The Bank's archive holds a broad range of material of interest to researchers in a large number of fields. Obviously the Bank's records are of prime importance to economic historians, but our holdings are also of potential interest, for example to social and business historians, architectural specialists, biographers and genealogists. The archive is catalogued on a free text database which researchers are permitted to use in the searchroom. A set of bound lists is also available for consultation. The Bank aims to follow as far as it reasonably can the provisions of the Public Records Act with regard to public access to its records, although these apply to government agencies and not to the Bank.
Consequently researchers are able to have access to most records over thirty years old.
The archive is open by appointment every weekday from ten o'clock until half past four. A number of buses stop outside the Bank.