List of online exhibitions by name
View the list of all our online exhibitions below. You can also sort the list by historical period.
1901: Living at the time of the census
Find out what life was like in 1901 and learn about the census and how to discover more about the people and places in it. You can search the 1901 census at www.1901censusonline.com.
20th Century Heroes and Villains
Churchill, Kennedy, Mussolini, Stalin, Truman, King - were they heroes or villains? You can look at the evidence and make up your own mind using this resource for schools.
Africa through a lens
Africa through a lens is a set of thousands of images taken from a broader photographic collection of Foreign and Commonwealth Office images, held at The National Archives.
Abolition of Slavery
Learn about the transatlantic slave trade through our new research guide and online resources. Read abolitionists' wills and accounts of a slave ship's voyage across the Atlantic.
Americas through a lens
View scenes spanning more than 100 years from Canada to Belize, taken from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Collection (CO 1069).
Asia through a lens
Explore remarkable images taken from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office collection (CO 1069) from across the Asian continent.
The Art of War - British propaganda 1939-45
View our fascinating and colourful collections of illustrations, propaganda, cartoons, films and art created during the Second World War.
Australasia through a lens
See remarkable photographs and drawings dating back as far as the mid-19th century from Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific Islands.
Black Presence: Asian and Black history in Britain from 1500 to 1850
Discover the rich history of Asian and Black communities living in Britain during this time, as seen through contemporary documents.
Britain 1906-18
The First World War, votes for women, the growth of the welfare state – find out more about Britain at a time of great upheaval and change in this resource for schools.
British Battles: From Crimea to Korea
From Crimea (1854) to Korea (1951) - a selection of four British battles. This exhibition uses documents, images and text to describe how and why Britain was at war.
British Empire
Trace the extraordinary role of the British Empire in the history of Britain and the world using this resource for schools.
Cabinet papers
Caribbean Histories Revealed
The history of the British Caribbean is explored in this exhibition through government documents, photographs and maps dating from the 17th century to the 1920s and discovered during a cataloguing project at The National Archives.
Caribbean through a lens - explored!
Discover some of the extraordinary outreach projects conducted with Caribbean community groups and inspired by images from the Foreign and Commonwealth collection.
Citizenship
Citizenship is often in the news but what is it? How has it changed over the centuries?
Civil War
Find out about archival sources and investigate the conflict involving King Charles I, Parliament, the people and Oliver Cromwell.
Cold War
Discover the causes and effects of the Cold War, from the original documents and film footage of the time.
Crime and Punishment
Investigate crime in Britain, its prevention and punishment, from the 13th century to the present.
Dambusters
On the night of 16 May 1943, the specially formed 617 Squadron flew modified Lancaster bombers to Germany, on a mission that was to become one of the most famous episodes of the Second World War, the Dambusters raid.
Design Registers
An online exhibition featuring 300 mid-Victorian ceramic designs and other curiosities.
Domesday Book
Learn how and why Domesday was created and the differences between Great and Little Domesday.
First World War
A valuable research tool to trace ancestors who served in the First World War and create a wider understanding of the global nature of war and its consequences.
First World War Military Service Tribunals
Find case papers (MH 47) from the Middlesex Appeal Tribunal covering applications for exemption for military service between 1916 and 1918.
Focus on the Census
Explore the 1891 census using maps, photographs and census returns.
Focus on Domesday
Explore one of Britain’s oldest and most famous documents, Domesday Book.
Focus on film
View historical films ranging from the beach at Folkestone in 1904 to the war zone of Vietnam in 1969.
Focus on Isaac Rosenberg
Isaac Rosenberg is one of the lesser known of the war poets, though he is considered to be one of the finest. See how family and military records provide an insight into his life.
Great Fire of London
This website for key stage 1 pupils tells the story of the Great Fire of London in an engaging way, with activities and games. It was created by the Museum of London in partnership with The National Archives, London Fire Brigade Museum, National Portrait Gallery and London Metropolitan Archives.
The Great War, 1914-1918
Investigate the causes and the nature of the First World War in this resource for schools.
Henry VIII: Power, Passion, Parchment
We commemorate the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s coronation with a wealth of information about the legendary monarch’s life and legacy. Highlights include an account of Anne Boleyn’s trial for treason and the Valor Ecclesiasticus.
Human Rights
Using original documents from The National Archives, this exhibition provides a historical background to some of the rights we today take for granted. Explore the struggle for and development of rights, browse the timeline of events and see images of original documents.
The Home Front
What was life like on the Home Front during the Second World War? We look at preparations for war, the bombing of Britain, spies, the role of women and much more in this resource for schools.
Maps
The National Archives has one of the world’s richest holdings of historical mapping, more than six million maps and plans, with more added every year.
Nelson, Trafalgar, and those who served
Set to the background of Britain's involvement in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and of fears of invasion by France, this exhibition describes the Battle of Trafalgar and its immediate aftermath.
The Olympic Record
Browse through records on the modern Olympic and Paralympic Games and Cultural Olympiad, from 1896 to the present, in this rich resource on sporting and cultural history.
Panjab 1947: a heart divided
Listen to the narratives of Panjabi elders uprooted from their homeland during the Partition of British India in 1947.
Power, Politics and Protest
How and why did political rights change in 19th century Britain? Find out in this resource for schools.
Public Information Films
View public information films from the 20th Century. The selection of films from 1945 -1951 features some fascinating events from Britain's post-war history.
Secrets and Spies
Find out about the history of espionage from this fascinating selection of secret documents.
Sepia
This collection of some of our photos is part of a larger project with our partners in the Safeguarding European Photographic Images for Access (SEPIA) project. It shows the development of transport of all kinds, here and elsewhere in Europe.
Titanic: 100 year anniversary
The National Archives' Titanic exhibition commemorates the centenary of the ships' sinking, displaying passenger and crew lists, videos, podcasts and a timeline of events.
Treasures from The National Archives
See some of the treasures of The National Archives, collected over a 1000 years of British history.
Tudor Hackney (in partnership with Hackney Archives)
Hear the remarkable story of Hackney and the Daniell family who lived there in Tudor times - with video drama and a virtual reality reconstruction. This is a resource for schools in partnership with Hackney Archives.
Tutorial: Advanced Latin
A step-by-step online tutorial to teach medieval Latin to an advanced level. Practise what you learn with interactive activities and extracts from original documents.
Tutorial: Beginners’ Latin
This tutorial is a beginners’ guide to the Latin used in documents between 1086 and 1733. It is the first online tutorial to help you learn the Latin from this period.
Tutorial: Palaeography
Learn how to read and transcribe old handwriting. This interactive guide will mark your attempts at transcribing ten documents dating from the reign of Henry VIII to 1800.
Tutorial: Latin palaeography
This online tutorial will help you learn to read the handwriting found in documents written in Latin between 1086 and 1500. Each of its ten lessons is constructed around a different document from The National Archives.
Uniting the kingdoms? 1066 - 1603
Uniting the Kingdoms? How the many kingdoms in Britain and Ireland united.
Victorian Britain: Fair or Foul?
What was life really like in Victorian Britain? Find out in this resource for schools.
World through a lens
Explore extraordinary images, taken from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office photographic collection (CO 1069), which span the globe and more than 100 years of history.
World War Two
Learn about the Second World War using our animated maps and investigations containing original documents, film, photographs and audio.
