The information below gives guidance on how to cite records held at The National Archives in notes, publications and theses.
Overview
A brief citation usually contains the following information:
- the name of the institution: The National Archives
- the place of custody, as in the case of the Public Record Office (PRO) or of origin, as in the case of the Historical Manuscripts Commission (HMC)
- the document reference, i.e. the code used to requisition the piece (our term for a file, volume etc.)
- the internal reference, i.e. details of the folio, page or membrane etc. number within the piece
In some cases it is necessary to include the extended reference, i.e. the full series title.
Guidance on each of these items appears below, followed by a short note of copyright requirements and an appendix dealing with recommended abbreviations.
The National Archives
The National Archives is the institution which as from 2 April 2003 incorporates both the Public Record Office (PRO) and the Historical Manuscripts Commission (HMC). The National Archives may be described as/cited as either:
- The National Archives (TNA), or:
- The National Archives of the UK (TNA)
The Public Record Office and the Historical Manuscripts Commission
The Public Record Office (PRO) has legal designation as a place of custody under the Public Records Acts of 1958 and 1967. The Historical Manuscripts Commission (HMC) has legal designation as an advisory body in the Royal Warrants of 1869, 1959 and 2003. In citation then, the name of the legal entity relevant to the documents to be cited should follow the institutional name. The names should be separated by a colon, for example:
- The National Archives (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO)
- The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO)
- The National Archives (TNA): Historical Manuscripts Commission (HMC)
- The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Historical Manuscripts Commission (HMC)
In subsequent citation, the abbreviated forms TNA: PRO and TNA: HMC may be used.
The document reference for PRO documents in The National Archives
This consists of three parts:
(i) Department code
This should be set out exactly as it appears in The National Archives' online catalogue. The department code consists of one or more capital letters with no punctuation. For example:
- C
- WO
- ADM
- MPAA
(ii) Series number
This usually consists of one set of numbers, which is added to the department code with a space intervening. For example:
- C 142
- WO 32
- ADM 114
- MPAA 1
A few series codes contain two sets of numbers, separated by an oblique stroke. For example:
- PRO 30/36
- CP 25/2
- IR 130/9
(iii) Piece number
This should be set out as it appears in the series list. It is usually a number but may be a letter or a combination of number and letter. It is separated from the series code by an oblique stroke. For example:
- JUST 1/46
- SP 17/B
- ASSI 34/57A
In a few series, the piece number may consist of two or more sets of numbers, or letters and numbers. More complex piece numbers may include a regnal year, law term, diocese, or continent. Please cite these exactly as they appear on The National Archives' Catalogue. For example:
- E 163/6/46
- C 2/ChasI/B42/10
- E 134/25Eliz/Trin1
- CO 700/Malta and Ionian Islands10a
- CP 25/2/1321/2GeoIIIMich
Referring to a series
A reference to a single complete series consist of department code, space, series number:
- ADM 22
A reference to a run of consecutive series should contain the full code of the first and last series, separated by a hyphen:
- CP 260 - CO 265
A reference to two or more non-consecutive series should all be in full, separated by semi-colons:
- ASSI 35; ASSI 45; ASSI 54
Referring to a run of pieces in a single series
A reference to a run of consecutive pieces within a series should take one of two forms:
1 - when the first and last piece numbers differ only in the element following the final oblique stroke, there is no need to repeat all the elements; the document reference of the first piece should be given in full, followed by a hyphen and the final element of the last piece number:
- MH 17/107-112
- E 134/25Eliz/Trin1-4
2 - when the variation occurs in any element before the final oblique stroke, the complete document reference of both the first and last pieces should be given, separated by a hyphen:
- ASSI 35/55/1 - ASSI 35/58/2
A reference to two or more non-consecutive pieces in the same series should be treated in the same way. When the piece numbers differ only in the element following the final oblique stroke, the document reference of the first piece should be given in full, followed by the final element of the remaining pieces, separated from each other by a comma:
- ASSI 35/55/1, 3, 6
But when the variation occurs before the final oblique stroke, the full document reference of each piece should be given, separated by a semi-colon:
- ASSI 35/55/1; ASSI 35/56/2
The internal reference
A reference to part of a document can take a variety of forms but should always be separated from the piece number by a comma, not by an oblique stroke.
