The British Library holds a wealth of resources relating to the history of the UK and Ireland, from printed books, newspapers and pamphlets to manuscript diaries, letters and maps.

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Reading Room Paul Grundy

St Pancras Reading Rooms

At St Pancras we have 11 Reading Rooms, each specialising in a different subject area or type of material and with different opening hours. In our Reading Rooms you can:

  • Consult books, journals and other items from our collections
  • Access a wide range of electronic resources and electronic journals
  • Consult subject guides, bibliographies and other research aids

If you need help, please ask our Reference Specialists at the enquiry desks or contact the Reference Service.

We offer a range of free Reader sessions and 1-2-1 consultations to help you make the best use of the Library's collections.

You’ll need a Reader Pass

Opening hours for all Reading Rooms

Over 500 collection items from the British Library and institutions across Europe

Series of scenes of the first English Civil War, progressing from a meeting of conspirators to the execution of the king

Print of scenes from the first English Civil War

Death warrant of Charles I, a wide document which contains a handwritten statement, wax seals and 59 signatures

The death warrant of Charles I

29 January 1648/9

Illustrated pamphlet of the National Union of Womens Suffrage Societies, depicting a tree with branches showing the society's regionality

NUWSS pamphlets

Blog posts

“We Must Speak with Our Bodies”

Monday, August 2, 2021

This blog by Louise Siddons is part of a special Summer Scholars blog series highlighting the recent research scholars and creatives associated with the Eccles Centre, including those supported by the Centre’s awards, have undertaken across the Library’s Americas collections....

Hundreds of definitions for a big word: The Refugee Dictionary comes to the British Library

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

To mark the 70th anniversary of the UN Refugee Convention, the charity UK for UNHCR has created a dictionary with a thousand definitions of one word: refugee. A copy of this work has been presented to the British Library.

Unfinished Business: finally giving black feminist history and contribution its due

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

A guest post by Dr Hannana Siddiqui Dr Hannana Siddiqui is a leading multi-award winning expert and activist on violence against black and minority women. She has worked at Southall Black Sisters for 35 years and is also a freelance...

Help trace the stories of enslaved people in the Caribbean using colonial newspapers

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

We are excited to launch a new crowdsourcing project that explores the links between slavery and newspapers in late 18th and early 19th century Barbados: Agents of Enslavement: Colonial newspapers in the Caribbean and hidden genealogies of the enslaved. This...

Latest modern history blog posts