London Metropolitan Archives

The History of London collection is a Designated Collection of national importance.

The collection is held at the Guildhall Library and the London Metropolitan Archives, and traces the history of the City of London and Greater London. The History of London collection is a unique, extensive and incredibly rich collection of material on the history of Britain’s capital city. The collections reveal the impact of London on social, cultural, economic and political developments in the rest of the country. The collection also reflects the central role of London in the globalisation of the economy and culture since the 18th century.

LMA holds the official records from the former counties of London and Middlesex. These include the Middlesex Sessions of the Peace, dating from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries, and County Councils of London and Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. These organisations affected every part of public life, from health to housing to highways.

LMA has official records covering the much larger area of Greater London from 1965 to 1986. Information on the Greater London area can also be found with the London Borough local archive services.

There is also an extraordinary range of other archives held at LMA. We have records of: Associations (from 1555), Businesses (from 1560), Charities (from 1377), Court records (from 1549), Diocesan records (from 1467), Families and individuals (from 1160), Health authorities and hospitals (from 1220), Jewish organisations (from 1591),
Local authorities (from 1538), National records (from 1653).

Also included are 'London Generations' (from 1538) - this is the section of LMA devoted to bringing family history sources together for you to use. London Generations includes the records of over 800 Anglican parishes, many non-conformist churches and chapels, poor law records, school registers and electoral registers. You can search London Generations as a database on LMA's website.

For visual sources, we have extensive holdings of printed maps of London from the sixteenth century, thematic maps including bomb damage, plans and drawings in the Building Act case file series and other collections, and over 250,000 prints, watercolours, etchings and photographs showing the changing face of London over the last 300 years.

The above is only a brief sample of LMA's vast collections: for detailed information contact our enquiry team or speak to a member of staff in the public rooms.

Collection details

Trade and Commerce, Social History, Science and Technology, Religion, Photography, Personalities, Performing Arts, Music, Medicine, Literature, Law and Order, Land Transport, Inland Waterways, Industry, Archives, Architecture

Key artists and exhibits

• Designated Collection

Collections services

• General guide to collections available
• Object identification and/or written enquiry service
• Public access available to collections information
• Object study facilities available (enquire in advance)