Using the searchroom

Opening hours

• Tuesday - Thursday 9.30am - 5pm
• Friday 10am - 4pm - for advance bookings to view manuscripts only 

For information about proposed changes to searchroom arrangements (including opening hours) from 1 July 2024, please see our opening times page.

Archives Card

You will need to register for an Archives Card before your visit. Go to https://archivescard.com/ to enter your details and upload a photograph. To complete your registration, bring two of the forms of ID listed when you visit.

Seat bookings

Tuesdays to Thursdays

We advise you to book in advance if you wish to view original documents, especially if you want to consult maps or sound recordings. We do not take bookings for microfilm and fiche readers.

You can book for the whole day or for a half-day session:

• Morning 10am - 2pm
• Afternoon 2 - 5pm

You can order up to two documents in advance when you book (more documents can be ordered on the day). Please ensure that we receive requests at least 24 hours before you plan to visit.

To book and to order documents, please email norfrec@norfolk.gov.uk. We will confirm your booking by email.

Fridays

On Fridays, we are open 10am - 4pm for advance bookings to view manuscripts only.

Please email norfrec@norfolk.gov.uk to book a place and order your documents. You may order four documents for the day. All documents must be ordered by 12 noon on the preceding Wednesday.

Due to limited staff availability on Fridays, you can only view pre-ordered documents. There are no document collections during the day.

To look at microfilms on Fridays, please go to the Norfolk Heritage Centre, which holds copies of most NRO microfilms.

Locating documents for your research

Search our online catalogue to identify which documents you wish to see and make a note of their reference numbers.

The catalogue includes set searches for popular searches (such as maps, parish registers and wills). See our help pages for guidance on using the catalogue. You can find further advice in the 'Using NROCAT' videos on the NRO's YouTube channel - how to. Our research guides suggest documents useful for many topics, such as tracing your family history or the history of your house. Our Guide to holdings gives an overview of the collections we hold.

Whilst most documents are available to consult, there are restrictions on using documents marked in the catalogue as:

• 'Unfit for production' or 'fragile'
• On microfilm - please consult the microfilm copy instead (except for maps, where we produce the originals unless they are unfit for production)
• On restricted access because they contain sensitive information - you will need written permission from the document's owner to see them

Please contact us if you need further advice.

At our reception, you can complete the registration for your Archives Card by showing your ID, and staff will issue you with your card. If reception is closed, please go directly to the searchroom, at the end of the entrance gallery.

There are lockers at the far end of the gallery. Bags, pens, food (including sweets) and drinks are not allowed in the searchroom, so please leave them in the lockers. Use a token (on the table beside the lockers) to release the locker key from the lock.

In the searchroom, please show your Archives Card to the staff at the counter. Ask staff at the desk if you need advice or help during your visit.

Using the searchroom is free of charge, but we welcome donations to our partner charity: the Norfolk Archives and Development Foundation (NORAH). You can donate online, or there is a donations box in the gallery.

Using original documents

We keep original documents in our strongrooms. You can order documents by completing request slips. We collect requests at the following times (Tuesdays - Thursdays):

• 10am
• 10.30am
• 11.30am
• 12.30pm
• 1.30pm
• 2.30pm
• 3.30pm

You can put in up to four document requests per collection. Documents arrive in the searchroom between 10-45 minutes after collection times. Please collect your documents from the staff counter.

On Fridays, you must order your documents in advance. There are no document collections during the day.

Please handle documents carefully, remembering that they are unique and irreplaceable. Staff are on hand if you need any help. Please help yourself to document cushions and weights from the shelves to minimise your handling of documents. Note that you must use pencils (not pens) for note taking.

Once you have finished with your documents, please return them to the staff counter.

Using microfilms

Many popular sources are available on microfilm to help save wear and tear on the originals. This includes most parish registers, pre-1858 wills and other probate records. See our Records available on Microfilm page for more details.

You can help yourself to microfilms from the cabinets in the searchroom. Staff will be able to show you how to find the right microfilm and how to use the microfilm readers.

Please ask staff if you need microfiche, which we issue from the staff counter.

On Fridays, please go to the Norfolk Heritage Centre to view microfilms. The Heritage Centre holds copies of most NRO microfilms. The NRO searchroom is only open on Fridays to visitors using original documents who have booked in advance.

Using sound recordings

When you find an entry for a recording on our online catalogue, the access conditions and/or existence of copies field will show if a copy of the recording is available, and whether you can listen to it online or in the searchroom only. This is dependent on copyright. If the recording is only available in our searchroom, please book a seat in advance and mention that you wish to listen to a sound archive recording. You can bring your own headphones, or we can provide them on request. If you listen to a recording we hold, you accept our user agreement and take-down policies.

