I went with my wife and we knew what we were looking for and the staff made the whole thing very easy, from getting our history cards to finding the records we needed, to supplying the permit to photograph the records.
The feeling of actually touching the records of family events from nearly a century ago was really exciting, and we have our own photographed copies to take away, just amazing.
Visited for the interesting Past London exhibition. There were lots of informative images and displays. Didn't avail the services of the archive itself but many people were.
The archives are an excellent resource for finding out about the history of London so it's a pity that it feels so difficult to get to. It's poorly signposted and approaching from Bowling Green Lane, there was one sign that pointed in the wrong direction and no further signs. The entrance to the archive isn't obvious, either. To use the archive, you need to register and go there personally to get your pass (their History Card) before you can order resources, which effectively prevents new users from requesting research materials online. When I went to get my History Card, I had to wait 20 minutes to be seen in spite of there being 2 registrars available - one seemed to be doing nothing. Getting resources takes a minimum of 25 minutes from the order being placed. Free lockers. Clean toilets. Space to eat sandwiches. There's free access to worldwide Ancestry. There was an interesting exhibition about Londoners when i was there, on till 5th July 2017.
Superb resource of maps, facility to copy or have them professionally copied, staff knowledgeable and helpful
Disappointed with the Picturing Forgotten London exhibition, I was expecting a little more, I also went during the day because it would be calmer and people (visitors and staff) kept zooming past me which made feel out of place.
Came for a workshop on LGBTQ primary sources, learned a ton, shared some laughs, and made some new friends. We didn't have time to peruse the main collection, but I hope to do so at the next workshop as it looked really interesting.
Looked at the map and a lack of underground stations means I don't understand where it is. Didn't go with the help of Google.
I went there with my school on Thursday december 11th it was epic we learnt about maps and things like that
Very friendly and helpful staff. And I'm very happy with the recent update to the wifi in the reading room.
rbkc.gov.uk
