Join us for fantastic in-person events at The National Archives in Kew.
We also host a full programme of online events, which can be enjoyed from the comfort of home. Plus, you can explore our family and children’s events.
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Behind the Scenes Tours
- 15:30 Thursday 26 September 2024
- 15:30 Thursday 24 October 2024
- 15:30 Thursday 21 November 2024
- 15:30 Thursday 12 December 2024
We are opening the doors of The National Archives’ repositories to offer you the chance to go behind the scenes.
Discover how we keep and maintain the record for future generations and explore some of the hidden gems in our collections.
Book tickets on Eventbrite (September)
Book tickets on Eventbrite (October, November and December)
Disability through the ages
- Friday 18 October, 14:00
In this paralympic year and ahead of Disability History Month (14 November – 20 December), connect with the voices and experiences of disabled people that can be found in all kinds of unexpected records from across the centuries.
Meet our specialists and browse a curated display of original records. Learn about remarkable individuals, including champion swimmer Charles Harold Moore, Rosa May Billinghurst the window smashing suffragette, and John Laurence who petitioned the Privy Councillors for a disability pension in the 16th century.
The event is free and on a drop-in basis in the Clore Learning Centre at The National Archives in Kew. Please register to attend and be aware that there may be a short waiting time at busy periods.
Bright Stars of Black British History
- Friday 1 November, 14:00
Join writer and educator Joanna Brown and award-winning illustrator Angela Vives as they spotlight two of the fascinating life stories depicted in their biographical collection, Bright Stars of Black British History.
Learn about the lives of Sarah Forbes Bonetta – gifted Yoruba protégé of Queen Victoria – and Una Marson, Jamaican journalist, poet, playwright and BBC producer, and hear about the research journeys and creative processes that Joanna and Angela embarked on to produce this seminal book.
This event will take place at The National Archives in Kew. The event will last approximately one hour, followed by a book signing and an opportunity to view a selection of original records from The National Archives’ collection highlighting many of the ‘bright stars’ featured in this book.
Henry V – An evening with Dan Jones
- Thursday 28 November, 19:30
Bestselling historian Dan Jones returns to The National Archives to talk about his new biography of Henry V, England’s greatest king.
Henry V reigned over England for only nine years and four months, and died at the age of just thirty-five, but he looms over the landscape of the late Middle Ages and beyond.
For Dan Jones, Henry is one of the most intriguing characters in all medieval history, but one of the hardest to pin down: a hardened warrior, yet also bookish and artistic; a leader who made mistakes, yet always triumphed when it mattered. As king, he saved a shattered country from economic ruin, and in foreign diplomacy he made England a serious player once more. Yet through his conquests in northern France, he sowed the seeds for calamity at home, in the form of the Wars of the Roses.
Dan will be in conversation with The National Archives’ medieval specialist, Euan Roger. This in conversation event takes place at The National Archives in Kew. The event will last approximately one hour, followed by a book signing and an opportunity to view original records from The National Archives’ collection.
Common questions about booking and accessing our online events.