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Our archives

See our archives and special collections

Our archives contain some of the earliest records relating to the history of higher education for women.

We hold institutional records of Bedford and Royal Holloway Colleges from the 19th century to the present day. We also have personal papers of prominent individuals with links to the Colleges as well as special collections, many of which relate to theatre history. A full list of our collections is available here or you can search the catalogue. Our rare book collections are searchable via the library catalogue.

Contact our archives

The Archives and Special Collections at Royal Holloway, University of London, has reopened.

Access is by appointment

Individual appointments are available on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10am to 4pm. 

(Please note the archive reading room will close for lunch at 12.30pm and reopen at 1.30pm).

 

If you wish to book an individual appointment, please email archives@rhul.ac.uk

Requests for individual appointments should be made one week in advance however we endeavor to accommodate visits at shorter notice where possible.

Group visits are also available, please read our Guidelines for Group Visits before emailing archives@rhul.ac.uk for availability and for more information.

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Royal Holloway is a research intensive university and our academics collaborate across disciplines to achieve excellence.

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Royal Holloway began as two pioneering colleges for the education of women in the 19th century, and their spirit lives on today.

We’ve played a role in thousands of careers, some of them particularly remarkable.

Find about our decision-making processes and the people who lead and manage Royal Holloway today.