Are you interested in tracing your family history, house history or researching the changes in your local area over the years? Maybe you want to learn more about notable local residents or local businesses? Our archive collections might be able to help!
Hammersmith and Fulham Archives and Local Studies is the official repository for the historic records of Hammersmith & Fulham Council and its predecessors. We also actively collect any material from around the local area. This includes:
- Photographs
- Local Histories
- Documents
- Leaflets
- Posters
- Maps
If you think you might have something you’d like to donate, head over to our donations page for more information.
Searching our collections
To explore what we have in our collections, head over to our online catalogue where you can search descriptions of our records.
To help you get started, we have produced a series of guides:
- A guide to index cards
- A guide to researching house history
- A guide to exploring our newspapers
- A guide to exploring our cemetery records
Archives
Our original material is stored in a controlled environment store off-site. We keep our collections in these conditions to ensure their survival for generations to come. In order to give us time to locate, retrieve and transfer records to our search room, we do ask that all requests to view archival material are sent at least one week in advance.
Highlights in our collections include:
- Records of the Fulham Pottery (DD/255, 336)
- Papers of Sir William Bull (DD/332)
- Greek Cypriot Association of Fulham (DD/979)
- Records of the Godolphin School (DD/984)
Open access collections
While a vast amount of our collections are kept in off-site stores, we also have a wonderful open access collection that can be browsed without a prior appointment. These include:
- Photographic collections
- Information Indexes
- Local newspapers
- Local histories
- Electoral registers
- OS Maps
- Directories
Audio-visual collections
You can explore many of our moving image records online at the London Screen Archives
This collection includes
- Fulham District Scouts from the 1950s
- Cave Club visit to Yugoslavia.
- Loyal Greeting from Hammersmith to the Queen for her Coronation, Hammersmith Coronation Procession and Carnival,
- Shepherds Bush Gaumont Cinema Re-opens
- The Opening of the Fulham Power Station
For more information please contact our archivist at Archives@lbhf.gov.uk.
Digital local history collections
We also have a small digital collection to help with your research such as the Times Digital Archive(1785-2010), Family History Guides plus Names Studies from Oxford Reference and also ebooks from Overdrive about getting started with family history.
- Tracing Your Poor Ancestors - A Guide for Family Historians by Stuart A. Raymond
- Tracing Your London Ancestors by Jonathan Oates
- Tracing Your Ancestors' Childhood by Sue Wilkes
- Tracing Your Ancestors Through Local History Records by Jonathan Oates
- Tracing Your Caribbean Ancestors - A National Archives Guide by Guy Grannum
- Tracing Your House History- by Gill Blanchard
- The Oxford Dictionary of Local and Family History Edited by David Hey
- Tracing Your Ancestors Through Family Photographs by Jayne Shrimpton
Ancestry Library Edition is only available in Library branches on a library PC.
Artwork and museum objects
We also have a small collection of museum objects on ArtUK, including artwork by
- Robert Pollard (1755–1838)
- Agnes Pringle (1853–1934)
- Charlotte Antonia Sulivan (1824–1911)
You can see a selection of them here artwork and museum objects.
Cemeteries
For all enquiries relating to burials please email cemeteries@lbhf.gov.uk.
Planning records
You can explore planning records remotely using our Public Access applications search.