You do not need to make an appointment to visit the Record Office - but it is often helpful if you let us know that you intend to come, especially if you want to consult original documents.
Original documents are produced from the store rooms every half hour between 9:30am and 12:00pm. There is a lunchtime production, but we ask you to submit requests by 12.30pm. Half hourly productions resume at 2 pm and the last document production of the day is at 3.30 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 4pm on Thursdays and 3pm on Fridays.
Original documents for use on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings must be requested in advance. Document requests for Thursday evenings need to be made by 3:00 that afternoon, and by 2:00 on Friday afternoon for Saturday morning.
We ask customers to limit their requests to four items per production. Any difficulties with this should be discussed with the archivist on duty.
Parking: The Record Office has its own free car park.
Entrance: To get to the entrance, walk through the gate and down the path between the two single storey blocks of the building. The front door is facing you, with an intercom on the wall to your left. If you are likely to need help to get into the building please advise us beforehand so we can be ready to assist you.
Wheelchair Access: All the public areas are on the ground floor so are accessible to wheelchair users. These include the public search rooms and toilets for ladies, gentlemen and disabled visitors.
Refreshments: There is no opportunity to purchase food here but meals are available at Tesco, Wyevale Garden Centre and the Queen Eleanor Hotel, all of which are about 1 mile away. The Record Office does provide a small area with a hot drinks machine (40p) and a cold water dispenser (free), where you may eat any food that you have brought with you