M&S Marks in time
The M&S Company Archive enables Marks & Spencer to celebrate and utilise its rich heritage for the good of the business, its customers and the wider community.
As a vital business asset, the Archive actively preserves, develops and facilitates access to its unique collection for commercial innovation and inspiration and delivers a dynamic programme of public engagement, using the collection to support and inspire the community.
The collection contains over 71,000 items, dating from 1884 to the present day and comprises not only written, photographic and digital records of the Company’s development, but also artefacts which represent key aspects of the Company’s activities.
For anyone unable to visit the Archive there are free Memory Boxes and digital resources available to support community groups, work with older people and people living with Dementia.
Artist-led projects with older people also take place, using the collection to inspire creativity and develop new skills or rediscover old ones – as well as having fun and meeting new people.
The M&S Company Archive represents one of Britain’s most important corporate archival collections, owing to the long history of Marks & Spencer as a key retailer on the British high street and the extensive nature of its rich holdings.