Explore York Archives is responsible for acquiring, preserving and promoting the Archive and Local History collections relating to the City of York council area. We are an independent Industrial and Provident Mutual operating under a fixed-term, fixed-sum contract with City of York Council, currently in place until March 2034.

Our collections contain thousands of unique documents, plans and photographs that tell the story of over 850 years of York’s history. Our oldest document dates from 1155, the most recent from this year.

We also look after thousands of books, historic newspapers and maps about the city and surrounding area.

The civic archive contains the records of City of York Council and its predecessors, whilst our community collections include personal and family papers as well as the records of York-based charities, businesses and community groups.

To find out more about our service and our collections find out more on our website at exploreyork.org.uk/archives/

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky or find out more about what we are up to on our Archives Blog.