Record Office, Public

Government office containing the English and Welsh national records since the Norman Conquest, brought together from courts of law and government departments, including the Domesday Book, the Gunpowder Plot papers, and the log of HMS Victory at Trafalgar. It was established in 1838 in Chancery Lane, London; records dating from the 18th century onwards have been housed at Kew, London, since 1976.

The Scottish Records Office is situated in Edinburgh and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland is in Belfast. Scotland's national archives were established in the 13th century, with the appointment of a Clerk of the Rolls. There are also Public Record Offices for each county.