Located in the Discovery Museum in the heart of Newcastle, Tyne & Wear Archives is home to thousands of documents, housed on 14km of shelving, relating to the five local districts of Newcastle, Sunderland, Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside.

The documents range from the 12th to the 21st century and include building plans, school, hospital and church records as well as business records, especially those of important local industries such as shipbuilding, engineering and mining. Meanwhile, the Tyne & Wear Shipyards Collection is of international significance as it is included on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, rubbing shoulders with documents such as the Magna Carta and the Domesday Book.

Gallery images courtesy of Tyne & Wear Archives. To see the wider collection, click here.