Historic England Archive: Heritage Open Day Tours 2026

Celebrate Heritage Open Day 2026 at Historic England’s archive in Swindon—explore the collection and tour our historic building! Come and visit Historic England’s archive at the Engine House in Swindon! We are the public archive at Historic England, located in the Engine House, which was built in the 1840s and was formally the Great Western Railway’s Chief Mechanical Engineers and Drawing Office. We hold a public archive of architectural and archaeological records and hold over 15 million historic photographs, plans, drawings, reports, records and publications covering England's archaeology, architecture, social and local history. Join us for a tour and you’ll have the chance to see inside to our environment-controlled Archive store, exploring our Historic office building, which forms part of the wider Swindon Heritage Action Zone and exclusive behind the scenes at the conservation laboratory, where you can discover how we care for and maintain our collections. During your tour, you'll have the chance to ask your questions to our team of experts and learn more about the important work we do to preserve England’s historic environment. Whether you're curious about history, passionate about archives, or simply looking for a fun and informative day out, we’d love to welcome you! Bookings should be made on our Eventbrite page only. There might be walk-in spaces on the day, subject to availability. Please note that the tours will involve walking to different areas of the building on 2 floors.