Visiting the National Archive at Kew

[Andy873]

I have one of those birthdays coming up next year and I'm toying with the idea of visiting the NA, something I have never done and would like to ask some questions and advice from those of you who have actually been there. I could of course ask the NA but personal experience I think would give me a quicker and honest answer.

Presuming I've got my readers ticket and ordered the documents I want to read....

Does the NA give you an appointment date?
Do I need to take with me proof of ID etc?
Where would I go first when I get there, the reading room?
Would I have to go up to a counter of sorts and tell them the document reference number I want to look at?
How are these document presented, in a box when there's a collection of them under one reference?
Do I have to sign for them when I collect them?
Do they have to go and fetch the documents or would they be waiting for me?
To read the docs, am I assigned a table or just sit anywhere I can?
Most importantly, the documents I'd like to take photos of are listed as open documents / public records - would the photos I take home with me be copyright free / my copyright?

Could some kind person who has experience of visiting the NA describe the procedure to me please. It would for me, involve two flights, one of which would be an international one back to London, accommodation, food and travel to / from the NA. If I go, I'd just like to make sure they say well you haven't got this or that - it would be a one and only expensive visit if you see where I'm coming from so I wouldn't want to get it wrong.

 

[Magdalia]

Have you looked at the National Archives website, particularly here?

Researching here - The National Archives

Find out what type of research you can do with our collection and how to get started.

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Researching here​

Find out what type of research you can do with our collection and how to get started.

You need to get a reader's ticket, and, on your first visit, you will need to sort this out first. You will need proof of identity and proof of address, for details of what they accept for these see the website. You may be able to do some of that online but I'm an old technology person so I don't know about that.

I'm not aware of there being any way to order documents in advance without a reader's ticket number.

Once you have a reader's ticket you can reserve a seat in the reading room, which is on the 1st floor, and order documents using the reference codes in the catalogue. Normal sized documents will be placed in a locker in the reading room, numbered the same as your reserved seat. Maps and large documents, too big for the lockers, are held in the separate maps and large documents reading room, which is on the 2nd floor. These wait on shelves and are retrieved by National Archives staff on request.

It would for me, involve two flights, one of which would be an international one back to London, accommodation, food and travel to / from the NA. If I go, I'd just like to make sure they say well you haven't got this or that - it would be a one and only expensive visit

This sounds very ambitious to me. On my first visit to any new research venue I regard getting access as the first priority and any productive research as a bonus!

My National Archives reader's ticket is valid for 3 years, so once registered, you have plenty of time to make use of it.

 

[bramling]

I have one of those birthdays coming up next year and I'm toying with the idea of visiting the NA, something I have never done and would like to ask some questions and advice from those of you who have actually been there. I could of course ask the NA but personal experience I think would give me a quicker and honest answer.

Presuming I've got my readers ticket and ordered the documents I want to read....

Does the NA give you an appointment date?
Do I need to take with me proof of ID etc?
Where would I go first when I get there, the reading room?
Would I have to go up to a counter of sorts and tell them the document reference number I want to look at?
How are these document presented, in a box when there's a collection of them under one reference?
Do I have to sign for them when I collect them?
Do they have to go and fetch the documents or would they be waiting for me?
To read the docs, am I assigned a table or just sit anywhere I can?
Most importantly, the documents I'd like to take photos of are listed as open documents / public records - would the photos I take home with me be copyright free / my copyright?

Could some kind person who has experience of visiting the NA describe the procedure to me please. It would for me, involve two flights, one of which would be an international one back to London, accommodation, food and travel to / from the NA. If I go, I'd just like to make sure they say well you haven't got this or that - it would be a one and only expensive visit if you see where I'm coming from so I wouldn't want to get it wrong.

It’s quite easy to use once you get the hang of how they work.

You’d need to apply for a card first, which I think can be done on the day. Look at their website for the ID required.

Once this is sorted, you scan your card on a computer which allows you to order documents. You can order up to 3 at a time, and once these are delivered you can then order 3 more, and so on. It typically takes 30-60 mins for the documents to be delivered.

