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Staffordshire Record Office
Public Access During Temporary Closure
Our onsite services have recently been paused to allow us to temporarily relocate as part first stage of the Staffordshire History Centre project. This exciting heritage project will create modern facilities, bring together three incredible collections and create exciting and imaginative ways to connect Staffordshire people and their stories. You can find updates about the project here: Staffordshire History Centre - Staffordshire County Council.
Onsite Access
Our onsite access will resumed from 22 July. This is a limited service for statutory legal or other time sensitive requirements, where no digital or remote service is suitable.
Each request will be carefully considered by staff against set criteria. If your request meets the criteria for public access our team will arrange an appointment for you.
The onsite access will be on a Friday afternoon and located in Stafford town centre, a short distance from Staffordshire Record Office.
Our staff will continue to run an enquiry service and are able to signpost to the most suitable resources.
Please be aware that all services will be dependent on changing levels of access to the collections during the building project and two weeks’ notice will be needed for production of documents from other sites. William Salt Library collections are currently in temporary storage and access is very limited with some areas of the collection not available until further notice, requests will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
We will review access on a regular basis and welcome feedback from service users.
Public Access During Temporary Closure: Autumn 2022 Update
We have been continually reviewing our onsite services since moving into temporary accommodation as part of the Staffordshire History Centre project.
At present there is no change to our limited public access, and we can only offer physical access for certain time sensitive legal enquiries. Requests for access will continue to be carefully assessed by staff against set criteria.
We continue to offer a full enquiry and reprographics services and staff will be happy to signpost you to the most suitable resource, please see below for our contact details.
We will review our public service arrangements again in early 2023 and welcome feedback from service users. As construction work for the project progresses, both our public and remote services may be subject to short notice changes.
For further updates please continue to check this page. You can stay in touch by subscribing to our Service newsletter and visiting our social media channels.
You can also get in touch via email: Staffordshire Record Office Please submit all enquiries and requests for access to this address.
Stoke on Trent City Archives
Public access during temporary closure
Stoke-on-Trent City Archives is moving to a new home at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery just next door. This will bring together the City’s Archive and Museum collections under one roof for the first time. The move, also for the first time, brings together all of our collections (archives, local studies and potteries library) in one purpose-built strongroom.
In preparation for the move, all of our collections need to be carefully packaged by the Archives staff and volunteers. This is a huge task and with regret we will have to reduce our on-site services temporarily. From the week beginning 9 January, we will only take appointments for urgent legal enquiries that cannot be resolved with photocopying.
We are very conscious that due to the pandemic and then reduced staffing levels, you have already had a period of reduced access. We very much regret limiting services again but we hope you will bear with us during this challenging but exciting time for the City Archives.
You can follow all the stages of the move on our Stoke on Trent City Archives is moving website at: www.stokearchivesismoving.uk.
The new reading room in the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery is due to open later in 2023. At that point, we very much look forward to welcoming you to our new home. Throughout this period, apart from a short period around the dates of the moves, we will continue our remote services, answering enquiries and providing copying services. During this period you will still be able to use FindMyPast and Ancestry.com in Stoke-on-Trent City Libraries. Keele University Special Collections and Archives has a very good local studies collection and access to some newspapers. Staffordshire Libraries (including Newcastle under Lyme) offer free access to British Newspaper Archive online.
We will only take appointments for urgent legal enquiries that cannot be resolved with photocopying.
William Salt Library
The William Salt Library is closed to the public. Documents, books and other material held by the Library can be consulted at Staffordshire Record Office. Please follow the Staffordshire Record Office links above for further information.
Lichfield History Access Point
The Lichfield History Access Point in Lichfield Library is open by appointment only.