Church and Circuit records are usually deposited with local archive services where they can be consulted alongside a range of other archive collections which relate to the local area. The current arrangement is that records are transferred to archive service in the county where the "head' church of the Circuit is situated. This can sometimes mean that the Methodist records are not in the same repository as the local government records, for example. District records are usually deposited following a decision by Synod: wherever makes most sense.
When circuits merge, a decision will need to be made about where the records of the new circuit will need to be made in agreement with the local archive services. The records of the previous circuits should continue to be deposited with the designated archive service. As ‘Super Districts’ are created similar discussions will need to be made place to determine where their archival records should be deposited.
Connexional records are currently deposited in the John Rylands Research Institute and Library at the University of Manchester. The Methodist Archive and Research Centre is a vast collection relating to all aspects of Methodism. Further information can be found at https://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/rylands/special-collections/subject-areas/
The records of the Methodist Missionary Society are looked after by SOAS. https://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/rylands/special-collections/subject-areas/
If you need help or advice on matters relating to archives please contact the Liaison Officer for Methodist Archives (email: archives@methodistchurch.org.uk ) who will be happy to offer further guidance.