The following abbreviations should be used, without punctuation and not italicised:
- p or pp for page or pages
- f or ff for folio or folios
- no or nos for number or numbers
- m or mm for membrane or membranes (used only for chancery-style rolls, i.e. those sewn head to foot, and for parchment membranes of files)
- rot or rots for rotulus or rotuli (used only for exchequer-style rolls, i.e. those sewn together at the head)
- col or cols for column or columns
The abbreviation will usually be followed by a number or a letter. Numbers are written as Arabic numerals with one exception: if a document (for example, a printed report) contains consecutive sequences, one with roman numerals and the other with Arabic numerals, small roman numerals should be used for the former:
- SP 52/64, f xvi
When the reference is to the piece of parchment rather than to its contents, the number of the folio or membrane is enough. However, when the reference is to the contents, it is necessary to be more specific. After the number should be added the letters 'r' (for the recto of a folio or the face of a membrane), 'd' (for the dorse of a membrane) or 'v' (for the verso of a folio). After letters or small roman numerals the words recto, dorse and verso should be written in full instead of the abbreviations, to prevent ambiguity. The number should be repeated when the matter referred to begins on one side and continues onto the other:
- SP 52/40, f 21r
- JUST 1/509, rot 4r-4d
- E 363/3, rot F dorse
- SP 52/64, f xvi recto - xvi dorse
The principles outlined above for runs of pieces should be followed for runs of pages or membranes.
Consecutive pages:
- CO 5/690, pp 143-149
- JUST 1/509, rots 4r-11d
Non-consecutive pages:
- CO 5/690, pp 103, 108, 113
- JUST 1/509, rots 1r, 2d, 4r
A run of almost continuous numbers can be written in the same way as consecutive numbers, with the addition of the word 'passim':
- CO 5/690, pp 103-149 passim
If there are conflicting sequences of numbers on the folios or membranes, and it is not obvious which numeration should be chosen, consult a member of staff in the Open Reading Room. The numeration chosen should be indicated briefly in a list of abbreviations or within square brackets immediately after the number when the document is first cited.
- JUST 1/699, rot 1 [orig nos] schedule 1r
If there is no internal numbering the internal reference should consist of the briefest description that allows ready identification of the part being cited, such as file number, a date, or a date and the names of the correspondents. Dates should be set out in the order day, month, year (see section below for guidance on abbreviating months) but should otherwise be given as in the document.
- PRO 1/3, 25 June 1840 Workmen to Palgrave
- T 1/4396, paper 6312/33
- CO 23/280, gov 118 of 3 Sept 1917
- FO 371/16697, paper C6006/62/18
The extended reference
In every work in which a series code is used for citation, a definition in words of that series code should somewhere appear. The words should be the series title exactly as it appears in the catalogue:
- C 139 Chancery: Inquisitions Post Mortem, Series I, Henry VI
The full series title may appear in a prefatory list of abbreviations, in a bibliography or in the footnote where the series is first cited.
Examples of full citation
- The National Archives (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO) WO 32
- The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO) JUST 1/40
- The National Archives (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO) C 139 Chancery: Inquisitions Post Mortem, Series 1, Henry VI
Thereafter:
- TNA: PRO WO 32
- TNA: PRO JUST 1/40
- TNA: PRO C 139 Chancery: Inquisitions Post Mortem, Series 1, Henry VI
Citations for HMC documents
Numbered lists of the National Register of Archives (NRA) may be cited as HMC documents in the following format:
- The National Archives (TNA): Historical Manuscripts Commission (HMC) NRA 31235
Hereafter:
- TNA: HMC NRA 31245
Copyright
Most records held in TNA: PRO are in copyright, which imposes restrictions on the extent to which they may be quoted, published in full or reproduced in facsimile without permission from the copyright owner. More information is available in our Copyright section.
Recommended abbreviations
Months
Abbreviations for months of the year:
- Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, June, July, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec
Law Terms
Some examples of how to abbreviate law terms:
- Hilary - Hil
- Trinity - Trin
- Easter - Easter
- Michaelmas - Mich
Reigns
Some examples of how to abbreviate reigns of kings and queens:- Hen III (etc)
- Chas I (etc)
- Edw I (etc)
- 1649 (etc)
- Ric II (etc)
- Wm & Mary
- Mary
- Wm III (etc)
- Phil & Mary
- Anne
- Eliz I
- Geo I (etc)
- Jas I (etc)
- Vict
