About Us

Last year about 8,000 people used our public Search Room to study many different aspects of County Durham's history. Many visitors come to research their County Durham ancestry but others seek information on a wide variety of topics as diverse as the lives of local dignitaries, coal mining in the County or the history of education.

Documents deposited in the Record Office are available for study, free of charge, to the general public. These documents may be consulted only under supervision in the public Search Room.

The Search Room contains the catalogues needed to identify the records held in the Record Office. You can also search all these catalogues in the Database on this website. The Search Room also has a small library of local history and basic reference works.

Our most popular documents (including parish registers and the census) are available only on microfilm. There is a self-service system in operation which allows you to make full use of all the microfilm material.

Visitors must make an appointment to visit the Record Office. The number of places available is limited (there are eighteen microfilm readers and fifteen table spaces for visitors using original documents). An appointment guarantees that a space will be available when you visit the Record Office. At present it is advisable to make an appointment at least ten days in advance.

You can make an appointment now by completing our appointment booking form. We will e-mail you to confirm the booking. Alternatively you can also telephone or write to us to make a booking. Please see our contact us page for details of our address and telephone number.

Photocopies of documents held in the Record Office can be supplied subject to the condition of the original, any restriction imposed by their owners and the rules regarding copyright. Photocopies of original documents are made by a member of staff. There is a self-service microfilm reader-printer for copying from microfilm or microfiche.