Records and archives

At North Yorkshire County Record Office we collect, preserve, and make available a wealth of archive material relating to the history of the county of North Yorkshire.

County Record Office - closure for building maintenance

Please note that North Yorkshire County Record Office will be closed on Thursday 2 and Friday 3 September 2010, due to building maintenance. Please also note that parking will be limited on Tuesday 31 August and Wednesday 1 September.

We hold millions of documents all shapes, sizes and ages which can be used to obtain information for many personal, legal, administrative and historical purposes, such as:

• tracing ancestors;
• family history and genealogy;
• tracing ownership of property;
• determining the status of rights of way;
• discovering the position of boundaries; and
• helping people to understand life, work and people in the past

The County Record Office catalogue

Our catalogue contains documents from a wide range of sources, including national and local government authorities; private homes; solicitors' offices; churches; and others from all over the country. They are kept together for permanent preservation and public access under the care of experts in their conservation, storage and interpretation.

For a full list of the documents in the catalogue, see the Record office - catalogue page. You can also search the catalogue using keywords, document reference, title or date.

Services available at the County Record Office

The following services are available at the County Record Office:

• access free of charge for personal visitors;
• enquiry and advice service;
• research service by staff for people unable to come to the office;
• copying service (subject to copyright and the physical condition of the documents);
• document conservation;
• reprographic services; and
• environmentally controlled secure storage for the records

We also run a records management system for the County Council and other clients.