Research venues

Research Venues - Where and How

This page will contain info relating to reseach venues.

• name of the place to research
• Address
• Opening times
• Acessability
• special considerations.
• peoples experiences/thoughts that might help you

Key points in visiting any research venue.

Go equipped ( small change, pencils, paper,basic notes.........) Plan ahead Dont take small children

FRC & National Archives

FRC & National Archives search your bags. Guildhall & First Avenue House (wills) scan your bags. Lockers at First Avenue House are big enough to take a suitcase, I don't think any of the others are. (& you don't want to display your knickers to the security staff!)

FRC has a sandwich carousel, drinks machines etc but they can run out. TNA has a big cafe/restaurant, but there is also a water cooler & you can take your own sarnies. National Archives After 1st visit, I found it much easier, though I could never get their computers to read my reader's ticket by swiping, so I memorised the number very quickly! The security folk can be a bit intimidating, but I think their job is rather boring - and when you hear about people using highlighters on documents, you can see why they need to be vigilant. The research staff are all very helpful, in my experience.

The cafe is good and I like the fact that you can use the computer there to see if your documents are ready.

The bookshop is well stocked too. Bev & Kev- find National Archives quite "difficult".

There's one particular man on the "going up the stairs" security check who is a mite scary! Woe betide you if you have loose papers in your possession! (Moral - make sure you know the rules before you go - they are on the website)

The rooms, particularly the Map Room is huge, stuffy and with a very low ceiling, which personally makes me feel a bit queasy. You have to be very quiet in there and there's a couple of security guys who parade around the room - think school exams ..........! I don't find it comfortable at all.

Also, quick word of advice, look up what you want on A2A and order it online before you go - it's incredibly difficult to find stuff on the NA computers.

Hope I haven't put anyone off! (The cafe is nice!!)

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Cross over Clerkenwell Road and when you reach the big Post Office on the left, turn into Exmouth Market on the right. At the end of this, you see the FRC as shown in magazine pictures.

Family Records Centre /FRC Bus no 341, I think, from Waterloo.

The entrance is on the right of the wedge-shaped building.; go up the steps or the ramp to the front door. There is an attendant who will want to check your bag. Best to go down to the basement to start with; here are toilets, refreshment area and cloakroom to leave coat (it gets warm upstairs). You will need a pound coin for a locker. Going back upstairs, walk through past the shop into big room dealing with BMD certificates. There is an information desk, also the counter where eventually you will fill out coloured request forms and pay for your orders.

The first floor contains three areas of registers, births, marriages and deaths.

The registers are actually huge books, and heavy! Take down one book at a time and see what you can find. All the books are alphabetical by surname, Just a matter of working round all the other people, and getting through the years you want.

The floor above deals with census data; and there are interesting books.

Leave enough time for the payment counter; quite a queue builds up from about 2 o'clock.

Staff have always been very helpful - ie printing off census from film.

You can use biro at the FRC.

It is due to close early 2008.