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National Archives at Kew

A

Amanda

Member
Always worth a look here as they have a huge amount of information.
Not the easiest of websites to navigate but they are updating it.
I have been there many times over the last couple of years and seen some fantastic Original Papers, but you do need a Readers Ticket to view these, they have a scanner to copy any document direct to your e mail free of charge if you have a Readers Ticket.
Also worth a look is the bookshelves which are arranged by County, and there are websites free to use while you are there.
The London branch of the LDS are also there for 2013, not sure when they will be moving but certainly not for the next few months, this link will tell you what records they hold available to view.
 
Amanda said:
Always worth a look here as they have a huge amount of information.
Not the easiest of websites to navigate but they are updating it.
I have been there many times over the last couple of years and seen some fantastic Original Papers, but you do need a Readers Ticket to view these, they have a scanner to copy any document direct to your e mail free of charge if you have a Readers Ticket.
Also worth a look is the bookshelves which are arranged by County, and there are websites free to use while you are there.
The London branch of the LDS are also there for 2013, not sure when they will be moving but certainly not for the next few months, this link will tell you what records they hold available to view.
http://www.londonfhc.org
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Amanda, How does a visiter to the country obtain a Readers Ticket? Hoping to visit there while I am on a (very quick) trip to the UK next month.
 
When I visited a couple of years ago all I had to do was to show some photo id (your passport would be fine) and some other id, my drivers licence was fine. Then she filled out a form on the computer and took me through some rules then a machine took a photo and a short while later the card was ready for me to collect at the desk. In the time whilst I was waiting I browsed some information on the computer and planned what I was going to look at. I did find some good info but I wish I'd planned more.

Be aware that getting there may take some time. The journey from central London takes around 40 minutes then there is a 10-15 minute walk (depending on how spritely you are) to the actual venue. There is a large canteen and bookshop on site so there is no need to stop to eat before hand. Once there you need to put any bags and coats in a locker and take limited materials, paper/pencils (no pens), laptop etc into the research rooms.

It is very wise if your time is limited to be REALLY sure before you arrive what you want to look at, so that you maximise the time you have there. It is worth spending time on their site before you arrive finding out what's available and deciding what you want to look up. It can be really frustrating to not know where to start and end up browsing their website thinking, "I'm wasting my time here I could have looked at their website from home and been organised".

Unfortunately I fell foul of this and found that I wasn't that sure what I was wanting to see. I ended up looking at their computers and was disappointed to see that most of what they have on the internal website is simply links to subscription access to Ancestry or other such sites. I felt that if I'd known what records they had I could have gone with a definite plan. Instead I spent the hour or so after I got my reader card simply finding out what I could see then realising that a whole lot of what they had wasn't much more than I could get online anyway. I ended up after 3 hours having something to eat buying books in the shop (some really varied books there I've not seen before) and heading back to London feeling I'd wasted my day because I wasn't prepared.

So if you plan to visit I'd recommend you plan to make a morning or an afternoon of it as its a hour there and hour back travelling if you are staying in central London. Thus it seems a shame to spend only an hour or two there. Be well prepared in advance, know what you want to look up, or who you want to look up, plus be aware that time flies quickly whilst you are there its easy to get engrossed in what you find. Also nearby is the world famous Kew Gardens so you could make a day out of it, or offload anyone accompanying you to the gardens whilst you browse dusty documents!! ;)
 
Alexander Bisset said:
When I visited a couple of years ago all I had to do was to show some photo id (your passport would be fine) and some other id, my drivers licence was fine. Then she filled out a form on the computer and took me through some rules then a machine took a photo and a short while later the card was ready for me to collect at the desk. In the time whilst I was waiting I browsed some information on the computer and planned what I was going to look at. I did find some good info but I wish I'd planned more.

Be aware that getting there may take some time. The journey from central London takes around 40 minutes then there is a 10-15 minute walk (depending on how spritely you are) to the actual venue. There is a large canteen and bookshop on site so there is no need to stop to eat before hand. Once there you need to put any bags and coats in a locker and take limited materials, paper/pencils (no pens), laptop etc into the research rooms.

