Book your appointment

It's important to book an appointment before you visit. You can book an appointment by email, phone, or in person.

You can pre-order up to 10 documents that you'd like to view during your visit so we can retrieve them before you arrive. If you'd like to do this, you must know what you're looking for when you make your appointment. You can either check the catalogues and give us the references of the documents you'd like to see, or you can give us specific details of your enquiry when you get in touch, so we can find the best documents for you.

When you arrive

Please use the main entrance to the Dorman Museum. We're located on the ground floor, at the rear of the museum, through the galleries. If it's your first time visiting us, just ask a member of the museum's front of house team and they'll point you in the right direction.

When you arrive you'll need to sign in and place your bags (including handbags and laptop cases) and coat in a locker, which is free to use.

No food or drink is allowed in the search room (including water, sweets, and chewing gum), but there's a refreshment room where you can take a break.

Only pencils (no pens) are allowed in the search room, to prevent damage to the documents.

A member of staff will produce the documents you've pre-ordered, or show you to the catalogues so you can look for records relevant to your research.

Our fees and charges list shows costs for services including photocopying and scanning.

Please note, not all documents are suitable for photocopying. For a small charge, you can bring your own digital camera to take photos of documents for private research purposes, as long as they're not subject to copyright restrictions.