The Manuscripts Catalogue offers access to the holdings of the British Library Department of Manuscripts from 1753 to the present. The catalogue covers:

• all types of handwritten material in Western languages
• documents ranging in date from the pre-Christian era to the present day
• manuscript acquisitions of the British Museum and British Library from 1753 onwards

The published catalogues [indexes] of several manuscript collections were scanned to create this online catalogue. Links list collections included and collections not yet online, as well as the Digital Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts.

Most manuscripts must be consulted in the Manuscripts Reading Room of the British Library.