The Cathedral Archives & Library holds an impressive collection of manuscripts, historic records, photographs, maps and printed books dating back to the late 8th century.
These make up an extraordinarily rich resource.
You can find out more about the Cathedral, its history, its buildings and its community. You can also explore the history of Canterbury and the surrounding area, and research East Kent family history.
The Archives & Library of Canterbury Cathedral welcome all researchers with interests in our collections.
Access to the collections of the Archives & Library is provided according to our Access Policy.
The Reading Room
The Reading Room is usually open on Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10:00-16:30 (closed between 13:00-13:45)
Please email [email protected] to make a booking, giving at least five working days’ notice. Please note, we may not be able to accommodate bookings on specific dates.
If you have a booking, please arrive at the Visitor Centre by the Christ Church Gate, and make your way to the Archives & Library entrance, through the Cloister. See map.
If you require step-free access via our lift, please let us know when booking or on arrival, as there is an alternate step-free entrance to the Reading Room.
Our reading room regulations are available here.
Library Tours
Join a guided tour of our magnificent Howley-Harrison Library - the largest individual collection in the Library, made up of approximately 16,000 books and pamphlets - and view a display of highlights from our printed collections.
£8 per person, plus admission charge.
Pre-booking required, not suitable for under 12s.
Readers’ tickets
We can issue a reader’s ticket when you visit; there is no need to apply for one in advance.
Please bring photo ID with proof of your current address (eg UK driving licence).
Family History
For information about the Kent Family History Society's (KFHS) Canterbury branch, and other useful information about family history research in the Canterbury area, see the KFHS website.
Copying services
We offer a range of reprographic services.
Please see our price list.
We also offer self-service photography in our reading room.
Please see the permit application form for further information.
Permission to publish
Those wishing to publish images from our collections should complete our permission to publish form.
Enquiries
We will respond to routine enquiries about its collections.
Please contact [email protected]
We aim to respond to all enquiries within 10 working days.
For genealogical research and other detailed research on our collections, please see our Independent Researchers list.
The Archives Catalogue Web Interface allows you to search the catalogues. The Help Page gives details how to use the search functions.
Please note, we are having ongoing issues with the onlinee catalogue and apologise for any inconvenience. Please email us at [email protected] if it displays a message saying it is down for maintenance.
For the collections of Canterbury Cathedral Library, please see the Library’s catalogue, hosted by the University of Kent.
For information on the history and provenance of the Library collection, see the wiki by Dr David Shaw.
Parish registers from our collections are available on Find My Past.
Catalogue entries are also included in The National Archives’ ‘Discovery’ and the Archives Hub.
Manorial documents in the collection relating to Kent and to other English counties are included in the online Manorial Documents Register.
For detailed information on medieval books and medieval book fragments in the Archives collection, see the Medieval Libraries of Great Britain online resource.
Our Anglo-Saxon charters are included in the Electronic Sawyer.
For information on some of our music holdings, see RISM and the Digital Image Archive of Medieval Music.
For the collections of Kent County Council’s archives service, please see its online catalogue.
If you encounter any difficulties or have any comments or queries, please email us at [email protected]
Lambeth Palace Library where the papers of the Archbishops of Canterbury are held. See also for useful research guides.
Kent History and Library Centre for the County Council’s archive centre.
Special Collections and Archives at the University of Kent where the papers of Dean Hewlett Johnson, and other archive collections are held.
Findmypast – a leading family history website, which includes parish registers from the Cathedral Archives
Canterbury Probate Records (1396-1858) Database
Kent Archaeological Society – Monumental inscriptions for Kent parishes
