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 Bank of England was founded in 1694, although records relating to the site of Threadneedle Street and the surrounding area date from as early as 1516. 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 

Due to Government advice on Covid-19, the Archive searchroom is currently closed until further notice. We are not able to say at present when we will re-open. If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with us by emailing archive@bankofengland.co.uk.

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. 

Please note you will not be able to visit us between 2 and 20 November 2020. We will be busy with our annual stocktake, working on collection management tasks. You can still contact us by email or phone during that time.

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

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.

Committees

• Committee for Building Minutes 1764-1871
• Committee of Inspection Minutes 1783-90
• Committee for Lawsuits Minutes 1802-1908
• Committee of Treasury Minutes 1779-1991

Court of Directors

• Minutes of the meetings from 1694 to present day 

World wars

• • The Bank Remembers: 100 Years On, 1914-2018
• First World War Service Records 1914-19
• Memorial to Fallen Colleagues 1914-18
• The Bank of England 1914-21 (Unpublished War History)
• The Bank of England 1939-45 (Unpublished War History)

Governors diaries

• Diaries of Bonamy Dobree 1857-61
• Diaries of Montagu Norman 1913-44 

Further digitised content

• Banking Act Report 1987/8 - 1997/8
• Daily Account Books 1851-1983
• Directors' Annual Lists 1694-1950
• Freshfields Prison Correspondence 1781-1840
• Index to Original Subscribers to Bank Stock 1694
• Practical issues arising from the Euro
• Statistical Summary 1927-45
• The Old Lady - War Memorial Supplement, 1939-45
• UK Overseas Investments
• 10 year anniversary of our Women in the Bank network

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 - see our archive publications.