Practical archival skills training (PAST)
Being able to use archives and original documents is a key aspect of academic research but it can seem like a daunting task. Our practical archival skills training helps students and researchers get started in the archives and gain the skills and knowledge needed to take their research further.
All sessions are delivered by our records specialists and are based on working with original documents from our collections.
The PAST programme consists of both online and in-person sessions.
Full details of all PAST events and booking information are available on Eventbrite.
Online sessions
Online sessions all take place on Microsoft Teams.
Introduction to Archival Research
- Dates
27 November 2025
29 January 2026
7 May 2026
2 June 2026
- Description
This half-day online workshop is designed to show you how to get started in the archives, find original documents for your research and make the most of your time on site at The National Archives.
Introduction to Visual Collections at The National Archives
- Dates
20 November 2025
- Description
This half-day online workshop will introduce the range of visual sources held at The National Archives that can be used for the study of history and material culture in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Life Course Tracing
- Dates
27 November 2025
12 May 2026
- Description
This workshop will introduce a broad range of sources to facilitate the tracing of individuals through the public records, and will focus on equipping researchers with the skills to identify potential sources for tracing people in the past.
Introduction to International Records
- Date
23 April 2026
- Description
This half-day online workshop is designed to support those who are interested in working with international record collections at The National Archives. This includes records from the Foreign Office, Colonial Office, Dominions Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1782 to the present.
Modern Black History
- Date
5 May 2026
- Description
This half-day online workshop will provide an overview of the most useful sources and methods for research into modern Black history in the state archive.
Hidden Medieval Voices
- Date
19 May 2026
- Description
This half-day online workshop explores how to work against the grain of archival arrangements to discover the parts of The National Archives’ collection with most to offer researchers exploring hidden voices and lives in periods before circa 1530.
Early Modern Colonial History
- Date
26 May 2026
- Description
In this half-day online workshop, attendees will learn how to search, access, and contextualise colonial records from the late sixteenth century to the late 18th century.
Introduction to Early Modern Legal Records
- Date
11 June 2026
- Description
This one-day online workshop introduces you to the legal systems in play during the early modern period in England and Wales, as well as the records created by these systems.
In-person sessions
In-person sessions all take place at The National Archives in Kew.
Introduction to Archival Research
- Dates
28 October 2025
2 December 2025
20 January 2026
14 April 2026
- Description
This one-day workshop is designed to show you how to get started in the archives, find original documents for your research and make the most of your time on site at The National Archives.
Surveillance and Society: Reading Records Against the Grain
- Date
18 November 2025
- Description
In this full day workshop, participants are invited to critically engage with case studies related to a broad range of 20th century surveillance records in The National Archives collection and to reflect on specific challenges in using this material.
Military History (Hybrid)
- Dates
3-4 February 2026
- Description
Join us for a two-day hybrid (day one online and day two onsite) workshop at The National Archives about how to find and use military records.
Victorian Visual Culture
- Date
10 February 2026
- Description
This one-day workshop will provide students with the skills they need to conduct research with records of copyright registration and trade marks at The National Archives, which offer a unique insight into Victorian visual and print culture in Britain.
British State, Society, and the People circa 1782-2000
- Dates
17-18 February 2026
- Description
This two-day workshop is designed to develop the skills and knowledge of students undertaking research on records relating to British social and political history (1782-2000).
Medieval
- Dates
3-4 March 2026
- Description
This two-day workshop is designed to teach attendees how to find and use medieval records. At the end of the course you will have increased confidence in your ability to find and access previously challenging medieval documents and to read their contents
Registered Designs, 1839-1991
- Date
17 March 2026
- Description
This one-day workshop will teach the skills and methodologies for working with historical design copyright records (or ‘registered designs’) at The National Archives.
Government Visual Communications in the 20th Century
- Date
31 March 2026
- Description
In this one-day workshop, through hands-on sessions with original documents, students will learn how to find and interrogate the range of visual material produced by government.
Early Modern (hybrid)
- Dates
7-8 April 2026
- Description
Join us for a two-day hybrid (day one online and day two onsite) workshop at The National Archives about how to find and use Early Modern records. At the end of the course, you will have increased confidence in your ability to find and access previously challenging early modern documents and to read their contents.
Introduction to Foreign Office Records
- Date
28 April 2026
- Description
This one-day workshop supports researchers and practitioners who are interested in working in our reading rooms at Kew with original physical records from the Foreign Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1782 to the present).
Introduction to Colonial and Dominions Office records
- Date
30 April 2026
- Description
This one-day workshop supports researchers and practitioners who are interested in working in our reading rooms at Kew with original physical records from the Colonial Office and Dominions Office.
Medieval Legal Records
- Date
9 June 2026
- Description
This one-day workshop will provide you with the essential skills to identify and access original source material amongst the legal records of central government.
Early Modern Legal: Equity and Conciliar Courts
- Date
16 June 2026
- Description
This one-day workshop will introduce the main equity and conciliar courts that heard cases during the long early modern period (circa 1485- circa 1875), including Chancery, Exchequer Equity, Star Chamber, and Requests.
Early Modern Legal: Central Common Law and Assize Courts
- Date
17 June 2026
- Description
This one-day workshop will introduce the main central common law courts that heard cases in England and Wales during the long early modern period (c.1485-c.1875), the Courts of King’s Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer of Pleas.
High Court of Admiralty
- Date
18 June 2026
- Description
The diverse records of the English High Court of Admiralty (HCA) are little-used sources for the histories of European colonialism, overseas exchange, piracy, slavery, naval warfare and seafaring between circa 1535 and circa 1860. This workshop will provide you with the essential skills to identify and access original source material amongst this difficult to navigate collection.
Modern Legal Records: Civil Justice and Society in England and Wales, circa 1840-1985
- Date
23 June 2026
- Description
This one-day workshop will trace the changes in the civil justice system in England and Wales within the modern period and explore the records created by the superior courts, and related bodies, in the administration of civil justice from circa 1840 to circa 1980.
Modern Legal Records: Criminal Justice and Society in England, 1775-2000
- Date
24 June 2026
- Description
This one-day workshop will trace the changes in the criminal justice system in England within the modern period and explore the records created by the superior courts in the administration of criminal justice, from circa 1775 to circa 2000.
Get in touch
If you have any questions about the PAST programme, please email us.
Feedback
The workshop was fantastic. My only regret is that we didn’t have more time! I loved interacting with the original documents, and seeing how you can follow one name through a myriad of official documents was not only fascinating, but proved just how important these documents are, and how important staff and workshops are to helping us use them. Thank you!
Thank you for an extremely informative workshop and letting us interact with some wonderful documents! The supporting guides and the pack are also so helpful, thank you. I look forward to visiting the archives again.
I thoroughly enjoyed looking at the original documents, and the instruction of how to use them.
Brilliant – I found out things I didn’t know existed.
Such a useful workshop – best part was getting to pick the brains of archivists about my research area. Plenty to go on and useful suggestions of how and where to find things.
Thank you for a fantastic week!