Stoke-on-Trent City Archives is situated on the Lower Ground Floor of the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery and is fully wheelchair and push chair accessible. The nearest parking options can be found using Google Maps; for blue badge holders, the closest parking spaces are situated off Warner Street. The museum is a 3 minute walk from Hanley bus station and 1.2 miles from Stoke-on-Trent railway station.

Ordering Documents in Advance

To make best use of your time we advise ordering documents in advance of your visit. You can search our online catalogue Gateway to the Past to find documents, but please contact us if you can’t find what you’re looking for. Let us know what you’re researching when you order documents, as we might be able to advise you further.

The Archives Card

To look at original records you’ll need to sign up to the Archives Card scheme. You can begin the sign-up process before you arrive and then complete your registration on your first visit, which requires you to bring along two forms of identity. A list of valid forms of ID, along with further information about the Archives Card, can be found on the Archives Card’s How to get a Card page.

What You Can Bring into the Reading Room

For the security and safety of our collections we limit what you can bring into the reading room to the following items:

• Pencils (but not pens)
• Notepads
• Laptops or tablets
• Mobile phones
• Cameras

We provide lockers for all your other possessions and there are tables and chairs outside the reading room for breaks.

Copying Service

During your visit we can provide copies of documents as either physical print-outs or digital files. Up-to-date charges for this service can be found on our Fees and Charges page.

Photography

If you’d like to photograph documents during your visit you can purchase a day or an annual photography permit from us, subject to any special access restrictions that the document you are looking at might be subject to. You can pay on the day using cash, or online by card in advance of your visit – please ask about this when making your booking. We also provide a full reprographics service. Up-to-date charges for these services can be found on our Fees and Charges page.

Permission to photograph is for your own personal study only and the usual copyright restrictions will apply. If you wish to photograph items in the Spode Collection this requires advance permission, so please contact us for more details.

Violet’s Café and Picnic Area

Violet’s Café is adjacent to our reading room and has a picnic area if you wish to bring your own refreshments. There are also toilets in the café area.