The Times Archive is a searchable database of 200 years of The Times newspaper, from its launch in 1785 until 1985, covering events from the French Revolution and the American Civil War though to the two World Wars of the twentieth century, as well as the great civil and political movements, crime, culture, exploration and adventure. Every page of The Times has been scanned and digitized, the contents broken down into articles, photos and advertisements and the text extracted, so that the entire Archive is searchable, by keyword as well as dates.

The newspapers are displayed as digital images of the original pages, but with the text slightly enlarged so that even the earliest pages, with their archaic fonts and spellings, are comfortably readable. The pages can also be viewed as full-page or half-page images.

Over the next months, we’ll be adding The Times post-1985, as well as The Sunday Times from its launch in 1822.

Do I have to pay to access the Times Archive?

There will always be plenty of articles and topics that our editors have chosen to feature for you to browse for free, and it is free to search the Archive. However unlimited access to the Archive does require paying a fee.

How much does the Times Archive cost?

There are three different access levels: you can pay £4.95 for a day pass, £14.95 for a monthly subscription, or £74.95 for an annual subscription. Please note that the monthly and annual subscriptions automatically renew. You will receive notification from Worldpay, which processes our online transactions, before your credit or debit card is to be charged. You must cancel before the renewal date in order to avoid being charged.

What is the refund policy for Times Archive?

We regret that we are unable to give refunds on the day or month subscription to the Archive. For annual subscriptions, you have 7 days to cancel the subscription. After 7 days, we regret that we are unable to offer a refund.

What forms of payment do you accept?

Times Online uses Worldpay to process online transactions. We currently accept Visa, Mastercard, Debit, Maestro/Switch, Solo, and Delta. Please note that if your Maestro card does not have an issue number we cannot process the payment; in this case please use another form of payment.

How do I cancel my subscription?