What's in the Parliamentary Archives?
The Parliamentary Archives holds several million historical records relating to Parliament, dating from 1497. These include:
Records of the House of Lords and House of CommonsOfficial records of both Houses of Parliament, including Acts, Journals, Deposited Plans and Appeal Cases. Some of records have been published and may be available in a library near you.
Other Parliamentary Collections
Other collections relating to Parliament, including the papers of the Lord Great Chamberlain and the History of Parliament Trust.
Private Papers
Collections of private political papers and records of political bodies and pressure groups, including Lloyd George, Bonar Law, and Beaverbrook.
What We Don't Hold
Due to the 1834 fire which burnt down the Houses of Parliament, we do not hold any records of the House of Commons before that date, apart from the manuscript journals and minutes, and printed journals of the House. Everything else created by the House of Commons prior to 1834 was destroyed by the fire.
Please note that we do not hold the records of government departments (the civil service) or the Crown. Those records can be found at the National Archives (formerly the Public Record Office).
We hold only a few records of MPs and peers, mostly very prominent politicians.
We do not hold the records of the Court of Appeal, only of the Law Lords. Court of Appeal records will be in the National Archives (see above), or published in Law Reports.
We do not hold the medieval records of Parliament (pre-1497). They are to be found among the Chancery records of the National Archives (see above).
Collection & Acquisition Policy
How we make decisions about what to collect, and why. This third edition was published in May 2009.
Further Information
User GuidesIntroductions to the Parliamentary Records, personal politicial papers, resources for family history research and finding photographic sources.
Digitised Historical Parliamentary Material
Summary of what published material (Acts, Parliamentary Debates and Parliamentary Papers) is available electronically.
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