside Life and Poetry' If thou would'st this PhD, answere these questions three: 📜 How does Chaucer’s own understanding of landscape, both rural / semi-rural, and urban, relate to his poetry? 📜 How did Chaucer and his contemporaries think about human impact on the environment? 📜 How does the material landscape of Chaucer’s world relate to the imagined worlds of his fictions? Partner university: The University of Oxford Apply before 11:59 am on Tuesday 7 January 2025 https://lnkd.in/eGNKf4kq Image: Chaucer as a pilgrim from folio 153v of the Ellesmere Chaucer in the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. The manuscript is an early publishing of the Canterbury Tales.

    • Image of Chaucer as a pilgrim riding upon a horse, as part of the page of an illustrated medieval manuscript from folio 153v of the Ellesmere Chaucer in the Huntington Library in San Marino, California.
  • Our 2024 Annual Digital Lecture, 'Turning over a new leaf: AI ethics in/through the archives', is being delivered by Dr Eleanor Drage and Kerry McInerney, PhD Join us to explore how feminist and anti-racist ideas are shaking up AI regulation and governance, how archives play a key role in AI ethics, and why this all matters for research. Both Dr Drage and Dr McInerney (née Mackereth) are Senior Research Fellows at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge, and together they co-host The Good Robot podcast on feminism, gender, and technology 🤖 The Annual Digital Lecture offers the opportunity to hear from leading speakers about a topic related to digital research. To accompany the Lecture and showcase some of the exciting digital research happening at The National Archives, we currently have a poster display in the Auditorium area at our site in Kew. 🗓️ Wednesday 27 November, 11:00-12:15 GMT. Find out more and register: https://lnkd.in/eh4FcJhp?

Similar pages

Browse jobs