Local Studies and Archive Centre

Welcome

If you would like to trace the history of your family, your house or local community, or if you are working on a school or college project, then we may be able to help you. The Centre produces a range of local history information sheets and research guides to help you with your studies.

The Collections

The archive collections include the records of Bexley Council and its predecessors, schools, churches, estates, people, businesses and societies.

The local studies collection comprises of newspapers from 1873 to the present; unique photographs, postcards and illustrations; books and journals on all aspects of Bexley, Kent and London; pamphlets; posters; oral histories; local maps and plans, from around the 18th Century to present; census records; street and trade directories and South East London telephone directories from 1940 onwards.

Both the archives and local studies collections can help you find out about the history of your family, house, street, district, famous Bexley people, landmarks and events.

Online Catalogue

Our Online Catalogue enables you to search for information in the archive and local studies collections. You can search the archive catalogue or Local Studies Catalogue separately or conduct an advanced search of all the catalogues.

You can also search for the personal, corporate names and places that interest you.

The archive catalogue also contains digital images of 2,300 postcards from the London Borough of Bexley, dating from the 1890s to the present. To search for photographs:

go to Search archive catalogue
choose 'Digital Image' from the Format field
type a key word in the Any Text field
click Search at the bottom of the screen

High resolution copies are available for purchase.

New Book Release

Crayford: A History by E O Thomas
This comprehensive and well researched book reveals the history of the town of Crayford, from the time of early settlement, before the Romans, to the present day. The book includes chapters on Crayford’s lost country houses, local politics, schools, industry, entertainment and sport. It also features many rare images of Crayford that have not been previously been published. Crayford; A History is a must read for either the keen local historian or the casual reader.

Facilities

When you are in our Research Room you can also access the Ancestry Library edition for free. Ancestry Library Edition enables you to search censuses for England, Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands from 1841 to 1901, England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes for births, deaths and marriages, plus UK and Ireland parish and probate records from the 1500s to the 1800s and even earlier. There are also a few military, immigration/emigration, court and probate records.

We also provide: 6 People's Networks computers; 5 microfilm/fiche readers (two with printers); a WiFi zone; dedicated space for class visits and talks.