We offer a number of services to help you.
Conservation service
We offer a conservation advice and repair service.
We offer advice on:
- handling documents and volumes
- how to treat damaged items
- how to display, package and wrap
- preparing collections for deposit or donation.
Our conservator can:
- assess and repair documents
- clean and flatten items
- prepare material for digitisation
- give talks and workshops.
Document repair – before and after
A before and after example of the repair work we offer:

Conservation supplies
Keep your old documents in good condition for future generations.
Digitising your records
We can turn your old documents, photos, slides and videos into digital copies. We can either email them or put them on a CD or DVD.
Order a document or a search
You can:
- order copies of documents
- ask us to get documents ready before your visit
- ask us to search for a document for you
- get permission to reuse an image from the archives.
Transcription and translation
If you are struggling to read an original document, you can request our transcription or translation (Latin) service.
Buy books, maps and DVDs
From books, maps and DVDs to archive tours and beginners' workshops, the Heritage Shop has a range of products to help your research.
Maps for planning
If you're looking for maps for planning purposes, we can help. Contact us about maps for planning.
Rooms and spaces for hire
We offer two bookable meeting rooms at Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies in Hertford.
Lionel Munby Room
- 32 person capacity.
- 5 tables.
- Room size - 5.25m x 5.92m.
- Free wi-fi.
- Flipchart stand.
- Screen.
- Whiteboard.
- Refreshment facilities in lobby.
Bookable hours
|
Monday |
9:30 - 17:00 |
Friday |
13:00 - 17:00 |
Saturday |
10:00 - 14:00 |
Out of hours/weekend bookings are available by arrangement only, as there will be additional staff costs. Please contact us for a quote. |
Costs
|
1 hour booking |
£20 |
4 hour booking |
£70 |
All day booking |
£130 |
Half price for charities and not-for-profit organisations. 10% discount when you make a block booking over a 4 month period. |
or call 0300 123 4049.
Local Studies Library
- 50 person capacity as a lecture style.
- 14 person capacity boardroom style.
- 6 tables.
- Free wi-fi.
- Flipchart stand.
- Screen.
- Whiteboard.
- Refreshment facilities in lobby.
- 10 PCs at extra cost.
- Scanner at extra cost.
Bookable hours
|
Monday to Friday |
9:30 - 17:00 |
Saturday |
10:00 - 14:00 |
Out of hours/weekend bookings are available by arrangement only, as there will be additional staff costs. Please contact us for a quote. |
Costs
|
1 hour booking |
£20 |
4 hour booking |
£70 |
All day |
£130 |
Half price for charities and not-for-profit organisations. 10% discount when you make a block booking over a 4 month period. |
or call 0300 123 4049.
Extras (bookable in advance)
Projector and screen: £20.
PC hire - available only in the Local Studies Library
|
|
1 hour |
4 hours |
All day |
Full price |
£2 |
£7 |
£13 |
Non-profit organisations |
£1 |
£3.50 |
£6.50 |
Commercial photography and filming
Our premises and materials are available for hire, see our fees and charges for details.
Exhibition displays, boards and cases
Cost of hiring HALS displays
- £35.00 for up to four weeks. Copyright restrictions may apply in some cases
New displays
- Research and preparation to produce a new display to your requirements using material in HALS/local studies collection. This includes any work to adapt and copy an existing display.
- £36 per hour/ £18 per half hour or part thereof for staff time, plus cost of copies/materials
Copyright restrictions may apply in some cases
Loan of HALS display cases/boards
- £12.00 each or £22.00 for three flat table top cases


- £12.00 for vertical folding display boards


Loan period of up to four weeks for all cases and boards. Borrower must collect/return
Available exhibitions
Votes for Women
About women’s suffrage movement and Hertfordshire’s women who participated, Lady Constance Lytton, Annie Kenny and others. Includes banner and title (smaller titles available on request)

WW1: Taking a Stand: Conscientious Objectors in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire’s Conscientious objectors included Herbert Morrison from Letchworth, Sir Frederick Osborn and little known Cecil Vernon Proctor

A County of Soldiers
The History of Hertfordshire’s soldiers, a project to collate material donated by John Sainsbury OBE.

Hertfordshire Picture Palaces
Moving pictures were first demonstrated to the paying public by the Lumiere brothers in a Parisian Café in December 1895. The performance was such a success that the patented their equipment and called it Cinematographie. The first London demonstration followed in February 1896.

Letters Home First World War
Voices from the men who fought in World War One from Hertfordshire, including Arthur Martin Leake of High Cross. (figure not for loan)

Comet, The world’s first jet airliner
The British airliner that changed the world. On the 27th July 1949, the world’s first jet-propelled airliner took to the skies over Hatfield for its maiden test-flight. The Comet was years ahead of its competitors and would go on to revolutionise civil aviation.

Hertfordshire’s Fire Service
A look at the history around Hertfordshire’s Fire Service, 1650 – 1940 . The risk of fire was great as people used candles for light and open fires for cooking. Houses were built close together and were often made of wood.

Exhibitions Available:
-
398th Bomb Group at Nuthampstead
-
A County of Soldiers
-
A Dog is for Life
-
A Stitch in Time: Dating old photos through fashion
-
Charles Dickens - Hertfordshire Connections
-
Comet, The world’s first jet airliner
-
Diamond Jubilee (Queen Victoria)
-
Edward VIII, a King in Hertfordshire
-
Graham Greene – Our Man in Berkhamsted
-
Hertfordshire’s Fire Service
-
Hertfordshire Picture Palaces
-
Hidden Histories - Slavery and the Abolition
-
Olympics
-
Surgery and Medicine – Lister Legacy
-
Victoria Cross - Hertfordshire’s VC winners
-
Votes for Women
-
WWI: Watercolours and War
-
WW1: Military Hospitals & Nursing on the Home Front
-
WW1: Recruitment and Conscription
-
WW1: Taking a Stand: Conscientious Objectors in Hertfordshire’
-
WW1: Zeppelins over Hertfordshire
-
WWI - Letters Home First World War
Displays come with Velcro tabs on the reverse so they can be hung on felt boards.
Professional advice
We can provide guidance on collection care, exhibition display, history projects and offer specialist training.
See fees and charges.