Archives
- Address
- Contact information
- Opening hours
- Getting there
- Access
- Online resources - find out about the pocket histories and Barnet image bank
- Displays and educational materials
The Local Studies centre holds a unique collection of historical documents dating from 1600 that is an evocative and fascinating record of people and communities in the borough. There is a range of records in different formats such as photographs, maps, archives newspapers and publications representing people, places and buildings. The collection is freely accessible for research so why not visit the centre and make a new discovery.
Details of the Local Studies Collection
Address
Hendon library (upper first floor), The Burroughs, Hendon, NW4 4BQ
Visits are by appointment. Please telephone or email to arrange a visit. Booking is essential for use of the microfilm reader.
Contact information
- Tel: 020 8359 3960
- email: library.archives@barnet.gov.uk
Opening hours
- Tuesday , Wednesday, Friday, 10am - 5pm
- Thursday, 1pm - 7pm
- First and third Saturday, 9.30am -4.30pm
Getting there
- Buses: 143, 183, 326
- underground: Hendon central, Northern Line - 15 minute walk
- British Rail: Hendon, Thameslink - 15 minute walk
Access
- There is a wheelchair accessible lift to all floors
- Level approach to the entrance
- Parking: two disabled spaces are available on the adjacent St. Joseph's Grove NW4
Online resources
Barnet Image Bank has hundreds of pictures from Barnet's history, each with a handy caption.
Pocket Histories are short histories of your local area. They cover every corner of the borough with information about changes to each area, buildings famous people, coats of arms and population statistics. Each area has an online resources page with links to the many resources available through the internet.
Ancestry library -, the geneological website is available at Local studies and in all Barnet Libraries. Features of this site include:
- The Census for 1841 - 1901
- Parish registers including Hendon, Mill Hill, Edgware, Finchley and Friern Barnet
- UK phone books from the 1880s onwards
- Kelly's and Pigot's County Directories from 1839
Displays and educational material
Reminiscences of work and apprenticeships 
(5.15 MB)
Fascinating oral histories related by Friern Barnet residents on leaving school and starting work - supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Barnet African-Caribbean reminiscence interviews (PDF:263KB)
A reminiscence project carried out interviews with residents talking about settling in Barnet during the 1950s and 60s.
Educational displays available on application:
- Individuals in communities - the story of individual African and Caribbean people living in Barnet between the 1670s and the 1960s, beginning with Robert Moore and ending with Desmond Tutu.
- Dreams of flight - Hendon aerodrome in the pioneer days from 1909 to 1925.
- 175 years of the Welsh Harp - the fascinating story of the man made lake.
- Gypsy Roma and Traveller History Month in Barnet - the story of a community who have been visiting the Barnet area since at least the Eighteenth Century.
Barnet Local Studies Collections Policy (PDF:155 KB)
Email this pageLast modified by: Hannah Richens on 11/08/2011