Inclusive Cataloguing in the Historic England Archive

About our collections

The records in our collections have been brought together over the course of more than a century, recording the built environment of England.  As our collections span many decades, some records reflect the attitudes, terminology or social conditions of their time. This includes material connected with problematic or contested heritage such as colonialism or the transatlantic slave trade.

As an organisation, we recognise that our collections are not as inclusive or diverse as we would like and we are committed to addressing this.

How we handle problematic or sensitive content

We know that a small number of images in our collections include content that some people may find offensive or upsetting. For now, we have chosen not to publish these images online while we take time to research them, understand their context, and consider whether sharing them online is appropriate and in line with our organisation’s purpose. To remain open and transparent, the descriptions for these images are still publicly available.

Why some archive records are restricted

Our archive collections contain some records which are not available online due to UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), Freedom of Information (FOI) and Data Protection legislation.

Requests to view records of this type will be reviewed and assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Images of people in contemporary and historical photography

Contemporary photography is made available in line with our policies, including model release, consent forms and UK GDPR.

In our historical collections, we have some images that show children or vulnerable adults. Whilst these fall outside modern legislation concerning UK GDPR and Data Protection, we have used our discretion to decide whether these images should appear on our website, whilst retaining them in our collections for the historical record.

Inclusive cataloguing and our approach to historic language

We are working to review all of our catalogue descriptions. The aim is to find and update language that is outdated or offensive. We understand that language changes over time, and that some descriptions written in the past may no longer be appropriate. This means reviewing language is an ongoing task.

This work takes time and resources, so it will not be completed all at once. If you come across any language in our catalogue that you think is offensive or outdated, please contact us and let us know. 

Why some historic terms remain

There are some instances in our collections where offensive or outdated language has been used by the creator of the record, for example in a photograph's caption or the title of a document or report.

We have chosen to retain this language within the historical record, whilst doing our best to contextualise it, so users understand the attitudes and conditions of the period in which it was created. 

Working with communities

We know that communities are often best placed to describe their own histories.

We welcome: 

• Additional context or information about any records
• Conversations about how our collections can represent different communities
• Opportunities to work together to expand the diversity of our collections

How to contact us

If you are interested in working with us or if you find any images in our collections or language in our catalogues offensive or distressing, please contact us at archive@historicengland.org.uk