London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) is a public research centre which specialises in the history of London, caring for and providing access to the historical archives of businesses, schools, hospitals, charities and all manner of other organisations from the London area. With over 100km of books, maps, photographs, films and documents dating back to 1067 in our strong rooms, we're proud to provide access to one of the finest city archives in the world - you could call it the memory of London.
Significant collections relating to regional crime and punishment organisation or to a particular individual London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) holds records for different kinds of court – coroners, magistrates or petty sessions, county courts, quarter sessions and other types of local or national court relating to London. In addition the penal system is documented through records of the City of London Police, and local authority Policing Committees and related bodies. Note records of the Metropolitan Police are not held by LMA (held at the National Archives (TNA) and the Metropolitan Police). Also records of Prisons including H.M. Wandsworth Prison, Holloway Prison and Feltham Young Offenders Institution.
Details of opening for public access and / or research services Open Monday to Thursday 10am - 4pm. If you can't visit LMA, you can still access many of our collections online and participate in our online events and activities - check our digital resources page for more details.