Collection guides

About the collection

The British Library holds a vast array of archival material and manuscripts useful for the study of history relating to Britain from 1600 to the present day. These range from individual letters and diaries to large archives documenting the lives of particular people, families or institutions. We hold the papers of British politicians, campaigners, writers, explorers and other public figures, plus the records of the East India Company (1600-1858) and the India Office (1858-1947), which document the history of British trade, politics and colonialism.

Collection highlights

• Letters and documents of British sovereigns, their families and the Royal Household
• Archives of leading politicians and Prime Ministers, including the Earl of Danby, the Duke of Newcastle, W E Gladstone, Lord Balfour, and Jeremy Thorpe
• Papers of diplomats, colonial governors, and other civil and military office-holders
• Archives spanning several generations of families with significant roles (men and women) in public and social life often named for the great house in which they were preserved, including: Holland House (Fox), Portland (Cavendish and Harley), Dropmore (Grenville), Blenheim (Marlborough and Sunderland), Althorp (Spencer), Trumbull, Evelyn, Bowood (Lansdowne), and Melbourne (Coke and Lamb)
• Papers of reformers, journalists, and public campaigners including Francis Place, Sylvia Pankhurst, William Lovett, members of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU),  John Burns, Lord Northcliffe, Henry Wickham Steed, Sir Basil Blackett, J L Garvin, Gerald Austin Gardiner (abolition of the death penalty), Women’s Football Association, and Peter Tatchell 
• Archives of scientists, mathematicians, medical researchers, institutions and reformers, including: the Royal Society, Sir William Petty, John Pell, Sir Hans Sloane, Charles Babbage, John Tyndall, Alfred Russel Wallace, Florence Nightingale, Sir Alexander Fleming, Marie Stopes, Anne McLaren, Marilyn Monk, Donald Michie, John Maynard Smith, W Ross Ashby and George Price. We also hold an extensive collection of medical recipe books and illustrated botanical and natural history volumes.
• Explorers' records, including diaries, correspondence, maps and artworks of Sir Joseph Banks, James Cook and Robert Falcon Scott
• Collections of antiquarians, valuable for the study of local history, heraldry and genealogy
• Charters, rolls and seals, many of which date from the early modern period

List of named collections in Western Archives and Manuscripts (PDF)

What is available online?

The Explore Archives and Manuscripts catalogue contains catalogue entries for modern historical papers and manuscripts. Some manuscripts have been digitised in full on Digitised Manuscripts and selected images are available in the Online Gallery. You may also be interested in the resources held by the India Office Records and Private Papers and the India Office Family History Search. Some remote E-resources are available to registered Reader Pass holders.

What is available in our Reading Rooms?

The majority of archives and manuscripts, including personal, family and estate papers, are available to view in the Manuscripts Reading Room. You can consult India Office Records and Private Papers in the Asian and African Studies Reading Room. Digital and microform surrogates can also be viewed in the Reading Rooms.

We provide onsite access to a wide range of relevant subscription resources, including the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, the British Newspaper Archive, UK Parliamentary Papers, Nineteenth-Century Collections Online and Find My Past. 

What is available in other organisations?

The National Archives at Kew is the official archive of the UK government and for England and Wales; it holds the records of the Home Office, the Foreign Office and other government departments. The National Archives holdings and over 2,500 other UK archives can be searched via the Discovery online service. The catalogues of archives held at over 300 UK institutions can be searched via Archives Hub. The Institute of Historical Research provides resources for historians, including a major research library and research training.