When you sign in for the day you choose a seat, and the seat number corresponds with a locker, which is where your documents will be delivered to. You then take them from the locker to your seat in the reading room.

For large documents they may instead be delivered to a separate room on the 2nd floor, if this applies you go to the desk, give your seat number, and they will hand you the document. If there’s more than one they may ask you which one you’d like first, as you can only have one at a time.

That’s basically it. If you want to be time efficient, you can order 3 more documents as soon as your first three show as being delivered. For repeat visits they let you order 6 documents the day before, which can give you a head start.

They are quite strict about not taking banned items in, and be prepared to be pulled up if not handling documents with care. You don’t really have to sit in your designated seat especially at quiet times, but be aware some people reserve seats that they like.

 

[Gloster]

I haven’t been there for years and I know there have been changes. I also hope that I am not getting mixed up with other archives.

I think you are banned from using pens and must only use pencils.
Some items are not held on site and so must be ordered in advance.

 

[The exile]

It’s now a few years since my only visit (and that was in the immediate post-COVID “coming to life again” period), but I think you can check in advance whether the items are actually at Kew (and therefore likely to be available on demand) or whether they’re somewhere else.

 

[stuving]

Firstly, do read the TNA guide pages not just about visiting for research there but also about each kind of document and finding and using them. I've not been for a few years, but from the guides it seems little has changed.

You can't get a reader's card in advance; the process of checking your ID, taking your picture and making the card has to be done on your first visit. It takes at least half an hour, but can be longer if a lot of others turn up on the same day. Booking your visit in advance may give you priority, but I don't know for sure.

You can get a temporary reader's ticket number in advance to make pre-ordering documents possible. Depending on your travel timings, it may be worthwhile going straight there, though too late for a full day, and spending the time looking around, and going through the process of ordering and picking up a document. You could also look at the reference library, which is very good, not just for reference books but for books about doing research. It's outside the protected reading room area, and has its own separate catalogue.

You will need to use their catalogue (Discovery) to find and order items, so you need to learn how to use it. That will tell you what's on site and what has to be ordered well in advance . I detest Discovery, because I can never work out what search terms to enter - they don't tell you what data have been indexed. Some of their guides include a tailored search for the relevant items, which helps a lot. There are terminals at TNA which are set up for quick ordering, provided you have found what you want first (and noted the catalogue references).

One thing that surprised me about the chancery court records I was using (and having to physically search boxes of as they were not indexed) was that they were really filthy. Evidently they had been stored on open shelves for many years while the air in London was laden with soot. That's not true of everything, but old documents a rarely very clean so you hands usually get dirty (or really blackened).

Since you don't want to waste time going outside for a meal, and TNA is not that close to anywhere, the cafeteria is a useful feature. And like most other things you need to know about, it's covered in the guide pages.

 

[Gloster]

One person I know who went regularly used to have two pairs of thin white cotton gloves. One for handling delicate material and the other for dirty items.

 

[StephenHunter]

As for copyright, there is a guide in their website. It depends on the age and type of the documents, ultimately.

They have stands you can use for mounting a camera on. Also, there's generally at least one temporary exhibit (currently the main one is on the history of MI5) and an extensive shop, which sells pencils.

 

[Andy873]

Thank you all, your replies are extremely helpful, as is the link!

I've found out that the NA has live chat available but of course not on Mondays so I will have a go tomorrow with that.

What I'm looking at is one reference in their catalogue with several documents related to it. The NA says it contains drawings, contracts, the three stations (presumably drawings of them), plans, estimates, records, deeds etc.

I will find out tomorrow hopefully if I can select certain documents for digitising which I will be given a download link if I choose this option rather than an actual visit. Based on their cost for a digital copy per page (£1.20) I've made a rough calculation based on two contracts (the branch line was built in two sections), for each.

I know roughly how many pages are likely to be in each of the documents, for example the spec for the Hoddlesden line (different one) was nine pages, the tender and costs by that contractor was four pages, and we are pretty sure these were standard documents produced by the L&Y so why not the loop line of my interest. Also I have 13 original drawings from the loop line (not all of them, Harwood section only), but the last drawing is drawing No.32 and shows the iron work for the last bridge of the Harwood section.

