Public Record Office of Northern Ireland

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland stands in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter. It holds 54 kilometres of records dating from the 13th century to the present. The building opened in 2011 and was designed for public use, with a search room, reading room and exhibition space. It sits beside the Titanic Quarter railway station and is close to George Best Belfast City Airport. The office also manages a café with free wifi and public art throughout the premises. PRONI is the only archive in the United Kingdom that combines private and official records in one place. Its unique remit covers central and local government, churches and private organisations across Northern Ireland. The oldest document is a papal bull from 1219, and the collection includes government files, letters and diaries. PRONI also holds papers from other parts of Ireland, such as the Kenmare Papers from County Kerry. Since 2016 visitors can photograph records for personal use. Inside, researchers use an electronic catalogue to order up to five documents at a time. The reading room has 78 seats, most with power for laptops, and microfilm readers are available. PRONI provides free access to births, marriages and deaths records and hosts online databases for wills, street directories and historic maps. The building also hosts talks, exhibitions and lectures throughout the year. Outside, the Titanic Quarter offers nearby attractions including Titanic Belfast and the SSE Arena.