Archives

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers has an important archive which charts the history of the Institution, and of mechanical engineering generally.  The main strengths of the collection are in railway engineering, manufacturing, powerplant development and the automobile.

Institution records include Council and Committee minutes from its founding in 1847, membership proposal forms and meeting attendance books. Archives of merged bodies, the Institutions of Automobile and Locomotive Engineers are also held.

Personal papers of some of our Members are also held, for example George and Robert Stephenson and Frederick Lanchester. 

We hold records of complementary organizations such as the Association of Railway Locomotive Engineers, as well as company records.  These include records of D Napier and Son, engine builders; Livesey Henderson and Co., railway contractors; Joseph Whitworth and Co. and Nasmyth Gaskell and Co., machine tool manufacturers.

The archive includes a number of Victorian engineering models, including two built by John Penn and Son. We hold a collection of models built by model engineer Cherry Hill, as well as a fine model of Stephenson's Rocket, built by Dr J Bradbury-Winter. Details of models can be found on the archive catalogue.

Access to the archive

The archive is open to all. Access is by appointment only except for persons wishing to view membership proposal forms. The archive operates within Information and Library service opening hours - weekdays from 9.15 to 5.30. To make an appointment please contact the Archivist, on +44 (0) 20 7973 1265 or at archive@imeche.org. Items will be retrieved up to 5.00.

Access conditions

The Institution operates a 30-year closure rule for potentially sensitive information. Personal information on members of the Institution is closed based on an assumed lifespan of 100 years, or during the lifetime of the individual concerned.

Enquiries

Enquiries concerning the development of the Institution and quick queries concerning the history of mechanical engineering in general are welcome by post, phone and email. Quick membership record searches are also available. Please contact the Archivist on +44 (0) 20 7973 1265 or at archive@imeche.org. A fee is payable for copies of membership records but the initial search is not charged for.  For details, please see Library Charges2011.web.   Please note that the archive cannot carry out in-depth research on matters of engineering history or carry out research using other archives. Where possible contacts will be provided if the archive does not hold information that can answer a particular enquiry.

Copies of archive material

Copies of archive material for non-commercial purpose or private research are provided at the discretion of the Archivist and are subject to UK Copyright Law. All archives are considered to be copyright information. Permission to publish must be the subject of a written request. Copies are carried out by the Archivist only. For preservation purposes, documents bound in volumes, fragile material and oversize items will not be copied.

Images of objects

Images of objects are available from the Librarian at the above contact details. Images of a selection of objects and other archive materials can be viewed on the Picture Gallery.

Archive catalogue

Please visit the Institution's archive catalogue to find out more detail about our collection.

To contact the Archivist, please email archive@imeche.org, or call +44 (0) 20 7973 1265.