Our Collections
Bromley Historic Collections is the combined Archives, Local Studies Library, and Museum services for the London Borough of Bromley. We collect, preserve and make accessible the historic record of the Borough, its communities, institutions and people, as well as published local history resources and objects of local and historic importance.
Search Room Resources
Our search room provides a range of resources including historic photographs and newspapers, maps, electoral registers, street directories, pamphlets, and books on local history. Online resources including free access to Ancestry and Find My Past are also available.
Staff are on hand to help with your research.
The Lubbock Collection
Sir John Lubbock, the First Lord Avebury became involved in the evolution debates of the 1860s and focused on human antiquity and evolution. His extensive collection of archaeological and ethnographic artefacts from various cultures eventually ended up in the British Museum and Bromley Historic Collections following his passing.
Information on the Lubbock Collection can be found by searching our catalogue here.
Archive Catalogue
This catalogue contains over 40,000 archive entries and 20,000 museum objects including:
- Historical records of the London Borough of Bromley and its predecessor authorities;
- Parish records, including registers;
- Bromley schools' archives;
- Business records;
- Estate papers, personal papers and papers of local groups and societies.
Our resources can be viewed in full by clicking below.
Museum Collection
Bromley Historic Collections holds material relating to the people, places, institutions and organisations of the London Borough of Bromley and its predecessor authorities.
Our resources can be viewed in full by clicking below.
Our resources can be viewed in full by clicking below.
Our services & facilities
Resources
Bromley Historic Collections holds material relating to the people, places, institutions and organisations of the London Borough of Bromley and its predecessor authorities.
Our resources can be viewed in full by clicking below.
Our resources can be viewed in full by clicking below.
Publications
Bromley Historic Collections holds material relating to the people, places, institutions and organisations of the London Borough of Bromley and its predecessor authorities.
We sell a range of publications and other local souvenirs. Contact us for more information.
We sell a range of publications and other local souvenirs. Contact us for more information.
Microfilm reader
Bromley Historic Collections offers public access to a Microfilm reader. If you need help using it, feel free to ask the staff for assistance.
Additionally, you can bring your own Microfilm records to use on this machine.
Additionally, you can bring your own Microfilm records to use on this machine.
Microfiche reader
Bromley Historic Collections has a Microfiche reader, available to the public. If you need assistance with this device, please contact nearby Bromley Historic Collections staff.
If you have your own Microfiche records, feel free to bring them in and use this machine.
If you have your own Microfiche records, feel free to bring them in and use this machine.
John Lubbock's Collection
Sir John Lubbock, the First Lord Avebury, a banker and politician in the 19th century, had a keen interest in science and was acquainted with Charles Darwin. He became involved in the evolution debates of the 1860s and focused on human antiquity and evolution. His extensive collection of archaeological and ethnographic artefacts from various cultures eventually ended up in the British Museum and Bromley Historic Collections following his passing.
Much of his collection can be publicly viewed by simply visiting us in Bromley Central Library.
For more information, call 020 3931 0907.
Much of his collection can be publicly viewed by simply visiting us in Bromley Central Library.
For more information, call 020 3931 0907.
Academic information about Lubbock's collection can be found here.
Battle of Britain Lace Panel
The Battle of Britain lace panel, created by Dobson & Browne to honor the events of 1940, has been restored and is now on display in Bromley Central Library. This panel is one of 38 created by the Nottingham-based company, and was previously shown at RAF Biggin Hill officers' mess and Bromley Civic Centre.
The lace panel is a tribute to the Battle of Britain, showcasing images of airplanes in combat, parachuting airmen, and buildings damaged by bombs like the House of Commons and Buckingham Palace. St. Paul's Cathedral is depicted with flames surrounding it, but remaining unharmed by the destruction around it. The badges of Air Forces from New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and South Africa are displayed at the top of the panel, representing the diverse group of individuals who fought in the conflict. The edges and bottom of the panel feature the national flowers of the British Isles, while a quote from Winston Churchill's 1940 speech is written at the very bottom which reads:
"‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.’"
The panel is viewable in Bromley Central Library during regular opening hours.
The lace panel is a tribute to the Battle of Britain, showcasing images of airplanes in combat, parachuting airmen, and buildings damaged by bombs like the House of Commons and Buckingham Palace. St. Paul's Cathedral is depicted with flames surrounding it, but remaining unharmed by the destruction around it. The badges of Air Forces from New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and South Africa are displayed at the top of the panel, representing the diverse group of individuals who fought in the conflict. The edges and bottom of the panel feature the national flowers of the British Isles, while a quote from Winston Churchill's 1940 speech is written at the very bottom which reads:
"‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.’"
The panel is viewable in Bromley Central Library during regular opening hours.
