Heritage and History

Borough archives

The borough's archive and archival collections

The borough holds a variety of records relating to the government and activities of the borough itself (including Barking and Dagenham parish material such Vestry minute books and Poor Rate collectors' notebooks). In addition to these, the archive collections cover:

Archives of local industry
Schools
Property deeds
Plans
Photographs and films

The borough also holds the papers of the Fanshawe family who were connected with the borough, living mainly at Parsloes, for some 300 years.

In addition to the very fine family portraits now in Valence House Museum the largest portion of the archive consists of the letters and papers of Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1608-66, who was Ambassador to Spain for Charles II. As they were his working documents and drafts, many of these originals are in Spanish.

Currently not many of the borough's archive collections are catalogued but it is planned that, as catalogues are produced, they will be made available through this website.

Using archives

The borough's archives can be read in the Local Studies Library at Valence House Museum. You will need to contact the Archivist in advance if you wish view an archive - please use the contact details shown. The following conditions apply:

For safe-keeping, these important documents are kept carefully in the air-conditioned store room at Valence House and read by members of the public with supervision in the Local Studies Library
These records are not stored adjacent to the Local Studies Library and it is helpful to us if you can order what you would like to see in advance. It is not always possible for us to fetch items from the store room on demand
If you are coming to use original documents, please remember to bring a pencil with you as you will not be permitted to use pen or biro to make your notes in case these accidentally leave marks on the archives

Opening hours

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 10am - 4.30pm

Wednesday and Sunday: Closed

Saturday: 10am - 4pm

Facilities

Café open 10am - 3pm

Level access

Easy parking

Toilets

View some of the borough's archives

Follow the links below to see a small selection of our holdings:

Links to other useful archive websites

Public Record Office, from April 2003 renamed The National Archives. This site also contains a searchable database holding information on the existence and whereabouts of hospital records.

Go the main site, click on Catalogues, click on Hospital Records.

The National Archives also hosts Access to Archives which contains catalogues from repositories throughout England.

In April 2003, the Historical Manuscripts Commission also became part of The National Archives and changed its name to National Advisory Services.

Their National Register of Archives is one of the best online websites for searching for the whereabouts of archives. It also provides contacts details for repositories country-wide. Go to the National Archives website and click Search the archives.

A site which provides useful information about archives held in Higher Education institutions within the boundary of the M25 is Aim 25.

Another useful site for historical images of London and its people is the Corporation of London's Collage. This contains copies of historical works depicting London, categorised by theme, with prints available in a variety of sizes.