Archive | Holdings | Using the Archive | FAQs | Contact

The archive is catalogued on a free text database which researchers are permitted to use in the searchroom. In common with many other archives, the more recent records have not yet been released for research for reasons of sensitivity or confidentiality.

The Archive is open by appointment on Monday - Thursday from 10am until 4.30pm. If you are intending to visit, please see our conditions of access and searchroom regulations.

Researchers are advised to book well in advance and before making travel arrangements, as demand is high throughout the year and we cannot guarantee space will be available at short notice.

Please note the Archive will be closed to external researchers for stocktaking from Monday 8th November to Friday 19th November 2010. We will continue to answer enquiries during this period.

You can contact us by using one of the following:

By phone: +44 (0)20 7601 4810/5096/5215

By post:
The Archivist,
The Bank of England Archive,
Threadneedle Street
London
EC2R 8AH

Or by e-mail (archive@bankofengland.co.uk)

(The nearest underground station is Bank, on the Central and Northern lines. A number of buses stop outside the Bank. There is no parking available in the vicinity.)

Conditions of access and searchroom regulations

Access conditions

• Access is by appointment only. Researchers are required to complete an application form agreeing to the Bank’s conditions of access.
• Researchers must provide, in advance of their first visit, proof of identity, which may be a copy of their passport (showing the photograph page), national identity card or driving licence, and references if required.

Searchroom regulations

• No files can be ordered between 12.30 and 1.30pm, although the searchroom remains open.
• Because of their size and weight, the number of ledgers which can be ordered per day is restricted to ten.
• Photocopying is not permitted. Researchers are allowed to use their own cameras to make a limited number of copies for private or non-commercial research. Cameras may only be used at the discretion of the archivist and under supervision in a designated area.
• No food or drink is permitted in the searchroom.
• Pencil must be used at all times.