Art Fund Museum of the Year
This multi-purpose space offers a dedicated quiet research area for you to access and view the varied collections at The Box which includes Plymouth Archives (formerly Plymouth and West Devon Record Office). The room also features highlights from the historically important Cottonian Collection of fine art on display.
The Box archives collections include Public Records. Under the Public Records Act 1958, The Box is designated as a Place of Deposit, which authorises us to hold specific classes of records that would otherwise be held by The National Archives in Kew.
Records held under this authority include magistrates’ court records, coroners’ inquests, and NHS records from hospitals in the Plymouth area. Keeping these records locally supports the strong public interest in accessing them.
As a Place of Deposit, we have a number of responsibilities relating to the storage, preservation, access, and ongoing management of these records.
To ensure adequate public access and in line with our Place of Deposit responsibilities to have a minimum of 21 research hours per week, we will be increasing our research room opening hours by three hours from 1 November 2025. An additional research session will be available every Thursday from 10am to 1pm in the Cottonian Research Room.
Whether you’re tracing your family history, working on a school project or researching a PhD thesis, we can make physical collections and archives records held at The Box available to you by appointment. There is no charge for this service, however we welcome donations in support of our work.
We have dedicated computer terminals with free access to a range of subscription online family history platforms including Ancestry and Find My Past. These terminals can also be used to view archive film on BFIReplay which contain over 2,000 works from the extensive moving image collections at The Box, as well as our online catalogues with information about the paper and photographic archive collections.
It’s really easy to book some time in our research room. Use the links below to help you. If you’ve got queries, we’ve provided some Frequently Asked Questions which we hope will help you.
Our research space is available on:
You can view highlights from our Cottonian Collection on:
Where no research bookings are in place the Cottonian Research Room will open as a gallery.
A large number of The Box’s collection of oil paintings and sculptures are searchable on ArtUK and many of our watercolours are listed on Watercolour World. If you require any advice please contact collections@plymouth.gov.uk.
Use the information below to help you plan and make the most of your visit.
You can pre-order up to five items per research visit. Extra documents can be ordered in person on the day, at the discretion of the staff on duty.
While we do our best to make everything available, we do have some items that are restricted for reasons of ethics, safety or fragility. Access to these materials will require enhanced clearance from our curators or archivists. If your request includes restricted items we will contact you.
You can identify what you’d like to see using our online archives catalogue. Our collections catalogue is not currently working and this is being investigated. If you need assistance or have any queries about this, please contact us by emailing collections@plymouth.gov.uk or by phoning 01752 308880.
Register for an appointment by clicking ‘Make a booking’ in the info panel above. We also have some useful ‘Handling collections guidelines’ which you can read ahead of your appointment.
Yes, you can take photographs of the items you’re researching for your own personal use. Please purchase a half day or full day permit in advance of your appointment. Head to our online shop and then bring your e-receipt with you on the day.
Call us on 01752 308880 and we’ll do our best to help.
On the days and times when our research space is not in use, you can view a selection of works from our historic Cottonian Collection.
Gallery hours are:
Permanent galleries
Explore collections that reveal an epic tale of Plymouth and the sea.
Momentous and notorious voyages that began here in Plymouth.
Discover the beauty and diversity of nature all around you.
See 14 impressive ship’s figureheads in a unique suspended display.
A space where you can discover gems and insights from archive collections.
A quiet research area for you to access the varied collections.
Technologies, processes and people that have shaped our film and photographic heritage.
