Planning a visit
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
Onsite Access
We offer 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 is on a Friday afternoon and located in Stafford town centre, a short distance from Staffordshire Record Office.
Our staff 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.
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.