Stoke on Trent City Archives

Contact

We prefer that you contact us by email: stoke.archives@stoke.gov.uk 

Our Reading Room is temporarily closed due to move preparation work and moving (as shown below). However, we will listen to any messages left every other day, Monday to Friday and will respond as requested. We can also be contacted by letter.

Phone: 01782 238420

Our online catalogue: Gateway to the Past

Temporary closure

The Stoke-on-Trent City Archives are temporarily closed. Please see below and at  http://www.stokearchivesismoving.uk/

Public access during period of 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. We are currently only open 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 will open as soon as we can in 2024. 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.

Temporary restriction of remote services from 27 November 2023

As we get closer to the move date, our collections are being packaged and organised for transit. Access to our collections is therefore becoming increasingly difficult and so, from 27 November 2023, our research service is temporarily suspended. In addition copying requests and those enquiries which require consultation of documents may not be possible for practical reasons. We will continue to reply to all emails and all services will resume as soon as possible after we have moved. In the meantime you can continue to contact us at stoke.archives@stoke.gov.uk.

Access and facilities

Parking arrangements

There is no public car park at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery. View more about car parking on the city council website.

Disabled badge holders may park for 3 hours without charge in on-street car parking bays and all day in off-street car parks.

Public transport

Stoke on Trent rail station is about 1.5 miles from the city central library. All buses from the stop directly outside the rail station serve Hanley city centre.

Location