Archives Fest 2026 programme

Tours

All tours are now sold out.

Behind the Scenes express tours – SOLD OUT

Times

11:30 to 12:00, 12:00 to 12:30, 12:30 to 13:00, 13:00 to 13:30, 14:00 to 14:30, 14:30 to 15:00, 15:00 to 15:30, 15:30 to 16:00

Price

General entry ticket (£12) and add-on tour ticket required (£5)

Location

Meet at Start Here Desk, first floor

Join a whistlestop tour of our repositories and discover the inner workings of The National Archives. Each tour is 30 minutes long. Tours are aimed at an adult audience but children over 12 years old are welcome to join with guardian supervision.

Conservation Studio tours – SOLD OUT

Times

11:15 to 11:45, 12:00 to 12:30, 13:30 to 14:00, 14:15 to 14:45, 15:00 to 15:30

Price

General entry ticket (£12) and add-on tour ticket (£5)

Location

Meet in Welcome Hall, ground floor

Learn about how we use science to care for our documents to ensure that history is preserved and accessible to everyone. Each tour is 30 minutes long. Tours are aimed at an adult audience but children over 12 years old are welcome to join with guardian supervision.

Talks

Magna Carta: beyond 1215 with Jessica Nelson

Times

11:15 to 11:45

Price

Included in general entry ticket

Location

Auditorium, first floor

Did you know that Magna Carta was reissued several times? 800 years on, discover the legacy of Magna Carta and how it overcame its faltering start in 1215 to influence the political landscape throughout the reign of Henry III and beyond.

Bag of Secrets with Dan Gosling

Time

12:15 to 12:45

Price

Included in general entry ticket

Location

Auditorium, first floor

The Bag of Secrets contain records from some of the most sensational trials held between the 15th and 19th centuries. Hear some of the most notorious stories including the trials of Anne Boleyn and the Gunpowder Plotters.

Designs for the 1851 Great Exhibition with Olivia Gecseg

Time

14:00 to 15:30

Price

Included in general entry ticket

Location

Auditorium, first floor

The 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park was one of the great spectacles of the Victorian period, including textiles, locomotives and musical instruments. Find out how manufacturers protected their inventions as they prepared to present them on a global stage.

Need to know: public information in wartime with Will Butler

Time

15:00 to 15:30

Price

Included in general entry ticket

Location

Auditorium, first floor

How do you keep a nation informed during conflict? Discover 20th century records that reveal how crucial wartime messages were crafted, delivered and received.

Family history

Talk: Finding your feet in family history

Times

11:45 to 12:00, 14:00 to 14:30

Price

Included in general entry ticket

Location

Learning space 3, first floor

Ever wondered how to learn more about your ancestors? Not sure where to start? We’ll give you the tips to help you start your family history journey.

Drop in advice

Times

Drop in from 12:15 to 13:15, 14:45 to 15:45

Price

Included in general entry ticket

Location

Library, first floor

Come with your questions and speak to our experts about the best ways to tackle your family history research.

Hands on history

Prize Papers

Times

Drop in from 11:15 to 15:30

Price

Included in general entry ticket

Location

Clore Broadcast Studio, first floor

What happened to the letters, papers and objects seized from captured ships during the Age of Sail? Discover some of these extraordinary artefacts and stories and meet the Prize Papers team.

The global Second World War – sounds and silences

Times

Drop in from 11:30 to 15:30

Price

Included in general entry ticket

Location

Learning space 2, first floor

Delve into the Second World War experience of African, Asian and Caribbean communities with documents, posters and films. Explore new audio experiences as they provide valuable insights and new perspectives on the legacies of the war.

Medieval and early modern records

Times

Drop in from 11:15 to 13:15

Price

Included in general entry ticket

Location

Learning space 1, first floor

Explore the world of Magna Carta and see the contents of a Tudor bag of secrets.

Modern records

Times

Drop in from 14:15 to 15:30

Price

Included in general entry ticket

Location

Learning space 1, first floor

Discover colourful posters, propaganda and designs spanning the 1850s to the 1950s.

Beyond the exhibition

Revolution 250 – Meet the Exhibition Team

Times

Drop in from 11:00 to 12:00, 13:00 to 14:00, 15:00 to 16:00

Price

Included in general entry ticket

Location

Café area, ground floor

Meet the curators behind the exhibition and explore the stories, struggles, and contradictions that shaped the making of the United States.

Revolutionary Encounters

Times

From 11:30

Price

Included in general entry ticket

Location

Ground floor

Meet some of the historical figures who lived through this extraordinary moment in time. Artistic Interpretation by Time Will Tell Theatre.

Family fun and performance

Craft Club

Times

From 11:30

Price

Included in general entry ticket

Location

Café area, ground floor

Children can have fun making toys and games inspired by the collection.

Wish You Were Here: Postcard Making

Times

Drop in from 11:30 to 13:00, 13:30 to 15:30

Price

Included in general entry ticket

Location

Ground floor

Illustrate and design your own postcard inspired by heritage travel posters in our collection in these drop in sessions with Artist Sharon King-Chai.

Origami Adventures

Times

Drop in from 11:30 to 12:30, 12:30 to 13:30, 14:00 to 15:30

Price

Included in general entry ticket

Location

Ground floor

Relaxed origami sessions with artist Toshiko Kurata featuring fun summer themed creations. Make swans, suns, ice lollies and butterflies!

Face Painting with Artycat Faces

Times

12:30 to 16:00

Price

Included in general entry ticket

Location

Ground floor

Become a swashbuckling pirate, a medieval princess, or anything you can imagine with Artycat Faces.

Silk Street Jazz Band

Times

13:00 to 13:30, 14:15 to 14:45, 15:30 to 16:00

Price

Included in general entry ticket

Location

Pocket Park

The Silk Street Jazz Band will deliver authentic New Orleans jazz creating the perfect soundtrack to a summer afternoon.

Life at the Lido

Times

13:30 to 14:15, 14:45 to 15:30

Price

Included in general entry ticket

Location

Pocket Park

Join Handmade Theatre for an imaginary dip! Meet a trio of swimmers as they retell stories from the past and present. This family show joyously combines music and storytelling, which will go down swimmingly for all ages.

Garden Games

Partake in a bit of playful competition and supersized fun with oversized Jenga, noughts and crosses, snakes and ladders and other games - perfect for the whole family.

Food trucks

Treat yourself to a delicious lunch of traditional wood fired pizzas with The Dough Shack and then cool down with an ice cream from Crown Ices.