West Yorkshire Archive Service

The West Yorkshire Archive Service exists to preserve the past, serve the present and protect the future. We do this by collecting and looking after the unique documentary heritage of the region.

Each of our five offices holds a wide variety of collections from the twelfth century to the present day. We help members of the public use and enjoy these records. Our records can be used to find out more about your local history, family history and the history of specific buildings.

Our service has a highly skilled conservation team who look after and preserve our records. We also have an outreach team who run a wide range of events and activities throughout the year.

All our offices are free to visit but please note you will need to book an appointment in advance to view original documents in our search rooms.

Online Catalogue
You can search our online catalogue which has over 907,000 entries and new material is being added to it regularly so please keep checking for new material! Click here for guidance about how to search on-line. Or, read about our latest discoveries on our blog.

Accredited Archive Service
The West Yorkshire Archive Service has been awarded Archive Service Accreditation by the UK Archive Service Accreditation Committee. This is the UK quality standard for all areas of archive service delivery. Achieving accredited status demonstrates that West Yorkshire Archive Service has met clearly defined national standards relating to management and resourcing; the care of its unique collections and what the service offers to its entire range of users.