Bank of England Archive

Overview

The Bank of England Archive supports the Bank’s work today, and is open for research by appointment to visitors from all over the world.

The records in the Archive cover everything from minutes of our governing committees such as the Court of Directors to modern files on our policymaking and domestic and international work, as well as our relationship with other central banks and governments. We have a large collection of staff records and customer account and stock ledgers, which can be used to research genealogy.

The Archive includes architectural plans and drawings relating to the history of the Bank of England site, correspondence from our regional branches on developments in local trade and industry and records from our solicitors. The Archive also holds the Bank’s photograph collection, which documents the history of the building, staff and key events.

How to contact us

The easiest way to contact the Bank of England Archive is to email archive@bankofengland.co.uk. Alternatively you can call 020 3461 3388 or write to: Bank of England Archive, Threadneedle Street, London EC2R 8AH.

Using the Archive 

Anyone can visit the Bank of England Archive by appointment, as long as they are doing genuine research.

We recommend that you consult our online catalogue before you visit and let us know what records you would like to see. The catalogue contains descriptions of records, rather than the records themselves.

Online catalogue

If you cannot find what you are looking for, you are welcome to contact us with a brief summary of your research and we will be happy to advise you. In the case of genealogical enquiries, we can usually check a small amount of salary ledgers or customer account or stock indexes.

Making an appointment

The Archive is open by appointment only. We are open Monday to Thursday between April and October. We are open Tuesday to Thursday between November and March. Our opening hours are 10am to 4.30pm.

Appointments must be booked at least one working day ahead, via email or phone. We advise you 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.

Each individual visitor requires an appointment, and appointments are for the named person only. If you are planning to visit with a colleague, friend or relative, each person will require a separate appointment. If you are unable to visit in person, you are welcome to send someone on your behalf.

ID requirements

Every visitor must provide, before their first visit, two separate forms of proof of identity, one showing a photograph (for example a passport, national identity card or driving licence) the other showing your address (for example a utility bill or bank statement). 

During your visit

Self-service photography

Access to records

Access to records

Online catalogue

Privacy notice

How we use your information

Information we collect

By the Bank of England Archive user registration form, and our related contact with you, the Bank of England (‘we’ or the ‘Bank’) collects personal data about you. This includes your contact details and a copy of your photo ID and a proof of address document.

Why we need your personal data

We collect your personal data as part of our running and management of the Archive (including managing access to materials and further queries), and as part of our overall security procedures to protect the safety and security of the Bank’s assets, people and visitors. This is necessary in the public interest, and in the exercise of the official authority of the Bank. If you do not provide the information, then you will not be able to visit the Archive.

What we do with your personal data

Your contact details and purpose of your visit is kept in our Archive management systems and is retained for up to 10 years, including to manage return visits, queries and claims. Your photo ID and proof of address document is kept in our visitor management systems and is retained for up to 2 years as part of our security procedures. 

Your rights

You have a number of rights under data protection laws.  For example, you have the right to ask us for a copy of the personal data the Bank holds about you.  This is known as a ‘Subject Access Request’. You can ask us to change how we process or deal with your personal data, and you may also have the right in some circumstances to have your personal data amended or deleted. 

To contact us about those rights, including making a request for the personal data we hold about you or to make a complaint, please see our Privacy page or write to us at: 

The Privacy Team
Bank of England
Threadneedle Street
London, EC2R 8AH

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data not in accordance with the law you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

More information

The Bank’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted via the details above and you can also find out more about how the Bank deals with your personal data on our Privacy page.

Information about living individuals

Some of the more modern records held in the Bank Archive include information about living individuals. This information was gathered by the Bank through the course of its business, and is contained within records of permanent historic value and has, therefore, been transferred to the Bank Archive.

Information on living individuals will be handled according to the safeguards in current data protection legislation for archiving in the public interest. This means that the Bank applies the same standards to handling this information, except that some of the rights of those living individuals will have a limited application (see: ‘Your rights’ within the Bank of England Archive Privacy Notice above).

The Bank of England Archive permits third party researchers to digitise some of our records as part of their research. All researchers sign a declaration stating that:

• When consulting Bank of England records of less than 84 years old, they will not record, copy, abstract, note or put in machine readable form any personal information contained within.  
• They will not pass personal information to any third parties.
• They agree to write and seek the permission of the Bank of England Archive before they use personal information contained in Bank of England records.       
• They will not produce research, or any other form of communication, that identifies a living individual whose personal information is contained within Bank of England records unless express permission from the Bank of England has been obtained.
• Their research cannot be used by themselves, or others, in such a way as to cause damage or distress to an individual identified from Bank of England records. 
• They agree to notify the Bank of England should they believe any breach of personal information may have occurred during the course of their research.
• These provisions also apply to any assistants that work with them.

How to get to the Bank of England Archive

The Archive is located inside the Bank of England in London. Visitors should use the main Bank entrance on Threadneedle Street, EC2R 8AH.

Visiting us

Digitised documents

A number of Archive documents have been digitised:

• Committee for Building Minutes 1764-1871
• Committee of Inspection Minutes 1783-90
• Committee for Lawsuits Minutes 1802-1908
• Committee of Treasury Minutes 1779-1991
• Daily Account Books 1851-1983
• Diaries of Bonamy Dobree 1857-61
• Diaries of Montagu Norman 1913-44
• Directors' Annual Lists 1694-1950
• First World War Service Records 1914-19
• Freshfields Prison Correspondence 1781-1840
• Index to Original Subscribers to Bank Stock 1694
• Memorial to Fallen Colleagues 1914-18
• The Bank of England 1914-21 (Unpublished War History)
• The Bank of England 1939-45 (Unpublished War History)
• The Old Lady - War Memorial Supplement, 1939-45
• Archive publications

A variety of historic published material produced by the Bank of England during the twentieth century including recruitment brochures, histories of the Bank of England and the Bank Picquet.

Additionally, minutes of the Court of Directors meetings from 1694 to the late twentieth century are available.

Court of Directors