Library & Archive

The Goldsmiths’ Company’s Library & Archive is the UK’s largest dedicated reference library for jewellery, silversmithing and hallmarking. Open from Tuesday to Thursday in Goldsmiths’ Hall, it’s free to use and available to everyone.

Visit the Library & Archive

The Library is free to use and open to researchers between 10:00 and 16:30, Tuesday to Thursday, by appointment.

Please use the contact form below to make an appointment, letting us know what you would like to research so we can prepare material in advance.

Visitors are asked to show their photo ID on arrival.

Library book catalogue

The Library holds books relating to historical and contemporary gold and silversmithing, jewellery, assaying and hallmarking, precious metals, and the City of London and its guilds. It also holds journals, images, and audio-visual material. Approximately one quarter of the library holdings are currently searchable online.

If the book you are looking for is not in the digital catalogue, please contact us to check our offline holdings.

Explore the catalogue →

Trace a hallmark

The hallmark is the UK’s oldest form of consumer protection. It can tell you where and when a piece of silver or jewellery was made, and who brought it to be hallmarked. The Goldsmiths’ Company Library can help you identify a wide range of historic hallmarks.

Find out how →

Find an Ancestor

The Goldsmiths' Company hold records of its apprentices and freemen from 1334 to the present day.

Our Apprenticeship Registers from 1578–1897 and our Freedom Books from 1694–1932 are now available to search digitally through Find My Past.

Visit Find my Past to learn more →

Archive catalogue

The Goldsmiths’ Company’s Archive holds records from 1334 to the present day. These include the corporate records of the Goldsmiths’ Company and acquired collections related to the goldsmithing and silversmithing industry in the UK. The Archive holdings are in the process of being catalogued; more are becoming available all the time.

Explore the available records →

Library & Archive collections

The Library & Archive holds a wide range of collections. These include the Omar Ramsden Archive, the Artificers’ Guild Archive, the Paul Podolsky Archive, the Twining Collection of books on royal regalia, and a range of design drawings from the mid-20th century to the present day.