London Metropolitan Archives (LMA)
40 Northampton Road
London
EC1R 0HB
T: 020 7332 3820
E: ask.lma@cityoflondon.gov.uk
Visitor Information
Mon 9.30am-4.45pm
Tue-Thu 9.30am-7.30pm
Fri closed
Open one Saturday per month – please call or visit website for Saturday dates and times
LMA makes publicly available for research over 44 miles of records covering a period of almost 1,000 years, making it one of the largest civic archives in the world.
The archive of the City of London is one of the oldest, most complete and wide-ranging civic archives in the world. Dating from 1067, with a Charter of William I, the collection traces the history of the City through a thousand years of governing the square mile, encompassing periods of civil war and national unrest, the Great Fire of London, and the growth of metropolitan London. The City’s unique role in national life with its traditional ceremonial role and emergence in the 20th century as a leading local authority is documented here.
The history of metropolitan London can be traced through the archive of the Middlesex Sessions of the Peace, both administrative and judicial, from the 16th century. The LMA also has records for the various bodies set up in the 19th century to run the capital – the Metropolitan Water Board, the Metropolitan Buildings Office, the School Board for London and the Metropolitan Asylums Board. Our 100,000 volume library began life over 100 years ago with the Metropolitan Board of Works.