Based on what I would like, at £1.20 per page a very rough estimate would cost around £120, but of course it could easily be more than that. Now that 120 if I was lucky might get me two nights stay in London, maybe. Then there's the flights, at least 300 on top and so on. So it looks more financially viable to pay to get the NA to do the copying for me, but will have a clearer idea tomorrow.

Question, the contract drawings showing bridges etc that a contractor was supplied with, where they A3 in size? I remember from my school days in the engineering drawing classes which I took and enjoyed, we always used A3, never A4.

 

[Big Jumby 74]

If you want to be time efficient, you can order 3 more documents as soon as your first three show as being delivered.

That is a very good top tip, and not always understood as an option when one first visits (me included). Most of my research there was military (big Army family), and so many of soldiers documents, and War Diaries I found the info I wanted pretty quickly in most cases, and so even with the ordering of the next batch of documents, there was often a good deal of downtime involved. Much of this I used for looking round the bookshop or getting another coffee in the cafeteria on the ground floor.

It can feel a tad overwhelming on a first visit, but once one knows the routine etc it became more of a pleasure. As for scans or photocopies (as was) last time I was there copying A4 documents was a DIY affair alongside the main reading room, but larger documents had to be passed to staff in their photographic department, all in the same area. This may have changed of course in more recent times. I don't know?

A final word from my experience; don't expect to get too much done on your first visit. Time does fly in such research situations I always found, especially if unaccustomed to the venue.

 

[birchesgreen]

I haven’t been there for years and I know there have been changes. I also hope that I am not getting mixed up with other archives.

I think you are banned from using pens and must only use pencils.
Some items are not held on site and so must be ordered in advance.

Not even allowed a pencil with a built in eraser

Might have changed though, been a few years since i was doing me Masters and had to spend quite some time at Kew.

 

[norbitonflyer]

Not even allowed a pencil with a built in eraser

Might have changed though.

No, erasers of all kinds are still verboten.

 

[Magdalia]

Question, the contract drawings showing bridges etc that a contractor was supplied with, where they A3 in size? I remember from my school days in the engineering drawing classes which I took and enjoyed, we always used A3, never A4.

ISO paper sizes were not used in Victorian England. Be prepared for anything!

Since you don't want to waste time going outside for a meal, and TNA is not that close to anywhere, the cafeteria is a useful feature.

There are cafes near Kew Gardens station.

 

[Belperpete]

As per previous poster, if the drawings you are wanting are pre-1970 (not sure of the exact date), then they are highly unlikely to be metric A0- sized, but may be old imperial sized drawings. For very early drawings, they may even predate the imperial drawing sizes - they just made the drawing as big as it needed to be.

And they are likely to be considerably bigger than A3. I think the most common imperial drawing size used to be roughly equivalent to A2 (I think called quarto?). Rolled plans could be very long indeed. I wouldn't be surprised if there were a premium for copying big drawings.

Also worth noting that documents were also typed on imperial sized paper before the metric era. The most common imperial paper (I think called foolscap?) was about the same width as A4, but a bit taller. It is not uncommon to see A4 copies of such documents that are missing text at the bottom of the page.

It is a number of years since I last visited the archives, and things seem to have changed a bit. I don't recall having a booked seat, for example. They are very strict on what you can and can't take in, so go prepared. I ended up having to buy pencils and a notepad from their shop on my first visit. I recall being allocated a locker outside, to store things that you are not permitted to bring in.

For documents that are part of a file, you will get a cardboard box containing that complete file.

My biggest recommendation is to do your research before you go. Looking up catalogue references whilst you're at Kew wastes valuable time. Look up all and any catalogue references that might possibly be relevant. Bear in mind that items might not be filed where you might expect. I recall finding some useful information about the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway in a file about the PBSR - I can only presume that some clerk found a file about a narrow gauge railway in North Wales, and so decided that was as good a place as any to file it, not realising that the NWNGR already had its own file.

