Arranging your visit to Bristol Record Office

Useful information to know before your visit

• There is no admission charge.
• There will be staff available to help you.
• Advance booking is not essential.
• You are advised to telephone in advance, between 9.30am - 4.30pm Tuesday to Friday, to check  that we have the records that you require.
• The searchroom is not a suitable place for very young children and they should be supervised in our refreshment area if you need to bring them with you.
• Documents are produced between 9.30a.m - 12.15pm and 1.15pm - 4.00pm.  Last collection of orders is at 12noon and 3.45pm respectively.
• Records on microfilm/fiche are available at all times.

What to do when you arrive

• First, go to reception in order to sign in.
• Deposit bags and coats in the lockers provided.
• Bristol Record Office does not participate in the CARN scheme and, therefore, no formal ID is required.  However, signing our visitors' record constitutes an agreement to abide by our searchroom rules.

Using our facilities

• Pencils only must be used when in the searchroom.
• Bring a pencil and paper to take notes.
• The use of ink, ballpoint and felt-tip pens is not allowed in order to prevent documents being irreversibly marked.
• Please handle documents with care, touching them as little as possible and taking care neither to mark nor damage them.
• Gloves can be provided on request.
• Staff may ask you to wear gloves when handling particularly valuable or fragile items.
• For the convenience of other users we ask that you turn off or silence your mobile phone.

Facilities available to you

• We have a refreshment area where you can eat your own food and relax.
• There is a drinks machine in the refreshment area.
• The CREATE Centre has a cafe which provides sandwiches and hot food at lunchtimes.

Access to records

• Access to certain documents may be restricted by law or at the request of their owners, although most records are freely available.
• Staff may restrict the number of documents you can look at at any one time.
• Staff have the right to refuse to produce any documents at their discretion and to impose restrictions on the use of any document.
• For document preservation reasons we do not allow scanners. 
• You can photograph documents but should first ask permission from a member of our staff , who will tell you about any conservation or copyright issues which may affect the copying of an item we hold.
• Many records are available on microfiche/film on a self-service basis.

How to find us

Bristol Record Office
'B' Bond Warehouse
Smeaton Road
Bristol   BS1 6XN

Telephone:  0117-922 4224
Fax: 0117 922 4236
Email: bro@bristol.gov.uk

Walking

We are a 30 minute walk from the city centre and a 45 minute walk from Temple Meads railway station.

Cycling

Cycle paths to the Record Office run from:

• the city centre alongside Cumberland Road
• Bedminster, through Greville Smyth park and across the old railway bridge
• Pill, along the old rail track, under the suspension bridge and over the old railway bridge.

There is cycle parking by the front entrance.

The Better by Bike website provides detailed information about cycling facilities in Bristol.

Bus

Until 3 September 2011, the Bugler Coaches Harbour Link 500 loop service runs to Bristol Record Office via the city centre, Broadmead and Temple Meads railway station at 20 minute intervals throughout the day. The closest stop is Smeaton Road - CREATE Centre.  From 4 September 2011, the Wessex Connect 506 service will serve this stop from Temple Meads and Broadmead. However, we understand the route will be slightly different to the former 500 service, so please check with the bus company or www.travelbristol.org for further details.

A number of out of town bus services run regularly along Hotwell Road from Bristol bus station and the city centre, stopping just before Junction Lock Bridge.

The Long Ashton Park and Ride bus stops very close to the Record Office in Dowry Square, Hotwells and departs from Merchant's Road bus stop, Hotwells. Please be aware that these are request stops.

Train

Bristol's main railway station, Temple Meads, is situated around two miles from the Record Office.

To get to us from Temple Meads you can:

• walk
• catch the Harbour Link 500 bus
• hire a taxi 
• use the ferry service which is available at certain times of the year.

Travel information

The Travelbristol website provides full information about travelling in and around Bristol including bus and train times and routes.

Parking

There is parking in the car park by the Create Centre on the eastern side of the building and limited disabled parking by the main entrance to the Record Office. There are several smaller car parks in the area and on-street parking in Avon Crescent and along Cumberland Road.