It is very wise if your time is limited to be REALLY sure before you arrive what you want to look at, so that you maximise the time you have there. It is worth spending time on their site before you arrive finding out what's available and deciding what you want to look up. It can be really frustrating to not know where to start and end up browsing their website thinking, "I'm wasting my time here I could have looked at their website from home and been organised".

Unfortunately I fell foul of this and found that I wasn't that sure what I was wanting to see. I ended up looking at their computers and was disappointed to see that most of what they have on the internal website is simply links to subscription access to Ancestry or other such sites. I felt that if I'd known what records they had I could have gone with a definite plan. Instead I spent the hour or so after I got my reader card simply finding out what I could see then realising that a whole lot of what they had wasn't much more than I could get online anyway. I ended up after 3 hours having something to eat buying books in the shop (some really varied books there I've not seen before) and heading back to London feeling I'd wasted my day because I wasn't prepared.

So if you plan to visit I'd recommend you plan to make a morning or an afternoon of it as its a hour there and hour back travelling if you are staying in central London. Thus it seems a shame to spend only an hour or two there. Be well prepared in advance, know what you want to look up, or who you want to look up, plus be aware that time flies quickly whilst you are there its easy to get engrossed in what you find. Also nearby is the world famous Kew Gardens so you could make a day out of it, or offload anyone accompanying you to the gardens whilst you browse dusty documents!! ;)
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Thanks Alexander for the advice, I will certainly plan ahead.
 
Amanda said:
Margary, if you want any help in planning something to look at I am happy to help you if I can do it
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That is very kind of you Amanda. Am on the sick list at the moment and my brain isn't working. I'll have to put some thought to what I hope to achieve. Thanks again.
 
I can confirm what Alexander said. It's now several years since my brother and I visited the National Archives (he from the US and me from Finland). Without any preparation whatsoever, we thought we'd find information on our father's army career. We got our reader's ticket OK; that was the easy part. But finding our way round that vast place without any preparation was hopeless. Talk about Kafka's Castle! I think we'd still be there, two little cobwebbed figures groping around in dark corners, if some very helpful customer, obviously an old-hand, hadn't taken pity on us and showed us what to do and where to go. She was so kind and in the end we did get the war diary of his unit in the First World War (when he was badly wounded) plus records of events in Norway at the end of the Second World War (in which he was involved). I say "we got"; what we actually got were the correct reference numbers. The documents were later sent to me. Remember the old scout motto: "Be Prepared", and you'll be OK.
 
Gillian said:
I can confirm what Alexander said. It's now several years since my brother and I visited the National Archives (he from the US and me from Finland). Without any preparation whatsoever, we thought we'd find information on our father's army career. We got our reader's ticket OK; that was the easy part. But finding our way round that vast place without any preparation was hopeless. Talk about Kafka's Castle! I think we'd still be there, two little cobwebbed figures groping around in dark corners, if some very helpful customer, obviously an old-hand, hadn't taken pity on us and showed us what to do and where to go. She was so kind and in the end we did get the war diary of his unit in the First World War (when he was badly wounded) plus records of events in Norway at the end of the Second World War (in which he was involved). I say "we got"; what we actually got were the correct reference numbers. The documents were later sent to me. Remember the old scout motto: "Be Prepared", and you'll be OK.
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Ooh Gillian, I'm always prepared (was a Girl Guide!).
 
If you get over/underwhelmed by the Archives, there are some good pubs nearby where you can recover. At least there were; I'm talking about 10 years ago.
 
I've just been the once. I went to try and find more about my great uncle who was in the Black Watch in Sudan in 1885. I didn't need a reader's ticket as the medal rolls etc are on microfiche, so I wasn't wanting original documents. I found the banks of computers with access to Ancestry and anyone else who has TNA records very useful as I found that it wasn't actually my great uncle, but his uncle (my great great uncle), and needed to cross check census information etc.. It was a rewarding experience but exhausting. As stated, be prepared and you'll be fine.
 
Gillian said:
If you get over/underwhelmed by the Archives, there are some good pubs nearby where you can recover. At least there were; I'm talking about 10 years ago.
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We went on a coach trip - my wife came on the coach but went to Kew Gardens instead!
 
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