Visiting Us
The Record Office is currently closed to researchers while we prepare our collections for relocation to new sites in Chester and Crewe. For further information, please visit our project page.
We are now in the final stages of preparing for the move. As a result, our collections are no longer accessible, and we are unable to provide copying or research services.
During this period, we will only be able to respond to the most urgent official enquiries, including requests from council officers supporting council business, the police, and urgent baptism certificate applications. Please be aware that response times for these enquiries may be significantly delayed while the collections are being moved between mid-October and mid-December.
The new Chester centre will open on Wednesday 13 January 2027, with the Crewe centre opening in March 2027. We expect to confirm the opening date for Crewe later in the year, once access to the building has been finalised.
Opening hours at both centres will be Wednesday to Saturday, 9.30am to 4.30pm.
Access to archive collections will be available one Saturday per month at each centre. On all Saturdays, visitors will also be able to use the People's Network computers, access online resources, some local studies collections, and visit our exhibition spaces.
Our online records are still available and it is possible to carry out research into many popular subjects. Our guides have lots of useful links to records that are available online.
Many of our records are available to search and view on the subscription websites Find My Past and Ancestry. This can be accessed with a subscription or for free in libraries in Cheshire. Our popular database indexes are still available to search for Overleigh Cemetery, First World War servicemen, railway staff registers, Cheshire military records and many more.
As well as the records we make available online, did you know?….
Questions and answers
Q: I have an urgent business need to access a record. Can I still visit the Record Office?
A: At present we will only be able to respond to the most urgent official enquiries, including requests from council officers supporting council business, the police, and urgent baptism certificate applications.
Q: Can I still order copies of documents?
A: No. Our copying service is now suspended until we re-open in early 2027.
Q: Can you carry out research on my behalf?
A: No. Our research service is now suspended until we re-open in early 2027.
Q: I urgently need a copy of my baptism certificate. Can I still order a copy?
A: Yes. Please contact us giving details of the date, church, names and parent’s names. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
Q: I am responsible for records deposited with you and need some items returned temporarily. Is this possible?
A: No. Please contact us when we re-open agin in early 2027.
Q: I have some records I would like to deposit. Is this possible?
A: We are no longer accepting new deposits of records until the service is up and running in our new homes in early 2027. We are still able to make arrangements for records at risk of being lost – so please contact us.