The National Archives Labs

You may find that some of our Labs applications are running slowly. We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your  patience while we work to improve the service.

We’ve created The National Archives Labs because we want to involve you, the customer, in the development of our services. Whether it be an improvement to an existing service or a completely new and innovative way of presenting the rich and vast data we hold, we want you to tell us what you think. Essentially, The National Archives Labs is a test area for you to try out our new ideas without affecting the main website. Read more

Datasets for ‘Hack on the Record’

Datasets for ‘Hack on the Record’

Over the weekend of 24 and 25 March, The National Archives is holding its first hack day.

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Datasets – UPDATED

Datasets – UPDATED

We have updated our variety of datasets, which are based on records and information held by The National Archives, and encourage web developers to experiment with new applications, online tools and ways of visualising data.
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Cabinet papers keywords

Cabinet papers keywords

Cabinet papers datasets are available to download for web developers. Read more

Transparency

Transparency

We have released our first tranche of data in response to the Prime Minister’s letter on transparency. This covers details of contracts, energy consumption, tenders and spending, as well as expense claims by Directors. Read more

UK history photo finder

UK history photo finder

This tool allows you to search and view digitised historical photographs of the UK and Ireland. Starting with the Dixon-Scott collection, which holds more than 14,000 photographs taken in the 1920s-1940s, we will be adding new photographic resources in time. You can search by location and view images for free.

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Archives Media Player – for all our video and audio content

Archives Media Player – for all our video and audio content

Find, play and download our audio and video podcasts. Read more

The Discovery service – UPDATED

The Discovery service – UPDATED

We have released an update to our new, beta search facility. Read more

Domesday on a map

Domesday on a map

This tool enables you to search and browse over 90% of the places mentioned in Domesday Book.

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Valuation Office map finder

Valuation Office map finder

Use this tool to identify and order Valuation Office Survey maps of England and Wales from 1910 to 1915. Our Catalogue contains descriptions of nearly 50,000 Valuation Office Survey maps and this innovative tool provides a simple way to identify and order a map without having to visit The National Archives. The process previously required a complex, multi-stage onsite search.

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The National Archives’ API

The National Archives’ API

Developers can explore our Discovery service using our new API (application programming interface). Read more

Updated October 2011 – Linked data PRONOM

Updated October 2011 – Linked data PRONOM

PRONOM is The National Archives’ technical registry – we plan to release the data it holds, in a linked open data format, and make it easier to reuse.

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16/06/11 UPDATE – Improving search

16/06/11 UPDATE – Improving search

We have further developed our new taxonomy allowing users to filter search results using subject categories.

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UPDATED – Person search

UPDATED – Person search

Our person search tool has been enhanced so you can search for names both in our catalogues and in census returns and other records hosted by some of our external partners.
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