Written Archives Centre

History and Holdings

The BBC Written Archives Centre is part of BBC Archives, one of the largest broadcast archives in the world. The records were originally held in the Historical Records Office, which was set up in London in 1957. In 1970 the Written Archives Centre was established and the Corporation's records were transferred to Caversham, Reading.

Our holdings include over 250,000 files of correspondence and 21,000 reels of microfilm, which together with BBC publications, plans, posters and other records, constitute the working papers gathered from all parts of the BBC from 1922 onwards.

We do not hold and cannot supply recordings or information about current television or radio programmes. We only hold archival documents. For more information about current programmes see http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes.

Explore the archive and go behind the scenes with a tour from Jacquie Kavanagh, the BBC's former Written Archivist

Aims and Purpose

The BBC Written Archives Centre gathers together, preserves and maintains the written records of the BBC. Archive staff make them available to the BBC itself as part of its work, and to the public, as part of its charter obligations and accountability.

The Agreement with the Secretary of State sits alongside the BBC Charter. It provides details on many of the topics outlined in the Charter and also covers the BBC's funding and its regulatory duties. The Agreement is an important constitutional document because together with the Charter, it establishes the BBC's independence from the government.

Maintaining the BBC's archives is written into the BBC's Agreement with the Secretary of State as follows:

69. Archive (1) The BBC must make arrangements for the maintenance of an archive, or archives, of films, sound recordings, other recorded material and printed material which is representative of the sound and television programmes and films broadcast or otherwise distributed by the BBC. (2) Those arrangements- (a) must ensure that every such archive is kept safely, to commonly accepted standards; and (b) must give the public reasonable opportunities to visit the archives and view or listen to material kept there, with or without charge (as the BBC thinks fit).

For more information on the arrangements for maintaining archives and how the BBC Written Archives Centre is funded see the BBC’s Constitutional Documents - the current Charter and Agreement

For more information on how the BBC manages its records, see the BBC Records Management Policy