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From Your Archives

Local history is about people, places and communities. Its scope is wide, embracing a range of different interests. Each town and neighbourhood in Britain has its own story to tell. Sometimes the great events of history will have affected the community, sometimes the community will have generated its own fascinating dramas. The local historian uses research to build up a picture of a place, and the people in it, through the ages.

These pages provide a brief introduction to useful sources for local history. They also contain links to organisations that might help you with your research.

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Sources for local history 3 Further reading 3.1 General 3.2 Special subjects 3.3 Non-manuscript sources

[edit] Introduction

The best place to begin local history research is often in the area you are interested in. You will find most counties, unitary authorities and some large towns maintain either a record office, an archive service or a local studies library. For the purposes of this page when we refer to a record office we mean all of the above. Use the ARCHON Directory to find out what services are available in your area.

Record offices contain a vast array of records relating to their area, for example parish and local government records, maps, manorial documents, estate papers, enclosure awards, tithes, records of local businesses, societies and groups, legal records, diaries of individuals, census returns, visual and oral history material and newspapers.

Record offices very often publish their own guides to research topics and specific types of record in their possession. They also have information relating to local history societies and their publications and the availability of local history courses.

Although much of your research will take place in the local area, it is important to know that The National Archives holds information that will be useful. Records of interest may include those relating to collieries, and canals, docks and shipping companies. Other major groups of interest include enclosure and tithe papers and maps, tax assessments and assize court records. As there is no topographical index to the records at The National Archives, some preliminary research will be needed to identify what types of records will be relevant to your research and which government department would have generated the records. For example records for the pre-nationalised railway companies are held in the series RAIL. The National Archives' website also provides a number of research signposts to help you find useful sources relating to places, and various in-depth research guides.

[edit] Sources for local history

The following summaries provide a guide to the types of material available for the study of local history. It is by no means an exhaustive guide, but aims to highlight some of the most useful of the many sources of information available.

• Maps for local history research
• Local government and parish records
• Manorial documents
• Records of landed estates
• Local businesses and other organisations
• Census returns
• Primary printed sources for local history

[edit] Further reading

[edit] General

NW Alcock, Old Title Deeds: A Guide for Local and Family Historians (Phillimore 2001 edn)

Jonathan Bardon, A Guide to Local History Sources in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (2000)

Joy Bristow, The Local Historian's Glossary of Words and Terms (Countryside Books 2001 edn)

Michael Cox, Exploring Scottish History: A Directory of Resource Centres for Scottish Local and National History in Scotland (1992)

David Dymond, Writing Local History: A Practical Guide (1981)

Simon Fowler, Starting Out in Local History (Countryside Books 2001)

Stephen Friar, The Local History Companion (Sutton 2001)

Susanna Guy, English Local Studies Handbook: A Guide to Resources for each County including Libraries, Record Offices, Societies, Journals and Museums (1992)

David Hey, Oxford Companion to Local and Family History (1996)

David Moody, Scottish Local History: An Introductory Guide (1986)

John Richardson, The Local Historians Encyclopaedia (1986)

Philip Riden, Local History: A handbook for beginners (2nd ed, 1998)

Philip Riden, Record Sources for Local History (1987)

Cecil Sinclair, Tracing Scottish Local History: A Guide to Local History Research in the Scottish Record Office (1994)

JG Ryan, Irish Records: Sources for Family and Local History (1988)

WB Stephens, Sources for English Local History (1994)

WE Tate, The Parish Chest: A Study of the Records of Parochial Administration in England (1969)

Kate Tiller, English Local History: An Introduction (Sutton, revised edn, 2001)

John West, Town Records (1983)

John West, Village Records (2nd ed, 1982)

Trevor Yorke, Tracing the History of Villages (Countryside Books)

[edit] Special subjects

John Stuart Batts, British Manuscript Diaries of the 19th Century: An Annotated Listing (1976)

JA Edwards, Historical Farm Records (1973)

Peter Edwards, Farming: Sources for Local Historians (1991)

Peter Edwards, Rural Life: Guide to Local Records (1993)

Mary Ellis, Using Manorial Documents, Public Record Office Readers' Guide No 7 (1997)

A Elton, B Harrison and K Wark, Researching the Country House: A Guide for Local Historians (1992)

Stephen Porter, Exploring Urban History: Sources for Local Historians (1990)

Eric J Evans, Tithe: Maps, Apportionments and the 1836 Act, The Local Historian at Work 6 (1993)

PDA Harvey, Manorial Records, British Records Association, Archives and the User Guide No 5 (1984)

Brian Paul Hindle, Maps for Local History (1988)

Roger Kain and Hugh Prince, The Tithe Surveys of England and Wales (1985)

Dennis Mills and Kevin Schurer (eds), Local Communities in the Victorian Census Enumerators' Books (1996)

Alan Rogers and Trevor Rowley (eds), Landscapes and Documents (1974)

Gareth Shaw and Allison Tipper, British Directories: A Bibliography and Guide (1989)

Francis Sheppard and Victor Belcher 'The Deed Registries of Yorkshire and Middlesex' in Journal of the Society of Archivists 6 (1980), pp274-286

Standing Conference for Local History, Hedges and Local History (1979)

WB Stephens and RW Unwin, Materials for the Local and Regional Study of Schooling 1700-1900, British Records Association, Archives and the User Guide No. 7 (1987)

Anne Tarver, Church Court Records: An Introduction for Family and Local Historians (1995)

WE Tate, A Domesday of English Enclosure Acts and Awards (1978)

[edit] Non-manuscript sources

MW Barley, A Guide to British Topographical Collections (1974). [A brief guide to collections of topographical illustrations in public repositories]

Stephan Caunce, Oral History and the Local Historian (1994)

Peter Dale (ed), Museums and Special Collections in the United Kingdom (2nd ed, 1996)

David Marcombe, Sounding Boards: Oral Testimony and the Local Historian (1995)

George Oliver, Photographs and Local History (1989)

John Wall, Directory of British Photographic Collections (1977)