Good luck with your researches. I came away with a mixture of enlightenment, and frustration at what I couldn't find . I found it amazing to be handling original documents that had been personally handled and signed by the personalities involved over a hundred years ago. In some cases, the handwritten comments and sketches added while the document was being discussed were particularly enlightening as to what people's thoughts and intentions were.

 

[Big Jumby 74]

I found it amazing to be handling original documents that had been personally handled and signed by the personalities involved over a hundred years ago.

Absolutely agree with that sentiment. Everything you say is excellent advice for the OP and anyone else. Just as a brief example of the military documents I was researching (as a general flavour for old docs), on one occasion I was researching a 5 x G-Grandfather who served with the 56th (Essex) Reg of Foot, and had been one of those under siege in Gibraltar by the Spanish.

One document (within the soldiers docs series) was perhaps about A2 size, but had been folded, and folded and folded many times, by the officer in charge of same at the time, I am sure. When I ordered it up, it measured approx 4" x 12" in folded form, and after several very gingerly attempts to prize it open, I decided against proceeding and handed it back in. Yes, my ancestor will have been mentioned in same, but I did have other documents mentioning him and his career, and (to me) it wasn't worth risking damaging such an old document any further. Looking back, I am still surprised it was available to be examined by members of public, but that's another matter.

In relation to the same man, one of the Muster Roll books for the 56th was so large, it could only be produced for me to view in the map room (2nd floor), one example of having to arrange to take your own photo of if needed. Far too large for any scanner/photocopier!

Someone mentioned how grubby some of these old docs are. How true. I purchased white cotton gloves from one of the family history web sites IIRC, S&N Genealogy Supplies, based in Wiltshire and always proved very reliable for my few needs.

 

[stuving]

ISO paper sizes were not used in Victorian England. Be prepared for anything!


There are cafes near Kew Gardens station.

I was assuming that anyone travelling far to visit TNA would rather not spend even half an hour getting to and from Kew Gardens and picking somewhere to eat, and risk taking a wrong turn (easily done).

A proper drawing board, of the kind I learned technical drawing on in the 1960s, was roughly A0 size - over 1 m across. Paper could be any size up to that, but could be much smaller. I'm not convinced there were standard sizes at the national level, big companies could choose whatever the liked. I've got quite a few of that age or older, though most of them are circuit diagram, and they vary quite a bit - not just neat halvings like ISO.

I'm sure I was told in some archive, when I inquired about gloves, that for sheets stacked flat and needing to be separated and turned over, or those folded and needing careful unfolding, they prefer bare hands. Gloves impede your sense of touch which is needed to handle the sheets without damaging them. Only the older and more precious documents do need gloves, and you should be told that.

I was surprised by the lack of advice and guidance in the TNA reading room itself, about which documents need which kind of handling. Supports to protect the spines of books are very important, but you have to hunt around to find what looks like the right one. I thought some help with that was needed, especially when I found, later on, a size or kind of support that I'd not found when looking and would have served better.

 

[E27007]

No, erasers of all kinds are still verboten.

True, only plain pencils , an eraser and the metal "crown" of the pencil must be removed too.
Only certain personal items are allowed into the reading rooms, all other items must be deposited in the lockers, so do not take valuable items with you, the lockers are not very secure or robust.

 

[Magdalia]

I was assuming that anyone travelling far to visit TNA would rather not spend even half an hour getting to and from Kew Gardens and picking somewhere to eat, and risk taking a wrong turn (easily done).

The cafes near Kew Gardens station are good for a tea and cake after a long day of research!

If coming in by train to Kew Gardens from the Gunnersbury direction, it is very difficult to get lost. The National Archives building is clearly visible from the train, just after it crosses the river, and the walking route is signposted.

 

[Belperpete]

True, only plain pencils , an eraser and the metal "crown" of the pencil must be removed too.
Only certain personal items are allowed into the reading rooms, all other items must be deposited in the lockers, so do not take valuable items with you, the lockers are not very secure or robust.

