Donate Your Collection to the Historic England Archive

We focus on collections that record our archaeological, architectural and cultural heritage. Accessible to the public, they allow us to share memories and lived histories of places in England. 

The Historic England Archive holds over 14 million items and continues to grow. We're acquiring collections that shed new light on England's unique historic environment. Can you help us by adding to our archive collections?

Contact us about collections of photographs, drawings and plans, both historic and modern. We're very grateful to everyone who gives us material. Entrusting your collection to us will ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy it.

How do we decide which collections to accept?

In deciding whether to accept a collection offered to us we’ll consider whether:

• The collection fills a gap in our existing holdings or enhances what we already hold
• There’s another archive which would be a more appropriate home for a collection. A local record office is sometimes the best choice for collections about particular places
• The records are original – we don't usually accept copies of material available elsewhere
• The collection is well documented and organised so that we can provide access to researchers

Read the Collections Development Policy

Our latest acquisitions

Every year, we acquire lots of new collections for the Archive. Before they appear online, they need conserving, cataloguing and digitising.

Here are some of our latest acquisitions:

• Philip Henry Delamotte photograph of the Crystal Palace
  An interior view of the Crystal Palace on Sydenham Hill, taken in about 1858. (Reference DLM04)
• Bedford Lemere and Company photograph of men in top hats
  A photographic print taken between 1893 and 1900, showing a group of men posing at a building site in London. (Reference BL/P741)
• Mervyn Benford slides of milestones and telephone boxes
  Headteacher Mervyn Benford, was a founder member of the Milestone Society. He took these photographs between about 1985 and 2005. There are around 5,000 35-millimetre slides in the collection. (Reference MBE01)
• William Savage lantern slides of Castle Acre Priory
  William Savage, the first custodian of Castle Acre Priory once owned these images. The 18 lantern slides were taken between 1920 and 1939. (Reference CLS01)
• Noel Melville-Richards album of Ministry of Works postcards
  Compiled by photographer Noel Melville-Richards, this album features around 1,000 postcards. The Ministry of Works published them between about 1918 and 1939. (Reference MRA01)
• Photographs of 20th-century buildings
  The History of Art Department at Warwick University compiled this collection between about 1970 and 2000. It features around 2,500 black and white photographs. (Reference UWP01)

• Healey and Baker photograph albums
  The nine photograph albums in this collection show commercial premises. Estate agents Healey and Baker marketed them between 1946 and 1966. (Reference HAB01) 
• Anthony Lickfold photographs of Cold War rocket test site
  Three photographs record the building of the New Battery and High Down Test Site on the Isle of Wight. Civil engineer Anthony Lickfold took them while working on the site in 1956. (Reference AGL01)
• Morgan Braithwaite photographs of Ludgate Farmhouse
  Ninety-nine photographs show Ludgate Farmhouse in Kent, before and after restoration (Reference LGH01).
• Bob Meeson drawings and reports
  Around 500 drawings and 75 reports compiled by building surveyor Bob Meeson between 1980 and 2000. (Reference MEE01)

Contact us about a donation

If you have records which you think we might be interested in and would like to discuss this further please contact our Archive Services Team:  [email protected].