About the Archives
The archives cover 1.5 miles of shelving and are held in secure, environmentally-controlled strongrooms. Our oldest artefact dates back to 1567, and new material is added every day. The records have come from Barclays as we know it today, and from the various banks and building societies that merged to become part of the Barclays Group. Many of these began as small family businesses, serving their local communities. In their correspondence and accounts, we can see the evolution of their business as well as the growth of local, national and international economies.
Explore the philanthropic activities of the Gurneys in East Anglia; the battles of the Backhouses in the North East to support industrial growth through the development of the railways; and the endeavours of northern businessmen in Manchester and Liverpool to create banks strong enough to support their burgeoning industries. Trace the development of British home ownership in the records of the Woolwich, one of the few publicly available building society archives in the UK.
From the 20th century, records chart the growth of the modern business. Delve into leather-bound minute books, files, photographs, diaries, reports, advertisements, and plans to uncover key decisions, the reasons behind them, and their impact. Investigate how a British bank weathered hundreds of years of history to become a worldwide brand. Discover a story of innovation through technology, customer service, design, training, and communications, and meet the men and women who lived through it.