If a sound archive recording is available online, details of any licence agreement for anything other than non-commercial private research are given in our catalogue, under 'Conditions governing reproduction'.

Please contact us if there is no copy of a sound archive recording available.

Computers

You can use the public computers in the searchroom to access the internet and the Record Office's catalogue. We also provide free access to the subscription websites Find My Past, Ancestry and The Genealogist.

You are welcome to bring your own laptop/tablet. There are power points at each desk and free Wi-Fi throughout the building.

On Fridays, only visitors who have pre-booked to use original documents can use the searchroom computers. However, you can access the Find my Past website free of charge at computers in Norfolk Libraries.

Obtaining copies

You can take photographs of documents for your own personal, non-commercial research. This is subject to any copyright or other restrictions. You will need to buy a photography permit from our reception. Before taking any pictures, please check with staff, who will ask you to complete a copyright form.

Visitors can make their own print-out copies from microfilm by purchasing a card for our self-service reader-printer.

For more details, see our fees and charges page.

We also offer an online reprographics service.

If you wish to publish images of documents (including online) please contact us first, and look at our guide on using and citing our documents.

We can provide copies of most unpublished sound archive recordings in our custody for the purpose of non-commercial research, study and private enjoyment. If you wish to use the recordings for any other purpose, contact us for advice. If you want a copy of published or broadcast sound archive recordings in our care, again please contact us. In most instances, we can only supply part of the recording. In a few cases, the NRO can provide copies for uses other than non-commercial, private research. If so, details of any licence agreements are given in our catalogue, under 'Conditions governing reproduction'.

Toilets are available at the reception end of the entrance gallery.

You are welcome to bring your own food and drink to eat at the tables in the gallery. There is a free water dispenser.

There is a vending machine providing hot drinks at County Hall reception.

Unfortunately, there is no publicly accessible restaurant on the County Hall site. The nearest cafes are at Riverside and in the city centre.

There are parking spaces for visitors with disabilities near the entrance to the Record Office.

A wheelchair-accessible lift takes you down to the public areas, which are all on one level. There is an accessible toilet.

There are loop systems for the hard of hearing at our reception desks.

Searchroom information

The King's Lynn Borough Archives is open to the public again for bookings and walk in visits. Paper catalogues, IT resources and reference books are all available.

The sessions run Tuesday to Friday from 12.30 - 4.30pm. We are also open on the first Saturday of the month from 10am - 2pm.

Please do not take up your booking if you develop any symptoms of COVID-19. Contact the Norfolk Record Office to inform us that you will not be coming. Staff will ask anyone showing signs of infection to leave immediately.

Making a booking

Search our online catalogue to identify which documents you wish to see and make a note of their reference numbers.

Please make sure that the records have "King's Lynn Borough Archives" as their repository rather than "Norfolk Record Office".

The catalogue includes set searches for popular searches (such as maps, parish registers and wills).

See our online help pages for guidance on using the catalogue. You can find further advice in the 'Using NROCAT' videos on the NRO's YouTube channel - how to.

Our online research guides suggest documents useful for many topics, such as tracing your family history or the history of your house.

Our Guide to holdings gives an overview of the collections we hold.

Whilst most documents are available to consult, there are restrictions on using documents marked 'Unfit for production' or 'fragile'. These will not be produced into the searchroom.

You can order a maximum of 2 documents in advance of your arrival. Please give at least 24 hours' notice for a booking. Additional documents can be ordered during your session.

You can book a place by emailing norfrec@norfolk.gov.uk. In your email please state:

1. The date you would like to visit
2. The references of up to two documents you would like to see

We will send a confirmation email when a place is booked.

You will also need to register for an Archives Card before your visit. Visit the Archives Card website to register. (opens new window) You will be asked to enter your details and upload a photograph. When you visit the Borough Archives, you will then need to bring two of the forms of ID listed on the website. Cards will be issued onsite.

Your visit

Please head to the Stories of Lynn Museum entrance, tell the attendant you are there to visit the archives and they will let you through. We are located at the back of the building past the first exhibition space. There are lockers for your bags.

Searchers are encouraged to wear a face covering at all times while inside the building. On entering, please sanitise your hands, but ensure that your hands are dry before handling any documents.

If you already have an Archives Card, please show it to the archivist on duty. If you do not, they will search for the details you have entered online.

You will be directed to a desk and can order and collect records from the archivist on duty. Once you have finished with a document, please return it. If there are more documents waiting for you, staff will issue them.

Facilities

Public toilets are available near to the reading room in the museum space.