Am I correct in remembering that you are not allowed to bring in loose sheets of paper? I seem to recall that I turned up with a biro and some loose paper, which were rejected. I had to buy one of their notebooks and pencils.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Sep 2025 ==

The cafes near Kew Gardens station are good for a tea and cake after a long day of research!

If coming in by train to Kew Gardens from the Gunnersbury direction, it is very difficult to get lost. The National Archives building is clearly visible from the train, just after it crosses the river, and the walking route is signposted.

Agreed to both the cafes and walking. The walking route from Kew Gardens to the NA is well signposted and easily walkable. The route back however is not so well signposted, and on I think my third visit I took the wrong turn on the way back because of over-confidence in where I was going!

 

[Andy873]

I've decided to go down the digital copy service. From what many of you are telling me I have no chance of getting all the copies in such a short space of time.

I went on live chat with the NA and got an answer that many of you who might go down the digital copy route:

The documents I want (plural) are all listed under one reference, so I asked would there be a page check fee for each document. It turns out because it's only one reference they are under then only one page check fee is required. As there are multiple documents here, I also asked when I get a quote / estimate from the NA, could I specify / pick out what I want, for example, at the moment I would like copies of the two specifications, two tenders by both contractors, drawings of course and plans of the three stations, but depending on the cost might have to be a little choosy. None of this will happen before mid to late November, but of course I will let you all know as it goes along.

As a side question(s), how long does a topic / post remain open on the forum before its closed? and if closed, how do you get it opened up again?

 

[Gloster]

I've decided to go down the digital copy service. From what many of you are telling me I have no chance of getting all the copies in such a short space of time.

I went on live chat with the NA and got an answer that many of you who might go down the digital copy route:

The documents I want (plural) are all listed under one reference, so I asked would there be a page check fee for each document. It turns out because it's only one reference they are under then only one page check fee is required. As there are multiple documents here, I also asked when I get a quote / estimate from the NA, could I specify / pick out what I want, for example, at the moment I would like copies of the two specifications, two tenders by both contractors, drawings of course and plans of the three stations, but depending on the cost might have to be a little choosy. None of this will happen before mid to late November, but of course I will let you all know as it goes along.

As a side question(s), how long does a topic / post remain open on the forum before its closed? and if closed, how do you get it opened up again?

Regarding you last query: I think that a thread remains open until the moderators feel that it is no longer being pursued. I presume that the moderator(s) for each sub-forum periodically run through the threads and decided which ones to lock. You can always get one reopened by contacting the mods and asking them to do so. (I am not jumping in on the mods‘ territory here, so might be wrong.)

 

[Big Jumby 74]

Am I correct in remembering that you are not allowed to bring in loose sheets of paper?

That rings true if my memory is correct. I always took a bound/ruled note book, either A4 or A5 depending on what I was researching - to make random notes or copy anything by hand, but also made photo copies/print outs of everything that I considered really relevant. Have always liked having an image of the original document(s) where possible, to look back on over time - brings things to life in one's mind!

I found on leaving the search room the security staff would sometimes ask to see the above note books, and open same and shake to ensure no NA documents/pages had been secreted therein. Which was fine by me. I have no time for anyone who goes there with the intention of nicking documents - it wasn't unknown.

 

[Andy873]

I'm hoping someone has seen an original book of reference which lists from 1 to X the number of locations / fields etc that a new proposed route will take as shown on the deposited plans / maps. These I know are typically No. on Map, Landowner / Owner, who leases it (if any), and who actually occupies that plot / field.

Are these entries typed up in the book of reference or are they hand written?
How many entries might there be on one page? 10?

I came across one site where one person had transcribed a book of reference for the Wigan Junction Railway line which was admittedly much longer than the loop line I'm interested in, but he gets to easily over 300 entries.

Obviously, at £1.20 per page for a digital copy I'm hoping there might not be too many pages in the two books covering the loop line (9 miles in total). I won't know for sure until the NA gives me a quote, but I'm trying to get a ballpark number. I'm guessing I can't go off distance as for example a field could be a small one and the next a much larger field.